Berna Devezer
@devezer.bsky.social
Metascientist @ uidaho. I work at the intersection of behavioral sciences, statistics, and philosophy. Love thinking and talking about science. Post lots of cat and food pics. Allergic to unsolicited advice.
Pinned
I'd like to re-up this paper we published last year bec I believe it makes a fundamental contribution to theoretical metascience but it is woefully underappreciated. We address a key challenge in estimating the reproducibility of a result: The distance of a replication study from the original. 1/n
Thoughts on load-bearing citations and others... A distinction we don't draw but should, imo.
I'll come back to this idea because that complements something that's been brewing in my mind for some time. Some needed resolution in our citation practices where we explicitly distinguish between "load-bearing" work on which our inferences rely and others (kitchen sink citations). And the need to
November 20, 2025 at 4:24 AM
Thoughts on load-bearing citations and others... A distinction we don't draw but should, imo.
quick weekday dinner. there's something so deeply comforting about the combination of tomato sauce and ricotta. also threw in some parmesan and drunken goat cheese for good measure. feels like a spa day in my mouth.
November 20, 2025 at 3:22 AM
quick weekday dinner. there's something so deeply comforting about the combination of tomato sauce and ricotta. also threw in some parmesan and drunken goat cheese for good measure. feels like a spa day in my mouth.
Reposted by Berna Devezer
Re: Summers, Sahm and econ’s many other problems.
I’m a pretty average PhD student, and I didn’t pursue an Econ PhD because of its issues with race, gender, hierarchy etc etc etc
1) in the minds of some - I know this first hand - it’s “just a women’s issue” … the “just” being absurd even
I’m a pretty average PhD student, and I didn’t pursue an Econ PhD because of its issues with race, gender, hierarchy etc etc etc
1) in the minds of some - I know this first hand - it’s “just a women’s issue” … the “just” being absurd even
November 20, 2025 at 12:20 AM
Re: Summers, Sahm and econ’s many other problems.
I’m a pretty average PhD student, and I didn’t pursue an Econ PhD because of its issues with race, gender, hierarchy etc etc etc
1) in the minds of some - I know this first hand - it’s “just a women’s issue” … the “just” being absurd even
I’m a pretty average PhD student, and I didn’t pursue an Econ PhD because of its issues with race, gender, hierarchy etc etc etc
1) in the minds of some - I know this first hand - it’s “just a women’s issue” … the “just” being absurd even
Reposted by Berna Devezer
People using Chrome may want to know about this.
To disable the new default AI mode. Type chrome://flags in your address bar. Search for AI mode in the search box below and disable the three options displayed.
To disable the new default AI mode. Type chrome://flags in your address bar. Search for AI mode in the search box below and disable the three options displayed.
November 19, 2025 at 7:53 PM
People using Chrome may want to know about this.
To disable the new default AI mode. Type chrome://flags in your address bar. Search for AI mode in the search box below and disable the three options displayed.
To disable the new default AI mode. Type chrome://flags in your address bar. Search for AI mode in the search box below and disable the three options displayed.
This maddens me. As if Harvard didn't play a role in its faculty getting chummy with rich and unscrupulous donors. So now they'll scapegoat the faculty (who do share the blame) and the institution will not have to take any accountability for creating the circumstances and incentivizing all of this.
Harvard To Launch New Investigation Into Epstein’s Ties to Summers, Other University Affiliates | News | The Harvard Crimson
Harvard will open a new probe into former University President Lawrence H. Summers’ connections with convicted child sex trafficker Jeffrey E. Epstein, after newly released documents revealed the two ...
www.thecrimson.com
November 19, 2025 at 3:54 PM
This maddens me. As if Harvard didn't play a role in its faculty getting chummy with rich and unscrupulous donors. So now they'll scapegoat the faculty (who do share the blame) and the institution will not have to take any accountability for creating the circumstances and incentivizing all of this.
