Erik Blaser
@erikblaser.bsky.social
Professor (developmental cognitive neuroscience and visual psychophysics) at a public University. Living around Boston. Dad of two daughters. (Views are my own)
Reposted by Erik Blaser
Faculty colleagues, please let your students know about our PhD program in Developmental and Brain Sciences at UMass Boston! Online info session coming up on 10/22 at 4.30 pm. Applications are due 12/1/25
www.umb.edu/academics/pr...
#devpsych #devsky #AcademicSky
www.umb.edu/academics/pr...
#devpsych #devsky #AcademicSky
Developmental & Brain Sciences PhD
UMass Boston's Developmental and Brain Sciences (DBS) PhD is a research-intensive program focused on understanding cognition, perception, and behavior when underlying neural and hormonal mechanisms ar...
www.umb.edu
October 10, 2025 at 5:22 PM
Faculty colleagues, please let your students know about our PhD program in Developmental and Brain Sciences at UMass Boston! Online info session coming up on 10/22 at 4.30 pm. Applications are due 12/1/25
www.umb.edu/academics/pr...
#devpsych #devsky #AcademicSky
www.umb.edu/academics/pr...
#devpsych #devsky #AcademicSky
Reposted by Erik Blaser
Have you ever wondered whether going to school IN AND OF ITSELF improves children’s thinking skills? We found that it does! But not by much (about 1/4 standard deviations). Meta-analysis with Jamie Donenfeld and @erikblaser.bsky.social #DevPsySky #PsySciSky www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
School changes minds: A meta-analysis shows that schooling modestly improves children’s executive functions
Formal schooling places new demands on young children, requiring the inhibition of prepotent responses, sustained attention to instructions, and compl…
www.sciencedirect.com
October 8, 2025 at 12:05 AM
Have you ever wondered whether going to school IN AND OF ITSELF improves children’s thinking skills? We found that it does! But not by much (about 1/4 standard deviations). Meta-analysis with Jamie Donenfeld and @erikblaser.bsky.social #DevPsySky #PsySciSky www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Reposted by Erik Blaser
ICE officers stopped a family at gunpoint and smashed the car window on top of the newborn baby. “I was screaming that there was a baby,” cried the mother. “But they didn’t care,” and covered the baby with their bodies, fearing that the glass would hurt him.
October 4, 2025 at 2:42 AM
ICE officers stopped a family at gunpoint and smashed the car window on top of the newborn baby. “I was screaming that there was a baby,” cried the mother. “But they didn’t care,” and covered the baby with their bodies, fearing that the glass would hurt him.
Reposted by Erik Blaser
Firing a Black woman for quoting Kirk’s horrific statements about Black women is insane. It seems the Washington Post would rather perform politeness (and demand that the people Kirk harmed do it too) that tell the truth: karenattiah.substack.com/p/the-washin...
The Washington Post Fired Me — But My Voice Will Not Be Silenced.
I spoke out against hatred and violence in America — and it cost me my job.
karenattiah.substack.com
September 15, 2025 at 12:22 PM
Firing a Black woman for quoting Kirk’s horrific statements about Black women is insane. It seems the Washington Post would rather perform politeness (and demand that the people Kirk harmed do it too) that tell the truth: karenattiah.substack.com/p/the-washin...
Reposted by Erik Blaser
Other countries tax their billionaires to help its citizens. Republicans in our country believe it’s better to take away healthcare & other life-saving services, your hard earned benefits & take away regulations that keep you safe & healthy. All this & more to give to our billionaires
#ProudBlue
#ProudBlue
July 26, 2025 at 8:43 PM
Other countries tax their billionaires to help its citizens. Republicans in our country believe it’s better to take away healthcare & other life-saving services, your hard earned benefits & take away regulations that keep you safe & healthy. All this & more to give to our billionaires
#ProudBlue
#ProudBlue
Reposted by Erik Blaser
📌The President of the United States posted a FAKE VIDEO TO THE WORLD of a kneeling Barack Obama being placed in handcuffs, and we are supposed go along like it is just another day.
Our press has so completely lost the thread it would be laughable if it wasn't so damn dangerous and disgusting.
Our press has so completely lost the thread it would be laughable if it wasn't so damn dangerous and disgusting.
July 21, 2025 at 3:03 PM
📌The President of the United States posted a FAKE VIDEO TO THE WORLD of a kneeling Barack Obama being placed in handcuffs, and we are supposed go along like it is just another day.
Our press has so completely lost the thread it would be laughable if it wasn't so damn dangerous and disgusting.
Our press has so completely lost the thread it would be laughable if it wasn't so damn dangerous and disgusting.
