Rebecca Sear
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rebeccasear.bsky.social
Rebecca Sear
@rebeccasear.bsky.social
11K followers 3.7K following 2.7K posts

Director of the Centre for Culture and Evolution, Brunel University London @brunelcce.bsky.social. President of the European Human Behaviour and Evolution Association @ehbea.bsky.social

https://www.rebeccasear.org/

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Rebecca Sear, is a British anthropologist and academic, who specialises in evolutionary anthropology, demography and human behavioural ecology. Since 2024, she has been director of the Centre for Culture and Evolution at Brunel University London. She previously taught at the London School of Economics, Durham University and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. .. more

Psychology 45%
Sociology 15%
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rebeccasear.bsky.social
Rebecca Sear @rebeccasear.bsky.social · 10h
Many congratulations to the newly-minted Dr Baafi @josephineabaafi.bsky.social 🎉🥳 who passed her PhD viva yesterday! A very positive experience thanks to examiners Monica Magadi and @joestrong.bsky.social, and Chair @1verofilippi.bsky.social 🙏
Dr Josie looking very happy as she cuts her celebration cake

rebeccasear.bsky.social
Rebecca Sear @rebeccasear.bsky.social · 11h
Or they mean datasets based partly on Lynn's national IQ scores and partly on school assessment scores. Hardly surprising that two datasets based on the same data source correlate well with one another...

rebeccasear.bsky.social
Rebecca Sear @rebeccasear.bsky.social · 11h
Also worth noting that comparable cross-national data on intelligence simply doesn't exist, so when hereditarians claim Lynn's data has been validated against other data sources, they either mean school assessment scores, which don't measure intelligence

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
What are we measuring in international assessments? Learning? Probably. Intelligence? Not likely
In the current manuscript, we provide a brief look into the evolution of intelligence testing, tracing its origins and methodologies from the mid-19th…
www.sciencedirect.com

Reposted by Lesley A. Hall, Rebecca Sear

stairwaytokevin.bsky.social
Kevin Bird @stairwaytokevin.bsky.social · 13h
Kudos to Rebecca for leading this charge! Lynn's data is an embarrassment to the scientific enterprise. The skull measurers on Twitter are having a predictable response with the repeated claim that "other data replicate" Lynn's results.

Easy to see that's not true for the 2002, 2012, or "new" set

rebeccasear.bsky.social
Rebecca Sear @rebeccasear.bsky.social · 18h
Many thanks for your support, Joan, it means a lot

rebeccasear.bsky.social
Rebecca Sear @rebeccasear.bsky.social · 1d
“What we would know about sexual & reproductive health if we privileged women’s exchanges with one another in everyday conversation over the entrenched measures (ideal family size, desired time to next birth, unmet need, contraceptive discontinuation rates) that have come to define sample surveys?”

rebeccasear.bsky.social
Rebecca Sear @rebeccasear.bsky.social · 1d
“This paper examines reproductive vulnerability in Balaka, Malawi by prioritizing population chatter – how ordinary people perceive, narrate, and debate the fertility, mortality, and migration conditions around them”
Population chatter for clearer and broader thinking about fertility | Journal of Critical Public Health
journalhosting.ucalgary.ca

Reposted by Mel Bartley, Paul Nightingale

rebeccasear.bsky.social
Rebecca Sear @rebeccasear.bsky.social · 1d
The take-home message when I give talks about race science: “for bad science to persist, you need (1) a core of ethically or methodologically compromised people who are willing to fabricate data or create misleading evidence & (2) a larger group of people who are willing to promote these ideas”
Sociology of science: What does it take for erroneous or fraudulent claims to take hold? | Statistical Modeling, Causal Inference, and Social Science
statmodeling.stat.columbia.edu

Reposted by Rebecca Sear

royalsocietypublishing.org
Royal Society Publishing @royalsocietypublishing.org · 1d
Royal Society Publishing is now on LinkedIn! We’re excited to launch a dedicated space to share highlights and updates from our journals. Whether you're a researcher, librarian, or simply interested in scientific discovery, we invite you to join the Royal Society Publishing community buff.ly/9TePt2D
Royal Society Publishing | LinkedIn
Royal Society Publishing | 9 followers on LinkedIn. Recognising, promoting and supporting excellence in science since the first issue of Philosophical Transactions in 1665. | Since the first issue of ...
www.linkedin.com

Reposted by Nathan Nunn

rebeccasear.bsky.social
Rebecca Sear @rebeccasear.bsky.social · 1d
EHBEA awarded a workshop grant this year to researchers aiming to strengthen evolutionary approaches to the study of behaviour in Chile & elsewhere in Latin America, as we're keen to use these awards for outreach beyond our usual community. Congrats to the organisers, & hope the workshop goes well 😊
pablovarase.bsky.social Pablo J. Varas Enríquez @pablovarase.bsky.social · 1d
Interesado en salud, comportamiento y evolución humana?

Este 10 de diciembre se realizará la Jornada de Investigación “Evolución Biocultural: Aplicaciones y desafíos en salud y comportamiento humano”

El evento es gratis pero con cupos limitados, inscríbase aquí 👇

forms.office.com/Pages/Respon...

