Dr Ben Wolfe
@benwolfevision.bsky.social
Assistant Professor
Psychological and Brain Sciences
University of Toronto Mississauga
Co-Director, APPLY Lab (www.applylab.org)
Least important mammal in his house (just ask the cats).
"If vision worked like *that*, we'd all be dead."
Psychological and Brain Sciences
University of Toronto Mississauga
Co-Director, APPLY Lab (www.applylab.org)
Least important mammal in his house (just ask the cats).
"If vision worked like *that*, we'd all be dead."
Pinned
Dr Ben Wolfe
@benwolfevision.bsky.social
· Oct 18
Quick intro: I'm a faculty member at UofT in Psychology, sitting somewhere at the intersection of vision science, cognitive psychology and human factors, with strong interests in driver behaviour and digital (screen) readability.
I'm the Least Important Mammal in my house and the cats know it.
I'm the Least Important Mammal in my house and the cats know it.
I’ve been known to describe gaze patterns in visual search as “chaos monster” patterns
I just saw myself referred to (non-disparagingly) as an "Internet Chaos Goblin" and I have to say I don't hate that description
November 25, 2025 at 10:43 PM
I’ve been known to describe gaze patterns in visual search as “chaos monster” patterns
New preprint from @applylab.bsky.social graduate student Ido Ziv Li and postdoc Jiali Song:
What happens if we just make you use peripheral (or foveal) information when you look for road hazards in video?
1/4
What happens if we just make you use peripheral (or foveal) information when you look for road hazards in video?
1/4
OSF
osf.io
November 25, 2025 at 4:29 PM
New preprint from @applylab.bsky.social graduate student Ido Ziv Li and postdoc Jiali Song:
What happens if we just make you use peripheral (or foveal) information when you look for road hazards in video?
1/4
What happens if we just make you use peripheral (or foveal) information when you look for road hazards in video?
1/4
Reposted by Dr Ben Wolfe
i’m not crying you’re crying
xkcd: Fifteen Years
xkcd: Fifteen Years
Fifteen Years
xkcd.com
November 25, 2025 at 1:58 AM
i’m not crying you’re crying
xkcd: Fifteen Years
xkcd: Fifteen Years
Reposted by Dr Ben Wolfe
Looking for a funded Ph.D. in #CogSci in an interdisciplinary, research-first program? Apply to CEU!
cognitivescience.ceu.edu/admission
Deadline February 4, 2026. Please share with any interested students!
#PsychSciSky #DevPsych #CogPsych
cognitivescience.ceu.edu/admission
Deadline February 4, 2026. Please share with any interested students!
#PsychSciSky #DevPsych #CogPsych
Applications Are Now Open for Academic Year 2026-2027 | Department of Cognitive Science
cognitivescience.ceu.edu
November 24, 2025 at 10:48 AM
Looking for a funded Ph.D. in #CogSci in an interdisciplinary, research-first program? Apply to CEU!
cognitivescience.ceu.edu/admission
Deadline February 4, 2026. Please share with any interested students!
#PsychSciSky #DevPsych #CogPsych
cognitivescience.ceu.edu/admission
Deadline February 4, 2026. Please share with any interested students!
#PsychSciSky #DevPsych #CogPsych
Back on my tart bullshit.
November 24, 2025 at 1:34 AM
Back on my tart bullshit.
Well, my head is now full of angry human factors practitioners, disgruntled psychologists and the very angry shade of BF Skinner, and, surprisingly, they’re unanimous about how bad an idea this is.
My latest: Would you replace coffee with a $100 wristband that mildly zaps you and stimulates your nerves to keep you awake?
Turns out most Chinese people are saying no, as they ridicule the viral gadget "eCoffee" and call it a portable electric chair. (You can buy it here and try it out tho.)
Turns out most Chinese people are saying no, as they ridicule the viral gadget "eCoffee" and call it a portable electric chair. (You can buy it here and try it out tho.)
A Viral Chinese Wristband Claims to Zap You Awake. The Public Says 'No Thanks’
The maker of the eCoffee Energyband says it electrically stimulates your nerves to keep you alert. Researchers are skeptical, and critics see it as a way for China’s bosses to keep workers productive.
www.wired.com
November 24, 2025 at 12:13 AM
Well, my head is now full of angry human factors practitioners, disgruntled psychologists and the very angry shade of BF Skinner, and, surprisingly, they’re unanimous about how bad an idea this is.
Bag of cranberries in the depths of the freezer? Time for Cranberry-Caramel Tart!
November 24, 2025 at 12:04 AM
Bag of cranberries in the depths of the freezer? Time for Cranberry-Caramel Tart!
This weekend is brought to you by the idea that it’s gotta get done, and if we don’t do it this weekend, next weekend is really, really gonna suck.
November 23, 2025 at 11:10 PM
This weekend is brought to you by the idea that it’s gotta get done, and if we don’t do it this weekend, next weekend is really, really gonna suck.
Reposted by Dr Ben Wolfe
This is cool. But it’s also really cool that a substantial portion of the people who gave up their seats in the Batman condition stated they didn’t notice Batman.
That would be inattentional blindness for an object that nonetheless influenced behavior.
The way in which unattended object guide …
That would be inattentional blindness for an object that nonetheless influenced behavior.
The way in which unattended object guide …
Science will often take you to unexpected and delightful places. In this study, researchers hypothesized that riders in a crowded subway car would be more likely to offer their seat to a pregnant person if there were someone in the subway car dressed as Batman 🧪🦇
www.nature.com/articles/s44...
www.nature.com/articles/s44...
November 23, 2025 at 4:38 PM
This is cool. But it’s also really cool that a substantial portion of the people who gave up their seats in the Batman condition stated they didn’t notice Batman.
