Epistemology, Cognition, and the Future of Technology

  1. 'Glow Kids' Cites Bad Research

    I recently finished the pop-science book 'Glow Kids', which is a reasonably compelling look at the damage screen culture is having on children.  Unfortunately, the author was fooled by some fraudulent research.   The Cover of 'Glow Kids'Glow Kids and Screens ThemselvesI think about quite a bit is the separation of…
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  2. Never Say 'Statistically Significant' Again

    2019 was the year of revolt against 'statistical significance', with major critiques signed by hundreds of statisticians appearing across many major journals.  We're witnessing a fundamental change in how we evaluate and condense academic literature; a tectonic shift away from misapplied frequentist statistical techniques that have led to decades of…
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  3. Quick Note on Rationality

    Rationality has two definitions that I frequently come across– here's a quick note on some important concepts related to the idea. Rationality in EconomicsIn economics, the word 'rational' is used to describe self-consistency– i.e. if you prefer A over B over C, you prefer A over C.  You have…
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  4. The Lever Problem

    The modern academic and journalistic refrain calls out the same arguments– Twitter, Facebook, and Google are radicalizing our political dialog, supplanting our meaningful social connections, and driving us towards predictable consumerist self-medication.  The only solution is more oversight, increased regulation, and tighter control of our communication technologies.  This analysis has…
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  5. Contextualizing Data from the Facebook Emotion Contagion Study

    In 2014, Facebook published their famous Emotion Contagion study, to massive controversy.  This study is still frequently cited as an example of the manipulative potential of social media, which is an egregious characterization.  In this post, I'm going to walk through the statistics so we can see what we can…
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  6. How to Tell if your Eye-Tracking IR Diode is Safe

    Infrared (IR) Diodes are very popular now for illuminating the eye for eye-tracking purposes.  Of course, projecting stuff into your eye comes with hazards, and we want to make sure these things are safe.  I've been working on an IR blink sensor, and while many papers in academia seem to…
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