Reposted by Berna Devezer
In any event, this is the point of the preprint below. The asymmetry here makes it all too easy to distract, delay and bias science without even needing to corrupt a single scientist.
arxiv.org/abs/2510.19894
arxiv.org/abs/2510.19894
The Risks of Industry Influence in Tech Research
Emerging information technologies like social media, search engines, and AI can have a broad impact on public health, political institutions, social dynamics, and the natural world. It is critical to ...
arxiv.org
November 19, 2025 at 2:02 PM
In any event, this is the point of the preprint below. The asymmetry here makes it all too easy to distract, delay and bias science without even needing to corrupt a single scientist.
arxiv.org/abs/2510.19894
arxiv.org/abs/2510.19894
Reposted by Berna Devezer
This exchange about the Meta election collaboration highlights how industry can manufacture doubt without corrupting scientists or creating any sort of conpsiracy. A small 🧵
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Reply to González-Bailón and Lazer: Industry control and conflicts of interest in social media research | PNAS
Reply to González-Bailón and Lazer: Industry control and conflicts of interest in
social media research
www.pnas.org
November 19, 2025 at 1:57 PM
This exchange about the Meta election collaboration highlights how industry can manufacture doubt without corrupting scientists or creating any sort of conpsiracy. A small 🧵
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
academics will call a meeting anything but. retreat, assembly, townhall, gathering, get together, roundtable, forum, meetup, round robin...
no matter how you dress it up, 90% of the time, it could've been an email
no matter how you dress it up, 90% of the time, it could've been an email
November 19, 2025 at 3:36 AM
academics will call a meeting anything but. retreat, assembly, townhall, gathering, get together, roundtable, forum, meetup, round robin...
no matter how you dress it up, 90% of the time, it could've been an email
no matter how you dress it up, 90% of the time, it could've been an email
Reposted by Berna Devezer
“.. The United States is now a nation run by public servants who behave no better than internet trolls ..
“.. Trump’s sexist comments are an attack on women’s dignity — and by making them, he strips the presidency of its dignity too.”
@theatlantic.com
www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/...
“.. Trump’s sexist comments are an attack on women’s dignity — and by making them, he strips the presidency of its dignity too.”
@theatlantic.com
www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/...
November 19, 2025 at 12:15 AM
“.. The United States is now a nation run by public servants who behave no better than internet trolls ..
“.. Trump’s sexist comments are an attack on women’s dignity — and by making them, he strips the presidency of its dignity too.”
@theatlantic.com
www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/...
“.. Trump’s sexist comments are an attack on women’s dignity — and by making them, he strips the presidency of its dignity too.”
@theatlantic.com
www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/...
Looks like a great special issue at a great journal!
Announcement: I am excited to be co-editing (with Li Cai) an upcoming Special Issue of the Journal of Mathematical Psychology on "Advances in Statistical Model Evaluation." Proposals due Feb 1. Details: www.sciencedirect.com/special-issu...
Please repost!
#quantpsych #mathpsych #philsci #statsky
Please repost!
#quantpsych #mathpsych #philsci #statsky
November 18, 2025 at 6:22 PM
Looks like a great special issue at a great journal!
Reposted by Berna Devezer
Announcement: I am excited to be co-editing (with Li Cai) an upcoming Special Issue of the Journal of Mathematical Psychology on "Advances in Statistical Model Evaluation." Proposals due Feb 1. Details: www.sciencedirect.com/special-issu...
Please repost!
#quantpsych #mathpsych #philsci #statsky
Please repost!
#quantpsych #mathpsych #philsci #statsky
November 18, 2025 at 6:18 PM
Announcement: I am excited to be co-editing (with Li Cai) an upcoming Special Issue of the Journal of Mathematical Psychology on "Advances in Statistical Model Evaluation." Proposals due Feb 1. Details: www.sciencedirect.com/special-issu...
Please repost!
#quantpsych #mathpsych #philsci #statsky
Please repost!
#quantpsych #mathpsych #philsci #statsky
I miss consequences
November 18, 2025 at 4:24 PM
I miss consequences
we remedied the situation at dinner. where did thirty years go? where were we when they passed us by? still remember how we met like it was yesterday. been having a blast ever since 🥰🧿
November 18, 2025 at 4:41 AM
we remedied the situation at dinner. where did thirty years go? where were we when they passed us by? still remember how we met like it was yesterday. been having a blast ever since 🥰🧿
no one:
hubby and I: so let's celebrate our 30th anniversary with a leg day
hubby and I: so let's celebrate our 30th anniversary with a leg day
kermit the frog is standing in front of a sign that says mistakes were made .
Alt: kermit the frog with his palm covering half his face, shaking his head. a caption says "mistakes were made".
media.tenor.com
November 18, 2025 at 1:50 AM
no one:
hubby and I: so let's celebrate our 30th anniversary with a leg day
hubby and I: so let's celebrate our 30th anniversary with a leg day
i keep thinking it was a mistake to position statistics as a research method instead of a discipline generating knowledge on its own area of interest. that some of the tools it produces can be successfully deployed in research doesn't change the fact that it rarely delivers what we want it to.
