steven t. piantadosi
@spiantado.bsky.social
computational cognitive science he/him
UC Berkeley
ScienceHomecoming
http://colala.berkeley.edu/people/piantadosi/
UC Berkeley
ScienceHomecoming
http://colala.berkeley.edu/people/piantadosi/
Pinned
The end of radical concept nativism
Though humans seem to be remarkable learners, arguments in cognitive science and philosophy of mind have long maintained that learning something fundamentally new is impossible. Specifically, Jerry Fo...
arxiv.org
A paper by Josh Rule from my lab providing some formal tools for how to think about innateness -- and trying to pinpoint exactly why Fodor's claims that everything is innate is nonsense.
arxiv.org/abs/2505.18277
arxiv.org/abs/2505.18277
Reposted by steven t. piantadosi
(1/X) Quick thing on the shutdown....yes Dems shouldn't have caved when they did but they won the shutdown politically: they killed in the elections and are soaring in the generic ballot.
There's a lesson.The ABC's of dealing with narcissists.
Always
Be
Confronting
Do I have your attention now?
There's a lesson.The ABC's of dealing with narcissists.
Always
Be
Confronting
Do I have your attention now?
November 26, 2025 at 6:41 PM
(1/X) Quick thing on the shutdown....yes Dems shouldn't have caved when they did but they won the shutdown politically: they killed in the elections and are soaring in the generic ballot.
There's a lesson.The ABC's of dealing with narcissists.
Always
Be
Confronting
Do I have your attention now?
There's a lesson.The ABC's of dealing with narcissists.
Always
Be
Confronting
Do I have your attention now?
Reposted by steven t. piantadosi
Human speech is continuous, and many meaning spaces (like color) are continuous too. Yet we use discrete words like “blue” and “green” that carve these spaces into categories.
In our new paper, we ask: How do people turn continuous spaces into structured, word-like systems for communication? (1/8)
In our new paper, we ask: How do people turn continuous spaces into structured, word-like systems for communication? (1/8)
Discrete and systematic communication in a continuous signal-meaning space
Abstract. Human spoken language uses a continuous stream of acoustic signals to communicate about continuous features of the world, by using discrete forms
academic.oup.com
November 26, 2025 at 2:35 PM
Human speech is continuous, and many meaning spaces (like color) are continuous too. Yet we use discrete words like “blue” and “green” that carve these spaces into categories.
In our new paper, we ask: How do people turn continuous spaces into structured, word-like systems for communication? (1/8)
In our new paper, we ask: How do people turn continuous spaces into structured, word-like systems for communication? (1/8)
Reposted by steven t. piantadosi
New paper from @tashaunalb.bsky.social, Roger Strong, and me! We find that the ability to split attention between non-contiguous locations develops quite late - between 6 and 8 years of age! Now out in APP. #visionscience #psychscisky #devpsych link.springer.com/epdf/10.3758...
The ability to divide spatial attention across non-contiguous locations develops in middle childhood
link.springer.com
November 26, 2025 at 11:31 AM
New paper from @tashaunalb.bsky.social, Roger Strong, and me! We find that the ability to split attention between non-contiguous locations develops quite late - between 6 and 8 years of age! Now out in APP. #visionscience #psychscisky #devpsych link.springer.com/epdf/10.3758...
Reposted by steven t. piantadosi
New paper from the lab, "Perceiving Event Structure in Brief Actions," now out in Cognitive Psychology :)
Led by the inimitable Zekun Sun
This was my lab's first foray into event cognition
gift link: sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Led by the inimitable Zekun Sun
This was my lab's first foray into event cognition
gift link: sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
November 25, 2025 at 3:40 PM
New paper from the lab, "Perceiving Event Structure in Brief Actions," now out in Cognitive Psychology :)
Led by the inimitable Zekun Sun
This was my lab's first foray into event cognition
gift link: sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Led by the inimitable Zekun Sun
This was my lab's first foray into event cognition
gift link: sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Reposted by steven t. piantadosi
starting fall 2026 i'll be an assistant professor at @upenn.edu 🥳
my lab will develop scalable models/theories of human behavior, focused on memory and perception
currently recruiting PhD students in psychology, neuroscience, & computer science!
