Jim Thompson
@jimthommo.bsky.social
He/him. Professor of Psychology at GMU. I study social perception and cognition. Carlton supporter.
It puts the lotion on its skin, Charlie Brown, or else it gets the hose again
You have friends nowhere, Charlie Brown.
We were somewhere around Barstow on the edge of the desert when the drugs began to take hold, Charlie Brown
November 24, 2025 at 2:28 AM
It puts the lotion on its skin, Charlie Brown, or else it gets the hose again
Reposted by Jim Thompson
Not directly related to @neurograce.bsky.social’s comment here but to the thread: I am baffled by the number of people who seem to think the claim is that all brain computation is low-d vs. the *emprical* finding that task-related neural activity is (linear) low-d in many (not all) cases.
This kind of stuff is why I say that I worry that the tools of neuroscience are not properly vetted
“Our findings challenge the conventional focus on low-dimensional coding subspaces as a sufficient framework for understanding neural computations, demonstrating that dimensions previously considered task-irrelevant and accounting for little variance can have a critical role in driving behavior.”
November 24, 2025 at 1:16 AM
Not directly related to @neurograce.bsky.social’s comment here but to the thread: I am baffled by the number of people who seem to think the claim is that all brain computation is low-d vs. the *emprical* finding that task-related neural activity is (linear) low-d in many (not all) cases.
Reposted by Jim Thompson
Really important to stress that the Crown Jewels of the US higher education system were never the Ivies or elite SLACs (other countries have equivalents of these) but the well-funded, large, cheap, and excellently staffed public state university systems bringing high quality education to the masses.
One of the bragging rights that the US ed system had in the 20th century is that we didn't have education tracks. Essentially, any kid could go to a CC or state school & major in whatever they wanted to (obviously an oversimplification). I fear this aspect of the American dream is dying.
November 23, 2025 at 5:18 PM
Really important to stress that the Crown Jewels of the US higher education system were never the Ivies or elite SLACs (other countries have equivalents of these) but the well-funded, large, cheap, and excellently staffed public state university systems bringing high quality education to the masses.
Reposted by Jim Thompson
This Is Just To Say
I have read
the poems
that were in
the screenshots
and which
you were probably
hoping
would entice
Forgive me
I cannot read more
so gross
and so wrong
I have read
the poems
that were in
the screenshots
and which
you were probably
hoping
would entice
Forgive me
I cannot read more
so gross
and so wrong
November 22, 2025 at 1:38 PM
This Is Just To Say
I have read
the poems
that were in
the screenshots
and which
you were probably
hoping
would entice
Forgive me
I cannot read more
so gross
and so wrong
I have read
the poems
that were in
the screenshots
and which
you were probably
hoping
would entice
Forgive me
I cannot read more
so gross
and so wrong
Putting aside all the criticisms of twin design methodology, this is enough to put them to bed as any sort of gold standard. No-one with half a brain believed the 50-60 (70+!)% heritability estimates for complex traits
"It may be uncomfortable to conclude that a widely used study design has been producing spurious results. But the evidence is in, and telling uncomfortable truths is a part of doing science."
Problems with twin studies.
theinfinitesimal.substack.com/p/the-missin...
Problems with twin studies.
theinfinitesimal.substack.com/p/the-missin...
The missing heritability question is now (mostly) answered
Not with a bang but with a whimper
theinfinitesimal.substack.com
November 22, 2025 at 2:46 PM
Putting aside all the criticisms of twin design methodology, this is enough to put them to bed as any sort of gold standard. No-one with half a brain believed the 50-60 (70+!)% heritability estimates for complex traits
It is nuts that these are highlights from one day! Head's innings was a brutal reply to bazball youtu.be/I2g0pGqYOIs?...
Australia v England 2025-26 | First Ashes Test | Day Two
YouTube video by cricket.com.au
youtu.be
November 22, 2025 at 2:03 PM
It is nuts that these are highlights from one day! Head's innings was a brutal reply to bazball youtu.be/I2g0pGqYOIs?...
At this rate is the test in Perth even going to go to day three?
November 22, 2025 at 3:17 AM
At this rate is the test in Perth even going to go to day three?
It's been a week but just wow
A lot of people say the New Deal was strong but I think me and my friend the socialist mayor can do better - the Beautiful Deal. Even newer and better. No one has ever seen anything like it. Everyone is going to say good about it.
November 22, 2025 at 12:32 AM
It's been a week but just wow
Bowdoin scrambling to disown him
completely outside of politics, this is so charming
November 21, 2025 at 4:50 PM
Bowdoin scrambling to disown him
Big Mitch Starc is on fire!
November 21, 2025 at 3:15 AM
Big Mitch Starc is on fire!
Reposted by Jim Thompson
The President of the United States just called for Democratic members of Congress to be executed. "HANG THEM", he posted.
If you're a person of influence in this country and you haven't picked a side, maybe now would be the time to pick a fucking side.
If you're a person of influence in this country and you haven't picked a side, maybe now would be the time to pick a fucking side.
November 20, 2025 at 4:15 PM
The President of the United States just called for Democratic members of Congress to be executed. "HANG THEM", he posted.
If you're a person of influence in this country and you haven't picked a side, maybe now would be the time to pick a fucking side.
If you're a person of influence in this country and you haven't picked a side, maybe now would be the time to pick a fucking side.
Reposted by Jim Thompson
They lied about it. All of it. A thug cop shot an unarmed woman five times without justification, boasted about it to his colleagues, and then this administration tried cover it all up by arresting her and charging her with felonies.
Absolutely incredible; after shooting Marimar Martinez 5 times and arresting her on claims that she rammed them and pulled a gun, prosecutors have now moved to dismiss ALL criminal charges against her and her codefendant.