Reposted by Erik Blaser
NY Times showing how to both sides the secret police abduction squads story
July 21, 2025 at 10:49 AM
NY Times showing how to both sides the secret police abduction squads story
Reposted by Erik Blaser
For years, there have been loose ends, unanswered questions, unreleased documents, and an endless amount of fodder for future conspiracy theories bit.ly/4117Cre
There's a lot we still don’t know about Jeffrey Epstein
Amid the conspiracy theories, the totality of Epstein’s crimes—and how he made his fortune—is still a disturbing mystery.
www.motherjones.com
July 19, 2025 at 4:42 PM
For years, there have been loose ends, unanswered questions, unreleased documents, and an endless amount of fodder for future conspiracy theories bit.ly/4117Cre
Reposted by Erik Blaser
The votes of Senate Republicans on the Judiciary Committee are simply shameful. While a President should be given some measure of deference in their appointments-even life time appointments-advice and consent does not mean rubber stamp. This man has no business being anywhere near the federal bench
Emil Bove won’t say Biden won the 2020 election (by 7 million votes, 306-232 in the electoral college), won’t say Jan 6 was an insurrection, and won’t even say Trump can’t run for a third term under the Constitution…
Emil Bove declines to rule out 3rd Trump term or denounce Jan. 6 rioters in Senate questionnaire
Emil Bove declined to rule out the possibility of a third Trump term and did not denounce the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol in a questionnaire submitted to a Senate panel.
www.cbsnews.com
July 18, 2025 at 5:08 PM
The votes of Senate Republicans on the Judiciary Committee are simply shameful. While a President should be given some measure of deference in their appointments-even life time appointments-advice and consent does not mean rubber stamp. This man has no business being anywhere near the federal bench
Reposted by Erik Blaser
Fun fact: Chris Wright is former CEO of oil company Liberty Energy and ex-director of oil & gas lobby group Western Energy Alliance.
Not mentioned by @economist.com
Heatwave is a weird time to publish climate denial from a fossil fuel lobbyist
www.desmog.com/2025/02/17/u... @desmog.com
Not mentioned by @economist.com
Heatwave is a weird time to publish climate denial from a fossil fuel lobbyist
www.desmog.com/2025/02/17/u... @desmog.com
“Yes, atmospheric CO2 has increased over time—but so has life expectancy,” writes Chris Wright. In a guest essay America’s energy secretary invites the world to rethink renewable energy
econ.st/4kCU2kY
Illustration: Dan Williams
econ.st/4kCU2kY
Illustration: Dan Williams
July 16, 2025 at 7:53 PM
Fun fact: Chris Wright is former CEO of oil company Liberty Energy and ex-director of oil & gas lobby group Western Energy Alliance.
Not mentioned by @economist.com
Heatwave is a weird time to publish climate denial from a fossil fuel lobbyist
www.desmog.com/2025/02/17/u... @desmog.com
Not mentioned by @economist.com
Heatwave is a weird time to publish climate denial from a fossil fuel lobbyist
www.desmog.com/2025/02/17/u... @desmog.com
Reposted by Erik Blaser
Trump's big, ugly budget megabill gives ICE more cops than the FBI, more jails than the federal Bureau of Prisons, and a larger budget than most countries' militaries. Once the bill is fully implemented, nowhere in America will be safe from Trump's secret police state.
July 14, 2025 at 4:48 PM
Trump's big, ugly budget megabill gives ICE more cops than the FBI, more jails than the federal Bureau of Prisons, and a larger budget than most countries' militaries. Once the bill is fully implemented, nowhere in America will be safe from Trump's secret police state.
Reposted by Erik Blaser
Reposted by Erik Blaser
July 12, 2025 at 1:59 AM
Reposted by Erik Blaser
There were a lot of folks here insisting yesterday that weather service cuts had no impact on Texas flood deaths. There’s zero way you can draw conclusions like hours later. Important follow up here. www.nytimes.com/2025/07/05/u...
As Floods Hit, Key Roles Were Vacant at Weather Service Offices in Texas
www.nytimes.com
July 6, 2025 at 12:56 PM
There were a lot of folks here insisting yesterday that weather service cuts had no impact on Texas flood deaths. There’s zero way you can draw conclusions like hours later. Important follow up here. www.nytimes.com/2025/07/05/u...
Reposted by Erik Blaser
Step 1: cut the National Weather Service, FEMA and other agencies
Step 2: pray when people die
Step 2: pray when people die
July 5, 2025 at 5:55 PM
Step 1: cut the National Weather Service, FEMA and other agencies
Step 2: pray when people die
Step 2: pray when people die
Reposted by Erik Blaser
Grok is no longer woke.
They did it! Go team
July 5, 2025 at 11:37 PM
Grok is no longer woke.
Reposted by Erik Blaser
I received this email from the SSA as well. It is a complete lie. Social Security income is still taxed — the Big, Ugly Bill did NOTHING to change that.
Welcome to 1984, folks.
Welcome to 1984, folks.
July 4, 2025 at 11:12 AM
I received this email from the SSA as well. It is a complete lie. Social Security income is still taxed — the Big, Ugly Bill did NOTHING to change that.