reach out if you're interested 😊
my lab will develop scalable models/theories of human behavior, focused on memory and perception
currently recruiting PhD students in psychology, neuroscience, & computer science!
reach out if you're interested 😊
November 25, 2025 at 9:36 PM
starting fall 2026 i'll be an assistant professor at @upenn.edu 🥳
my lab will develop scalable models/theories of human behavior, focused on memory and perception
currently recruiting PhD students in psychology, neuroscience, & computer science!
reach out if you're interested 😊
my lab will develop scalable models/theories of human behavior, focused on memory and perception
currently recruiting PhD students in psychology, neuroscience, & computer science!
reach out if you're interested 😊
Reposted by steven t. piantadosi
Breaking character: I am open to the idea the media's coverage of Biden's age and mental acuity was fair or perhaps not even tough enough. But the fact that it was so much tougher than the coverage of Trump's (more severe) mental decline is damning and I can't see how anyone could argue otherwise.
NYT isn’t worth reading because they are in the bag for Trump
November 21, 2025 at 4:08 PM
Breaking character: I am open to the idea the media's coverage of Biden's age and mental acuity was fair or perhaps not even tough enough. But the fact that it was so much tougher than the coverage of Trump's (more severe) mental decline is damning and I can't see how anyone could argue otherwise.
Reposted by steven t. piantadosi
The Trump administration cancelled the clinical trial for my cancer treatment and now I'll be dead in six months. But I'll die happy knowing that the kids at Oberlin won't be given trigger warnings anymore.
November 20, 2025 at 3:58 PM
The Trump administration cancelled the clinical trial for my cancer treatment and now I'll be dead in six months. But I'll die happy knowing that the kids at Oberlin won't be given trigger warnings anymore.
Reposted by steven t. piantadosi
Halted NIH Clinical Trials List Reveals Slashed Treatments for Cancer, COVID and Minority Health
www.scientificamerican.com/article/halt...
Sickle cell disease, sleep disorders and lung cancer & much more
A dive into the list of NIH's 383 shelved clinical trials, obtained by Scientific American
www.scientificamerican.com/article/halt...
Sickle cell disease, sleep disorders and lung cancer & much more
A dive into the list of NIH's 383 shelved clinical trials, obtained by Scientific American
Halted NIH Clinical Trials List Reveals Slashed Treatments for Cancer, COVID and Minority Health
The National Institutes of Health has canceled funding for at least 383 clinical trials in the last year, affecting some 74,000 participants
www.scientificamerican.com
November 20, 2025 at 7:55 PM
Halted NIH Clinical Trials List Reveals Slashed Treatments for Cancer, COVID and Minority Health
www.scientificamerican.com/article/halt...
Sickle cell disease, sleep disorders and lung cancer & much more
A dive into the list of NIH's 383 shelved clinical trials, obtained by Scientific American
www.scientificamerican.com/article/halt...
Sickle cell disease, sleep disorders and lung cancer & much more
A dive into the list of NIH's 383 shelved clinical trials, obtained by Scientific American
Reposted by steven t. piantadosi
"Bill Gates' climate comments are a distraction" | My new commentary for @nature.com: www.nature.com/articles/d41...
November 18, 2025 at 7:54 PM
"Bill Gates' climate comments are a distraction" | My new commentary for @nature.com: www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Reposted by steven t. piantadosi
Love this new technology from Cellular Tracking Technology for tracking Monarch butterflies. Great NYTimes story.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/17/s...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/17/s...
We Can Now Track Individual Monarch Butterflies. It’s a Revelation.
www.nytimes.com
November 18, 2025 at 6:08 AM
Love this new technology from Cellular Tracking Technology for tracking Monarch butterflies. Great NYTimes story.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/17/s...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/17/s...