That would be inattentional blindness for an object that nonetheless influenced behavior.
The way in which unattended object guide …
That would be inattentional blindness for an object that nonetheless influenced behavior.
The way in which unattended object guide …
Sometimes, you need to remove half a decade of dust bunnies from under the bed.
I think I found dust llamas.
I think I found dust llamas.
November 23, 2025 at 3:26 PM
Sometimes, you need to remove half a decade of dust bunnies from under the bed.
I think I found dust llamas.
I think I found dust llamas.
@sifu.tweety.fish He's still in the woods...
FREE Sails, Making Pine Tar, Removing Bilge Tar - No. 22
YouTube video by A Boat in the Woods
www.youtube.com
November 23, 2025 at 1:29 AM
@sifu.tweety.fish He's still in the woods...
I guess it's what happens when you grow up having fun in your dad's lab? I decided to keep having fun.
I now run a lab. With my wife. And we collaborate with my dad.
I now run a lab. With my wife. And we collaborate with my dad.
November 23, 2025 at 12:53 AM
I guess it's what happens when you grow up having fun in your dad's lab? I decided to keep having fun.
I now run a lab. With my wife. And we collaborate with my dad.
I now run a lab. With my wife. And we collaborate with my dad.
Growls in attention and distracted driving researcher.
November 22, 2025 at 5:12 PM
Growls in attention and distracted driving researcher.
I cannot think of lampreys without remembering the undead schlocktastic horror that was Blood Lake.
@kbspangler.com @tkingfisher.com
@kbspangler.com @tkingfisher.com
November 21, 2025 at 9:31 PM
I cannot think of lampreys without remembering the undead schlocktastic horror that was Blood Lake.
@kbspangler.com @tkingfisher.com
@kbspangler.com @tkingfisher.com
Sophie utterly didn’t mind (and wound up purring and kneading on the exam table).
November 21, 2025 at 2:14 AM
Sophie utterly didn’t mind (and wound up purring and kneading on the exam table).
Bringing in the professionals and having the answer be (1) well, someone spent smart money and (2) I won’t upsell you just to make a quick buck is always good
November 21, 2025 at 2:12 AM
Bringing in the professionals and having the answer be (1) well, someone spent smart money and (2) I won’t upsell you just to make a quick buck is always good
The cats get to go to the vet tomorrow.
Oddly, they serenade us from the backseat, but tend to prowl the exam room quite happily.
Oddly, they serenade us from the backseat, but tend to prowl the exam room quite happily.
November 19, 2025 at 5:06 PM
The cats get to go to the vet tomorrow.
Oddly, they serenade us from the backseat, but tend to prowl the exam room quite happily.
Oddly, they serenade us from the backseat, but tend to prowl the exam room quite happily.
I am enjoying the Parker books way too much, @beijingpalmer.bsky.social
Friday Night Parker, an occasional series! Book 2: The Man With the Getaway Face.
So this was the book where Parker became *a series*, not just a one-off about a vengeful sociopath. When the book opens, he's staring at his new face in the mirror, which he's just paid a whole lot of money for.
So this was the book where Parker became *a series*, not just a one-off about a vengeful sociopath. When the book opens, he's staring at his new face in the mirror, which he's just paid a whole lot of money for.
November 19, 2025 at 1:18 AM
I am enjoying the Parker books way too much, @beijingpalmer.bsky.social
Growl. Xmas music is one of my particular hells.
November 18, 2025 at 6:23 PM
Growl. Xmas music is one of my particular hells.
You might have grown up in the Boston area if… you shove a giant pile of Iggy’s Bread in your suitcase before flying home.
November 18, 2025 at 1:25 AM
You might have grown up in the Boston area if… you shove a giant pile of Iggy’s Bread in your suitcase before flying home.
Sometimes, Medicinal Rye is the answer
November 16, 2025 at 12:29 AM
Sometimes, Medicinal Rye is the answer
Your regular reminder that if you have no fear of caramel and a love of cranberries, this tart is excellent
November 15, 2025 at 8:55 PM
Your regular reminder that if you have no fear of caramel and a love of cranberries, this tart is excellent
Um… @rahaeli.bsky.social, @sarahquaint.bsky.social… I think you’ll both appreciate the surreal hilariousness of a 100k fic spawned from two tweets on the Imperial Art of Hot Sauerkraut Wrestling.
The only fic, to my knowledge, ever inspired by a tweet of mine. It includes a phrase I would be proud to have written: “A man who does not love naked hot sauerkraut wrestling truly cannot be said to love our country.”
NB-
This is a reference to a simpler time (apparently 7:10 PM · Jul 2, 2021) . Fic thoughtfully bearing witness is archiveofourown.org/works/33342418
This is a reference to a simpler time (apparently 7:10 PM · Jul 2, 2021) . Fic thoughtfully bearing witness is archiveofourown.org/works/33342418
November 15, 2025 at 8:42 PM
Um… @rahaeli.bsky.social, @sarahquaint.bsky.social… I think you’ll both appreciate the surreal hilariousness of a 100k fic spawned from two tweets on the Imperial Art of Hot Sauerkraut Wrestling.
I won't be able to watch the stream this year, but torment Phil and company FOR THE KIDS!
24hrs to game time! At 9am tomorrow morning, technical issues permitting, we fire up the stream and start playing with our customary introduction of the characters, abilities, and the many mutations kind donors have given us. And all the game day incentives go live.
Extra Life | Change Kids' Health, Change the Future
I'm raising funds with #EXTRALIFE for kids treated at my Children's Miracle Network Hospitals! I need your help to reach my fundraising goal. Please donate today to change kids' health.
www.extra-life.org
November 14, 2025 at 9:29 PM
I won't be able to watch the stream this year, but torment Phil and company FOR THE KIDS!