iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Liz Renner @lrrenner.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

the giant spider invasion begins... now

Mystery Science Theater 3000 watches the Giant Spider Invasion

Liz Renner @lrrenner.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Jeez! In another one, "the life stages" is replaced with "a life sentence". 🤦 Transcription usually does well with my American accent, but I think the freshers flu coughing must've really messed with it last year

A screengrab from a lecture capture.

The slide says "Key concepts in Developmental Psychology"

The transcript says "The first thing we're going to do is talk about a life sentence."

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Liz Renner @lrrenner.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Just reviewing my intro to developmental psych lecture from last year and realising that the captioning needs some work ("the end of life" or "the end of life period" is rendered as "the end of the world") although it is reflecting the current mood, so

Screengrab of a lecture recording.

The slide says "What is developmental psychology?

Developmental psychology covers all aspects of human development across the lifespan, from infancy through adulthood."

The caption says "adolescence, adulthood and going to live adulthood and the end of the world."

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Liz Renner @lrrenner.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

also reminds me (for some reason) of imgs.xkcd.com/comics/unive...

XKCD comic with a Venn diagram. The circles are labelled "things on the front page of a university website" and "things people go to the site looking for" (including "campus address"). The only thing in the overlap is "full name of school".

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Liz Renner @lrrenner.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

Why yes I *will* buy every exotic flavor that Jaffa Cake comes out with... the UK is basically a tropical island now anyway

A box of Jaffa Cakes Mango Flavour that shouted to me from the supermarket shelf.

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Liz Renner @lrrenner.bsky.social · 25/07/2026

Scottish summer returns. (This is what my first ~8 summers here looked like)

A weather report for the next 10 days, showing high temperatures between 17 and 20C, and a chance of rain most days

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Liz Renner @lrrenner.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

This is becoming the morning ritual: snuggles (plus coffee) before work.

A sleepy sphynx cat rests on a pink blanket

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Liz Renner @lrrenner.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

The cat knows he has been Caught. Doesn't even bother to run, just enjoys the sunbeam 🤷

A sphynx cat standing/hunching in a large ceramic bowl on a windowsill looks toward the camera.

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Liz Renner @lrrenner.bsky.social · 19/07/2026

A fledgling gull got stuck in the back garden of our rental when we were in the middle of moving, and the chance to observe gulls up close has made me fall in love with them.... they're so silly, and smart, and cool!

A sphynx cat observes a young gull through a window. The gull is standing on a wall.

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Liz Renner @lrrenner.bsky.social · 11/07/2026

who can resist a little weekend snooze?

A one-eyed sphynx cat, eye closed, rests under a pink blanket

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Liz Renner @lrrenner.bsky.social · 21/06/2026

Should we be teaching our students to write for a general audience or their peers?

for example, in a 2014 study of more than two thousand undergraduate writing assignments from a variety of disciplines at US universities, Dan Melzer found that students were asked to write for general audiences only 7 percent of the time and to their own peers only 6 percent of the time. The situation shifts only marginally in graduate school; unless doctoral students are pursuing a PhD by publication, most write for an audience of just a few people, namely, their dissertation adviser and the members of their examining committee. Even published academics may find it difficult to imagine real people---interested colleagues rather than pejorative judges---sitting at the other end of their sentences. Literary scholar Janelle Jenstad confessed that it took her many years to stop "writing up" to an audience that she felt was judging her

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Liz Renner @lrrenner.bsky.social · 21/06/2026

And sometimes, if you're an anthropologist or a psychologist, your reader will actually be a participant or subject of your research

Anthropologists, Behar observes, used to have no conception that their own research subjects might be among their future readers:

They worked in peripheral areas and brought that knowledge back to the metropolis. But now the people we have studied talk back to us.

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Liz Renner @lrrenner.bsky.social · 21/06/2026

This quote is about the ethical imperative of communicating with the public about your work (which I agree with). While this is definitely true for some values of "funded", in the current environment, not so much actual funding of research is going on. Anyway, Padgett is right.

The taxpayer has just funded your research. The least you can do is tell them what you did. (Miles Padgett, Physics, University of Glasgow)

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Liz Renner @lrrenner.bsky.social · 21/06/2026

It's always enjoyable to see familiar names and hear that they are people, who have processes. Anyway, Russell Gray tells us we have to tailor work for our audience. Which I *know*, but do I actually do it? 🤔

Whether they tailor their writing for specific audiences or cast a wider net, I found, virtually all successful academics put enormout amounts of craft and care into making their work accessible to their chosen readers. I heard versions of this message from scientists:

How I would write an article for submission to, say, Nature and Science is very different from how I would write if I wanted to submit it to a more specialist disciplinary journal. That's very

different from how I write a grant application, and again that's very different from writing a review-style article. (Russell Gray, Director, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History)

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Liz Renner @lrrenner.bsky.social · 21/06/2026

The first part of this section is "writing for others", considering the reader. Leah Price notes that boredom is the enemy. I totally get that writing should come from a position of strength rather than be defensive (which can come across badly).