Reposted by steven t. piantadosi
Happy to share my new paper published in @nathumbehav.nature.com: A critical look at statistical power in computational modeling studies, particularly those based on model selection.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
November 17, 2025 at 6:13 PM
Happy to share my new paper published in @nathumbehav.nature.com: A critical look at statistical power in computational modeling studies, particularly those based on model selection.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by steven t. piantadosi
Officially out in the current issue of Trends in Cognitive Sciences:
"Physics versus graphics as an organizing dichotomy in cognition"
www.cell.com/trends/cogni...
"Physics versus graphics as an organizing dichotomy in cognition"
www.cell.com/trends/cogni...
November 17, 2025 at 1:55 PM
Officially out in the current issue of Trends in Cognitive Sciences:
"Physics versus graphics as an organizing dichotomy in cognition"
www.cell.com/trends/cogni...
"Physics versus graphics as an organizing dichotomy in cognition"
www.cell.com/trends/cogni...
Reposted by steven t. piantadosi
Reposted by steven t. piantadosi
BREAKING: In AAUP et al v. Trump (wall-to-wall union lawsuit challenging the administration’s unlawful use of TItle VI to reshape the University of California system), the faculty and staff of the UC system WON!!!
We were granted our preliminary injunction! @aaup.org
We were granted our preliminary injunction! @aaup.org
November 14, 2025 at 11:55 PM
BREAKING: In AAUP et al v. Trump (wall-to-wall union lawsuit challenging the administration’s unlawful use of TItle VI to reshape the University of California system), the faculty and staff of the UC system WON!!!
We were granted our preliminary injunction! @aaup.org
We were granted our preliminary injunction! @aaup.org
Reposted by steven t. piantadosi
Quanta contributing writer @maxlevy.bsky.social has received a Kavli Gold Award from @aaas.org and @kavlifoundation.org for “The Hidden World of Electrostatic Ecology,” a detailed account of how small organisms use static electricity to their advantage.
www.quantamagazine.org/quantanews/q...
www.quantamagazine.org/quantanews/q...
Quanta Contributor Max G. Levy Wins AAAS Kavli Gold Award for Science Journalism | Quanta Magazine
Judges from the American Association for the Advancement of Science and The Kavli Foundation recognized Quanta Magazine contributing writer Max G. Levy with a Gold Award in the Magazine category for “...
www.quantamagazine.org
November 13, 2025 at 3:28 PM
Quanta contributing writer @maxlevy.bsky.social has received a Kavli Gold Award from @aaas.org and @kavlifoundation.org for “The Hidden World of Electrostatic Ecology,” a detailed account of how small organisms use static electricity to their advantage.
www.quantamagazine.org/quantanews/q...
www.quantamagazine.org/quantanews/q...
Reposted by steven t. piantadosi
Hearing a rumor that NIH/HHS may now plan to retaliate against other Bethesda Declaration signers.
I am one, but it’s not about me: we have been speaking out because of the ongoing damage to US medical research, cancer and Alzheimer’s research.
As @jenna-m-norton.bsky.social put well: 1/
I am one, but it’s not about me: we have been speaking out because of the ongoing damage to US medical research, cancer and Alzheimer’s research.
As @jenna-m-norton.bsky.social put well: 1/
November 14, 2025 at 4:17 PM
Hearing a rumor that NIH/HHS may now plan to retaliate against other Bethesda Declaration signers.
I am one, but it’s not about me: we have been speaking out because of the ongoing damage to US medical research, cancer and Alzheimer’s research.
As @jenna-m-norton.bsky.social put well: 1/
I am one, but it’s not about me: we have been speaking out because of the ongoing damage to US medical research, cancer and Alzheimer’s research.
As @jenna-m-norton.bsky.social put well: 1/
Reposted by steven t. piantadosi
I really like the cogsci thinking and music in this paper. Happy that it's finally out! Thanks @omriraccah.bsky.social and Michael Seltenreich
for leading this project.
Geometric properties of musical scales constitute a representational primitive in melodic processing
www.cell.com/iscience/ful...
for leading this project.