Reposted by Rebecca Sear

pablovarase.bsky.social
Pablo J. Varas Enríquez @pablovarase.bsky.social · 1d
Interesado en salud, comportamiento y evolución humana?

Este 10 de diciembre se realizará la Jornada de Investigación “Evolución Biocultural: Aplicaciones y desafíos en salud y comportamiento humano”

El evento es gratis pero con cupos limitados, inscríbase aquí 👇

forms.office.com/Pages/Respon...

rebeccasear.bsky.social
Rebecca Sear @rebeccasear.bsky.social · 1d
Intragenerational economic mobility in a small-scale society, over an 8-year period: "We found unambiguous evidence of convergence (those at the bottom were fast approaching the rest) and considerable evidence of both upward and downward mobility among women and men across all outcomes"
Economic convergence, intragenerational economic mobility, and inequality in a native Amazonian small-scale society of Indigenous People in Bolivia
Adult intragenerational mobility reflects society’s ability to reward effort and tame society-wide inequality. In developed economies, mobility is mod…
www.sciencedirect.com

Reposted by Lesley A. Hall

rebeccasear.bsky.social
Rebecca Sear @rebeccasear.bsky.social · 1d
"Using a meta-analysis of existing studies from the Neolithic to the Early Iron Age, we argue that scholars have collapsed kinship and residence, patrilocality and patrilineality"

www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...
Moving to Stay in (a Woman’s) Place : Was Patrilocality the Dominant Mode of Postmarital Residence across Later European Prehistory? | Current Anthropology
This paper questions whether forms of female mobility and their relation to kinship were uniform throughout later European prehistory. Patrilocality has become the primary way in which sex-based diffe...
www.journals.uchicago.edu

rebeccasear.bsky.social
Rebecca Sear @rebeccasear.bsky.social · 1d
"We assess the contributions of behavioural ecology to fundamental science & its application to global challenges. In all cases, progress has relied on a hypothesis-driven approach that combines mathematical modelling with empirical testing and the strategic choice of simplifying assumptions"
Behavioural ecology in the twenty-first century - Nature Ecology & Evolution
This Perspective discusses how the field of behavioural ecology has contributed to fundamental science and tackling global challenges, ranging from understanding how natural selection leads to adaptat...
www.nature.com

rebeccasear.bsky.social
Rebecca Sear @rebeccasear.bsky.social · 2d
Congratulations to the Cognitations podcast, which was awarded an @ehbea.bsky.social grant to support the excellent work they're doing in public communication 🎉 This year, and for future years, we broadened the criteria for workshop grants to include non-academic events & public engagement
cognitations.bsky.social The Cognitations podcast @cognitations.bsky.social · Oct 21
UPDATE! 🎉

Cognitations has been awarded a Workshop Event Grant by @ehbea.bsky.social

This amazing grant will help us record new episodes with leading international experts in evolution, anthro & cog sci. Stay tuned in to hear from @manvir.bsky.social, @dansperber.bsky.social & many more!!!

Reposted by Rebecca Sear

huwcdavies.bsky.social
Huw C. Davies @huwcdavies.bsky.social · 2d
Comparing Gemini to Grok on ‘National IQ’.

rebeccasear.bsky.social
Rebecca Sear @rebeccasear.bsky.social · 2d
The Elsevier investigation mentioned was initiated after a STAT news piece on the problem, co-authored with Cathryn, @dsamorod.bsky.social, @stairwaytokevin.bsky.social, @jedidiahcarlson.com, @jameslingford.bsky.social and @jowiph.bsky.social

www.statnews.com/2024/06/20/r...
Journals that published Richard Lynn's racist 'research' articles should retract them
Richard Lynn's work has been repeatedly condemned for using flawed methodology and deceptively collated data to support racism. It's past time to retract the studies.
www.statnews.com

Reposted by Rosemary A. Joyce, Tanja Gabriele Baudson, Lesley A. Hall , and 4 more

rebeccasear.bsky.social
Rebecca Sear @rebeccasear.bsky.social · 2d
Retraction Watch has covered the problem of the “national IQ” database. Should be noted I’m far from alone in working to remove these publications. The spreadsheet of pubs which use NIQ - linked to in the article - was started by @kohngregory.bsky.social; a project also worked on by Cathryn Townsend

rebeccasear.bsky.social
Rebecca Sear @rebeccasear.bsky.social · 2d
“What men need to succeed in the workplace has nothing to do with the numbers of women employed – it has to do with job security, livable wages, affordable rents, reliable sick pay and flexible work around parenting and caring”

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Horror stories of a ‘feminised workplace’ mask the real crisis in male identity | Finn Mackay
Stereotypes that centre men’s worth in their work are strangling sensible debate, and letting down women too, says author Finn Mackay
www.theguardian.com

Reposted by Rebecca Sear

daxkellie.bsky.social
Dax Kellie @daxkellie.bsky.social · 2d
If you missed my talk but still want some tips for writing good code for scientists, my slides are here:

daxkellie.quarto.pub/a-guide-to-w...