Welcome to 1984, folks.
Welcome to 1984, folks.
Reposted by Erik Blaser
I don’t think anyone is prepared for what they just did w/ ICE.
This is not a simple budget increase. It is an explosion - making ICE bigger than the FBI, US Bureau of Prisons, DEA,& others combined.
It is setting up to make what’s happening now look like child’s play. And people are disappearing.
This is not a simple budget increase. It is an explosion - making ICE bigger than the FBI, US Bureau of Prisons, DEA,& others combined.
It is setting up to make what’s happening now look like child’s play. And people are disappearing.
July 3, 2025 at 6:58 PM
I don’t think anyone is prepared for what they just did w/ ICE.
This is not a simple budget increase. It is an explosion - making ICE bigger than the FBI, US Bureau of Prisons, DEA,& others combined.
It is setting up to make what’s happening now look like child’s play. And people are disappearing.
This is not a simple budget increase. It is an explosion - making ICE bigger than the FBI, US Bureau of Prisons, DEA,& others combined.
It is setting up to make what’s happening now look like child’s play. And people are disappearing.
Reposted by Erik Blaser
If someone doesn’t ask Karoline Leavitt why she posted on social media that this bill includes no taxes on Social Security when she knows it is a lie and she intentionally lied to the American people, everyone in the room should lose their jobs.
July 3, 2025 at 12:33 PM
If someone doesn’t ask Karoline Leavitt why she posted on social media that this bill includes no taxes on Social Security when she knows it is a lie and she intentionally lied to the American people, everyone in the room should lose their jobs.
Reposted by Erik Blaser
As we knew it was going to happen, like clockwork, they're now saying they're going to prioritize denaturalizing citizens. We knew that was what they were working towards and that they are not going to stop there. Being quiet, seeing how far they will go is not an option.
thehill.com/policy/natio...
thehill.com/policy/natio...
thehill.com
July 2, 2025 at 9:23 PM
As we knew it was going to happen, like clockwork, they're now saying they're going to prioritize denaturalizing citizens. We knew that was what they were working towards and that they are not going to stop there. Being quiet, seeing how far they will go is not an option.
thehill.com/policy/natio...
thehill.com/policy/natio...
Reposted by Erik Blaser
This is not normal
July 1, 2025 at 9:27 PM
This is not normal
Reposted by Erik Blaser
The White House has ordered the US Dept. of Justice to prioritize denaturalization: voiding the citizenship of US citizens.
Who will it denaturalize? "Any" case that it "determines to be sufficiently important".
Point 10 leaves the criteria opaque and arbitrary.
substack.com/redirect/169...
Who will it denaturalize? "Any" case that it "determines to be sufficiently important".
Point 10 leaves the criteria opaque and arbitrary.
substack.com/redirect/169...
June 30, 2025 at 5:58 PM
The White House has ordered the US Dept. of Justice to prioritize denaturalization: voiding the citizenship of US citizens.
Who will it denaturalize? "Any" case that it "determines to be sufficiently important".
Point 10 leaves the criteria opaque and arbitrary.
substack.com/redirect/169...
Who will it denaturalize? "Any" case that it "determines to be sufficiently important".
Point 10 leaves the criteria opaque and arbitrary.
substack.com/redirect/169...
Reposted by Erik Blaser
NEW: Kristi Noem, while governor of South Dakota, supplemented her roughly $130,000 salary by secretly accepting $80,000 donated to a political nonprofit she was affiliated with, records show.
She never disclosed this income on federal ethics forms.
She never disclosed this income on federal ethics forms.
Kristi Noem Secretly Took a Cut of Political Donations
A dark money group paid $80,000 to Noem’s personal company when she was governor of South Dakota. She did not include this income on her federal disclosure forms, a likely violation of ethics…
www.propublica.org
June 30, 2025 at 11:45 AM
NEW: Kristi Noem, while governor of South Dakota, supplemented her roughly $130,000 salary by secretly accepting $80,000 donated to a political nonprofit she was affiliated with, records show.
She never disclosed this income on federal ethics forms.
She never disclosed this income on federal ethics forms.
Reposted by Erik Blaser
Call Blackburn & Hagerty and make them know you know
June 29, 2025 at 1:03 PM
Call Blackburn & Hagerty and make them know you know
Reposted by Erik Blaser
I have literally never seen a graph like this once in all my years of being an election sicko
18-24 always lags, always, it’s just a natural law of politics
and this is the guy they want to throw out of the party?!
18-24 always lags, always, it’s just a natural law of politics
and this is the guy they want to throw out of the party?!
June 29, 2025 at 4:18 PM
I have literally never seen a graph like this once in all my years of being an election sicko
18-24 always lags, always, it’s just a natural law of politics
and this is the guy they want to throw out of the party?!
18-24 always lags, always, it’s just a natural law of politics
and this is the guy they want to throw out of the party?!