November 17, 2025 at 10:13 PM
i keep thinking it was a mistake to position statistics as a research method instead of a discipline generating knowledge on its own area of interest. that some of the tools it produces can be successfully deployed in research doesn't change the fact that it rarely delivers what we want it to.
Reposted by Berna Devezer
I think we should also distinguish big issues (e.g., restoring public support for science, federal funding) from smaller (details about peer review, F&A rates, the most manufactured "reproducibility crisis" ) - confusing the two has allowed the latter to be weaponized against scientists
November 17, 2025 at 3:22 PM
I think we should also distinguish big issues (e.g., restoring public support for science, federal funding) from smaller (details about peer review, F&A rates, the most manufactured "reproducibility crisis" ) - confusing the two has allowed the latter to be weaponized against scientists
i've never seen people agree on what counts as good or bad writing as much as when they're dissecting the writing of someone everyone loves to hate
November 17, 2025 at 4:29 PM
i've never seen people agree on what counts as good or bad writing as much as when they're dissecting the writing of someone everyone loves to hate
Reposted by Berna Devezer
would you say the thread delivered
November 16, 2025 at 6:32 PM
would you say the thread delivered
Oh no! The sudden noises outside weren't for nothing. The FedEx truck fell into the ditch. On a totally normal, dry day with no water, snow or ice on the ground. I drive up that hill every day and I don't get it. How did they do that?
November 15, 2025 at 9:35 PM
Oh no! The sudden noises outside weren't for nothing. The FedEx truck fell into the ditch. On a totally normal, dry day with no water, snow or ice on the ground. I drive up that hill every day and I don't get it. How did they do that?
circular thinking about science never ceases to surprise me. we keep devising some description of how ideal science should behave that's conditioned on some science that we have already convinced ourselves to be ideal, and then use that description to show why other sciences are less than.
November 15, 2025 at 8:12 PM
circular thinking about science never ceases to surprise me. we keep devising some description of how ideal science should behave that's conditioned on some science that we have already convinced ourselves to be ideal, and then use that description to show why other sciences are less than.
Reposted by Berna Devezer
This "reasonable" assumption is stating that people are doing random experiments with controls. It's a very comfortable model for statisticians, but it's not only untestable, it's condescending and dismissive.
November 15, 2025 at 5:14 PM
This "reasonable" assumption is stating that people are doing random experiments with controls. It's a very comfortable model for statisticians, but it's not only untestable, it's condescending and dismissive.
Currently contemplating quitting adverbs bec I saw some adverb use that irritated me to no end. Does that make me petty or a reactionary? Idk. But maybe it'll make me a better poaster? We shall see.
(Reader I don't actually believe I can stop using adverbs but maybe at least the annoying kind??)
(Reader I don't actually believe I can stop using adverbs but maybe at least the annoying kind??)
November 15, 2025 at 5:16 PM
Currently contemplating quitting adverbs bec I saw some adverb use that irritated me to no end. Does that make me petty or a reactionary? Idk. But maybe it'll make me a better poaster? We shall see.
(Reader I don't actually believe I can stop using adverbs but maybe at least the annoying kind??)
(Reader I don't actually believe I can stop using adverbs but maybe at least the annoying kind??)
Reposted by Berna Devezer
same confusion. It would be a really interesting result if directed search for true results by constrained scientists produces a clean normal distribution of z-scores, but I've only seen that as an assumption
November 15, 2025 at 3:50 PM
same confusion. It would be a really interesting result if directed search for true results by constrained scientists produces a clean normal distribution of z-scores, but I've only seen that as an assumption
Reposted by Berna Devezer
Over on the Gelman blog, there's a post about this histogram of z-scores in published papers. I'm always baffled by the discourse around it. Why is this plot a symptom of a problem? Under what model would we expect this to be a bell curve?
November 15, 2025 at 3:31 PM
Over on the Gelman blog, there's a post about this histogram of z-scores in published papers. I'm always baffled by the discourse around it. Why is this plot a symptom of a problem? Under what model would we expect this to be a bell curve?
hubby took me on a surprise horseback riding excursion this afternoon and we both so needed the mental reset this week. the weather cooperated by holding off the rain for a bit and we enjoyed riding up and down the rolling hills. also paris was the absolute beautiful princess to ride ❤️
November 14, 2025 at 11:27 PM
hubby took me on a surprise horseback riding excursion this afternoon and we both so needed the mental reset this week. the weather cooperated by holding off the rain for a bit and we enjoyed riding up and down the rolling hills. also paris was the absolute beautiful princess to ride ❤️