All the links and references are there too in case you want to see more! 😀🧪🌏

#ESA2025 #rstats #quartopub
Title slide with text: A guide to writing good code for the busy scientist Black text over stripey pale brown-green background

Reposted by Rebecca Sear, Catherine J. Frieman, James M. Thomas

dalmeet.bsky.social
Dalmeet Singh Chawla @dalmeet.bsky.social · 3d
. @rebeccasear.bsky.social is on a mission to get all studies using a database linking #IQ and race retracted. I spoke to her for @retractionwatch.com to find out more: retractionwatch.com/2025/11/25/m...
Meet the researcher aiming to halt use of ‘fundamentally flawed’ database linking IQ and nationality
Rebecca Sear Rebecca Sear is on a mission to convince publishers to retract articles that use a database that purports to rank countries based on intelligence. To maintain the integrity of scientif…
retractionwatch.com

rebeccasear.bsky.social
Rebecca Sear @rebeccasear.bsky.social · 3d
“I’m not saying these things shouldn’t be studied; I just think we need to be careful about glib political interpretations of these cross-national comparisons”

rebeccasear.bsky.social
Rebecca Sear @rebeccasear.bsky.social · 3d
The more I learn about how these rankings are produced, the more disillusioned I am, not just in the rankings but in academia, which unquestioningly adopts the rankings…

Reposted by Rebecca Sear, Peter Fallesen

Andrew Gelman et al. @statmodeling.bsky.social · 3d
Problems with the so-called gender equality paradox
statmodeling.stat.columbia.edu/2025/11/25/p...
Problems with the so-called gender equality paradox | Statistical Modeling, Causal Inference, and Social Science
statmodeling.stat.columbia.edu

rebeccasear.bsky.social
Rebecca Sear @rebeccasear.bsky.social · 3d
“examines how eugenics has resurfaced as a blueprint for contemporary ‘tech-utopian’ & nationalist projects in the West….tech capitalists & conservative elites deploy eugenic logic as ‘common sense’ solutions to social challenges such as climate change, ‘gender ideology’ & fears of depopulation”
Building the ‘Fitter’ Future: Eugenics, Tech Capitalism, and the Politics of Existential Risk
Abstract. The appointment of Elon Musk as head of the newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) exemplifies the unprecedented and troubling
doi.org

Reposted by Rebecca Sear

bridgetmcgann.medsky.social
Bríd Nic Annaidh ☘️ @bridgetmcgann.medsky.social · 4d
We're inviting teachers in grades 1-3 to test drive lessons about baby mammals and their mothers’ milk!

These lessons use stories and simple activities to help students learn about growth, nutrition, and introduce the concepts of taxonomy and adaptation.

#EduSky #iTeachBio #EduSci #EvoEd 🧪 🛟
A screenshot of a slide showing a classroom activity demonstrating the composition difference between human milk and cow milk, a little cartoon baby, and a scientist talking about human milk. The slide says "The recipe for making human milk is closer to cow milk than seal milk BUT there are lots of hidden differences..."

Reposted by Dave O’Brien, Rebecca Sear, Margot C. Finn , and 3 more

hetanshah.bsky.social
Hetan Shah @hetanshah.bsky.social · 4d
Important role - new Chair of the Board of @ukri.org
£33k for one day a week. Closes 11 Jan. Would be good from my perspective to get someone who understands higher education and the value of the arts, humanities and social sciences!
plusportal.perrettlaver.com/VacancyDetai...
Perrett Laver - Leading Global Executive Search Firm
plusportal.perrettlaver.com

rebeccasear.bsky.social
Rebecca Sear @rebeccasear.bsky.social · 4d
"in his haste to turn X into a political weapon for the far right, Musk may have revealed that the platform he’s long called “the number 1 source of news on Earth” is really just a worthless, poisoned hall of mirrors"
cwarzel.bsky.social Charlie Warzel @cwarzel.bsky.social · 4d
I wrote about the fake account blowup on X this weekend. A genuine post-truth nightmare and proof that these companies have polluted their platforms so thoroughly and traded reality for profit that they've undermined the very idea of what the internet is supposed to be.
That MAGA Account Might Be a Troll From Pakistan
How X blew up its own platform with a new location feature
www.theatlantic.com

Reposted by Lisa W. Fazio, Suresh Venkatasubramanian, Brendan Nyhan , and 9 more

cwarzel.bsky.social
Charlie Warzel @cwarzel.bsky.social · 4d
I wrote about the fake account blowup on X this weekend. A genuine post-truth nightmare and proof that these companies have polluted their platforms so thoroughly and traded reality for profit that they've undermined the very idea of what the internet is supposed to be.
That MAGA Account Might Be a Troll From Pakistan
How X blew up its own platform with a new location feature
www.theatlantic.com

Reposted by Rebecca Sear

dunsworth.bsky.social
Holly Dunsworth @dunsworth.bsky.social · 4d
How and for whom can genetics education reduce beliefs in genetic essentialism? pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41267401/
"We also find that the 3 intervention curricula are highly effective across sociodemographic group characteristics [...] we offer evidence-based strategies for curriculum development"