Geometric properties of musical scales constitute a representational primitive in melodic processing
www.cell.com/iscience/ful...
Geometric properties of musical scales constitute a representational primitive in melodic processing
Music; Cognitive Psychology; Cognitive Science
www.cell.com
November 14, 2025 at 1:34 PM
I really like the cogsci thinking and music in this paper. Happy that it's finally out! Thanks @omriraccah.bsky.social and Michael Seltenreich
for leading this project.
Geometric properties of musical scales constitute a representational primitive in melodic processing
www.cell.com/iscience/ful...
for leading this project.
Geometric properties of musical scales constitute a representational primitive in melodic processing
www.cell.com/iscience/ful...
Reposted by steven t. piantadosi
Nothing to see here, just an infamous sex trafficker planning to blackmail a future president
November 12, 2025 at 2:37 PM
Nothing to see here, just an infamous sex trafficker planning to blackmail a future president
Reposted by steven t. piantadosi
Donald Trump has sued the BBC for one billion dollars. The network should wait 40 days and then pay him the entire amount without a trial.
by John Fetterman, Dick Durbin, and Tim Kaine
by John Fetterman, Dick Durbin, and Tim Kaine
November 11, 2025 at 4:03 PM
Donald Trump has sued the BBC for one billion dollars. The network should wait 40 days and then pay him the entire amount without a trial.
by John Fetterman, Dick Durbin, and Tim Kaine
by John Fetterman, Dick Durbin, and Tim Kaine
Reposted by steven t. piantadosi
We have had enough winning.
by Senate Democrats
by Senate Democrats
November 10, 2025 at 12:47 PM
We have had enough winning.
by Senate Democrats
by Senate Democrats
Reposted by steven t. piantadosi
Please join @spiantado.bsky.social at @caltech.edu today for an in-person ScienceHomecoming event with The Caltech Y
www.caltechy.org/programs/sas...
www.caltechy.org/programs/sas...
Science Homecoming
www.caltechy.org
November 10, 2025 at 6:20 PM
Please join @spiantado.bsky.social at @caltech.edu today for an in-person ScienceHomecoming event with The Caltech Y
www.caltechy.org/programs/sas...
www.caltechy.org/programs/sas...
"Lairmore had testified that the sandwich 'exploded all over' his chest and claimed he could smell mustard and onions. But a photo showed that the sandwich was still in its wrapper on the ground after it hit Lairmore in his bulletproof vest."
BREAKING: JUSTICE DEPARTMENT EATS A LOSS IN 'SANDWICH GUY' CASE AS JURORS FIND DEFENDANT NOT GUILTY www.nbcnews.com/politics/jus...
Jury acquits D.C. 'sandwich guy' charged with chucking a sub at a federal agent
Sean Dunn faced single misdemeanor offense after federal grand jurors refused to indict him on the felony charge sought by prosecutors.
www.nbcnews.com
November 6, 2025 at 8:03 PM
"Lairmore had testified that the sandwich 'exploded all over' his chest and claimed he could smell mustard and onions. But a photo showed that the sandwich was still in its wrapper on the ground after it hit Lairmore in his bulletproof vest."
Reposted by steven t. piantadosi
How it started. How it’s going.
November 6, 2025 at 3:35 PM
How it started. How it’s going.
Reposted by steven t. piantadosi
The President’s Postdoctoral Fellowship Program, PPFP, has been a jewel in the crown for faculty development and recruitment at the University of California for years and the results have been an expanded faculty with almost 100% tenure rates — unprecedented success.
November 2, 2025 at 11:01 AM
The President’s Postdoctoral Fellowship Program, PPFP, has been a jewel in the crown for faculty development and recruitment at the University of California for years and the results have been an expanded faculty with almost 100% tenure rates — unprecedented success.
This wins.
New York assemblyman Zohran Mamdani confronts Border Czar Tom Homan today in Albany 👇🏻
November 5, 2025 at 4:59 AM
This wins.