New: the govt has moved to dismiss its assault case against Marimar Martinez and Anthony Ian Santos Ruiz, two people accused of "box[ing] in" a Border Patrol vehicle in Chicago on Oct. 4.
One agent shot Martinez, with evidence presented to the court that he later bragged about in text messages.
One agent shot Martinez, with evidence presented to the court that he later bragged about in text messages.
November 20, 2025 at 6:24 PM
They lied about it. All of it. A thug cop shot an unarmed woman five times without justification, boasted about it to his colleagues, and then this administration tried cover it all up by arresting her and charging her with felonies.
This is a great point. Repubs saw they were in a minority and saw gerrymandering as a solution. Dems saw they were in the majority but this wasn't reflected in power. And as the gerrymandering norms were now broken, why not?
one thing i think is true is that republicans assumed that democrats would not respond in kind and that the forceful pushback spooked them (a lesson to learn here, perhaps)
Trump's corrupt scheme to rig 2026 is suddenly falling apart:
*Court strikes down Texas GOP gerrymander
*Indiana GOP lacks votes to redraw map
*Big Dem win in Virginia could give Ds more seats
On the pod, DLCC head Heather Williams is informative on what's next:
newrepublic.com/article/2033...
*Court strikes down Texas GOP gerrymander
*Indiana GOP lacks votes to redraw map
*Big Dem win in Virginia could give Ds more seats
On the pod, DLCC head Heather Williams is informative on what's next:
newrepublic.com/article/2033...
November 19, 2025 at 2:47 PM
This is a great point. Repubs saw they were in a minority and saw gerrymandering as a solution. Dems saw they were in the majority but this wasn't reflected in power. And as the gerrymandering norms were now broken, why not?
Reposted by Jim Thompson
This was the worst way to find out Keith Olbermann is on bluesky.
November 18, 2025 at 3:09 PM
This was the worst way to find out Keith Olbermann is on bluesky.
Reposted by Jim Thompson
I gasped.
On a side note, he does have a point about the bamboo. I once spent a summer with my dad trying to pull it out of our backyard and it was brutal
On a side note, he does have a point about the bamboo. I once spent a summer with my dad trying to pull it out of our backyard and it was brutal
oh my god you have to read this until the end www.telos.news/p/part-1-how...
Part 1: How I Found Out
Olivia had just returned from a reporting trip—at least that’s what she told me it was—and her Herschel backpack, the one with the flap that never quite closed properly, was tossed beside our bed, its...
www.telos.news
November 18, 2025 at 1:37 AM
I gasped.
On a side note, he does have a point about the bamboo. I once spent a summer with my dad trying to pull it out of our backyard and it was brutal
On a side note, he does have a point about the bamboo. I once spent a summer with my dad trying to pull it out of our backyard and it was brutal
Me in the self-assessment part of my annual review
November 16, 2025 at 4:37 AM
Me in the self-assessment part of my annual review
This 2003 John Peel doc on Richard Thompson is so good youtu.be/Zmfd6iX9qYU?... While Thommo is the star, there is a great interview with Linda in here too
November 16, 2025 at 3:13 AM
This 2003 John Peel doc on Richard Thompson is so good youtu.be/Zmfd6iX9qYU?... While Thommo is the star, there is a great interview with Linda in here too
Tank pretty much empty for the Wallabies but it would be good to put up a solid performance against Ireland
November 15, 2025 at 7:56 PM
Tank pretty much empty for the Wallabies but it would be good to put up a solid performance against Ireland
This is a deeply troubling read. Clearly Sheridan, Manning, and others from the UVA Board must resign immediately. And given what's been happening at GMU I think several members of the current GMU board might need to reconsider if they are suited for their roles
Former UVA president Jim Ryan, who resigned over the summer due to pressure from the Trump Administration, just shared this 12-page letter with the Faculty Senate, detailing his experience with the Board of Visitors and DOJ.
It's a surreal--and troubling--read.
drive.google.com/file/d/1Is6x...
It's a surreal--and troubling--read.
drive.google.com/file/d/1Is6x...
November 14, 2025 at 5:35 PM
This is a deeply troubling read. Clearly Sheridan, Manning, and others from the UVA Board must resign immediately. And given what's been happening at GMU I think several members of the current GMU board might need to reconsider if they are suited for their roles
One of the tidbits from the Jim Ryan (fmr UVA Pres) letter is the deep involvement of one Beth Wilkinson in both this and the Columbia U case. I wonder where else she has been...
November 14, 2025 at 5:28 PM
One of the tidbits from the Jim Ryan (fmr UVA Pres) letter is the deep involvement of one Beth Wilkinson in both this and the Columbia U case. I wonder where else she has been...
Reposted by Jim Thompson
my takeaway from this letter is that glenn youngkin, rector sheridan and their flunkies on the board are deeply dishonest people who are engaged, with the trump administration, in a mob-style shakedown against the university of virginia
Former UVA president Jim Ryan, who resigned over the summer due to pressure from the Trump Administration, just shared this 12-page letter with the Faculty Senate, detailing his experience with the Board of Visitors and DOJ.
It's a surreal--and troubling--read.
drive.google.com/file/d/1Is6x...
It's a surreal--and troubling--read.
drive.google.com/file/d/1Is6x...
November 14, 2025 at 2:47 PM
my takeaway from this letter is that glenn youngkin, rector sheridan and their flunkies on the board are deeply dishonest people who are engaged, with the trump administration, in a mob-style shakedown against the university of virginia
Not all who wander are lost. But sometimes they are, and they just want some bloody directions to get un-lost and not have to run in a ditch
November 14, 2025 at 3:59 PM
Not all who wander are lost. But sometimes they are, and they just want some bloody directions to get un-lost and not have to run in a ditch