All too often, in fact, our imagined reader is what literary scholar Leah Price describes as "a stern critic who is weighing how original and how learned we are," rather than "someone who could enjoy and be entertained and amused and excited by our writing." Our real enemy, according to Price, "isn't disapproval or bad reviews or that imaginary critic who's poking holes in your argument":

The thing we should be afraid of is indifference or boredom: not making our argument interesting enough for someone even

to care whether it has holes in it. (Leah Price, English, Harvard University)

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Liz Renner @lrrenner.bsky.social · 21/06/2026

OK this mofo is due back at the library this week so I guess I should finish it

The cover of the book Air & Light & Time & Space: How Successful Academics Write by Helen Seord

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Liz Renner @lrrenner.bsky.social · 21/06/2026

Why did I buy all these cat toys over the years when I could have just invited a fly inside and entertained them for eternity 🤦

A sphynx cat sitting politely and staring raptly at something (a fly, out of frame)

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Liz Renner @lrrenner.bsky.social · 19/06/2026

Ooof, it's kinda yucky out there. And it's Review Day, so I'm working on reviews, so many reviews! Grateful to the scientists doing interesting work, the editors keeping the knowledge system going, and the people who review my work (among others). It's a cool system! (even if it's flawed)

A view out a window with lots of raindrops on it. The view is of a (blurry) grassy garden.

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Liz Renner @lrrenner.bsky.social · 07/06/2026

I think he likes getting his chin scratched

A sphynx cat wrapped in a grey blanket, eyes closed, with his chin being scratched

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Liz Renner @lrrenner.bsky.social · 02/06/2026

Two really nice quotes on this page. One thing I've heard of people trying is having a text-to-speech program read a draft to you. But I have never done this myself. Maybe worth a try?

What's more, many of them relish rather than resist the effort and challenge involved:

I hear the sound of the words as I write, and I care about that. I derive pleasure from polishing my work and hearing it; I take pleasure in getting the language right. (Kevin Kenny, History, Boston College)

Perhaps it's a matter of reframing what we mean by success:

Success is a process, a mindful process. A lot of students make the mistake of comparing their beginning efforts with other people's final products, which is not a smart thing to do, since rarely do you start with something wonderful. And even if you did, it wouldn't be any fun. (Ellen Langer, Psychology, Harvard University)

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Liz Renner @lrrenner.bsky.social · 02/06/2026

The quoted academic is right about a lot of things in a short 2 sentences!

text on a page;

"They think about concision:

The quality I try for most in my writing is succinctness---some people waffle on so much---but it's bloody hard. I think it's one of the hardest forms of writing. (Michael Corballis, Psychology, University of Auckland)"

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Liz Renner @lrrenner.bsky.social · 02/06/2026

Hey, look who it is! I am impressed at what feel like deep cuts in the cognitive and human sciences.

text on a page:
As cultural evolutionists Peter Richerson and Robert Boyd remind us, the default mode of learning in most human societies is to "imitate the common type"; we acquire new skills mainly by observing those around us and doing what they do. A well-designed course moves students beyond the default by equipping them with the confidence and skills that they need to challenge preconceptions, try out new approaches, and create new knowledge. Yet many academics remain remarkably resistant to the notion that they, like their students, might benefit from expert-facilitated courses in writing, teaching, or other essential academic skills---an attitude that contrasts starkly with the disposition of their colleagues in fields such as medicine, law, or engineering, for whom ongoing professional development is not only expected but required.

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Liz Renner @lrrenner.bsky.social · 02/06/2026

Luckily this is clarified somewhat by this passage. (Which also points out where modern universities may sometimes be falling down on the job...)

text on a page:
[...] Those institutions, in turn, operate according to the premise that students learn most effectively and efficiently when guided through a formal learning program built on educational units called "courses." (Local terminology may vary.) A course is iterative, cohort based, expert facilitated, research informed, and complemented by a range of learning activities intended to deepen and accelerate both in-class and out-of-class learning: for example, readings, discussions, field trips, research and writing assignments, and group projects. Students receive formative feedback about their learning, and they demonstrate their mastery through summative assessments such as quizzes, tests, examinations, essays, projects, or presentations. In return, their achievements are recognized through some kind of certification, such as a letter of completion or a formal accreditation.

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Liz Renner @lrrenner.bsky.social · 02/06/2026

I think the point made with this graph is that only 15% of academic writers surveyed received any form of formal writing training in their discipline. Tbh I'm not even sure what formal writing training in my discipline would look like: a graduate-level class? A multi-day/ -week/ -month workshop?

A pie graph, showing a 15% slice at the top labelled "Formal", a 38% slice on the lower right labelled "Semiformal", and a 47% slice on the left labelled "Informal".

The caption states: Figure 4. Types of learning reported in interviews and questionnaires in response to the question "How did you learn to write in your discipline?" (n = 1,323). Semiformal may include some informal learning; formal may include both informal and semiformal learning (see pages 215-216).

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Liz Renner @lrrenner.bsky.social · 30/05/2026

Ah yes, we are entering the 17+ hours of daylight phase of the year. Only ~6 more weeks of this, I guess. Can't decide if I love it or hate it 🤷

Weather app screen showing sunset at 21:39 with sunrise at 04:45.

Precipitation: 2mm expected
Visibility: 15 miles
Humidity: 88%
Moon: waxing gibbous

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Liz Renner @lrrenner.bsky.social · 25/05/2026

Is this cat having a (very cute) identity crisis?

A sphynx cat sitting behind a draft excluder that is shaped as a row of owls. He is very handsome.

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Liz Renner @lrrenner.bsky.social · 23/05/2026

the rest of the UK gets a heatwave and my little microclimate gets... nothing

10-day forecast
Today: low of 11, high of 14
Sun: low of 11, high of 14
Mon: low of 11, high of 18

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Liz Renner @lrrenner.bsky.social · 11/05/2026

Hm. Labour still in charge of the largest number of councils overall (but is now beat by No Overall Control), so "obliterated" is inaccurate if not inflammatory.

BBC summary of English local elections.

Labour has majority in 28 councils (1068 councillors), down 38.
Liberal Democrats have majority in 15 councils (844 councillors), up 1.
Reform UK has majority in 14 councils (1453 councillors), up 14.
Conswrvatives have majority in 9 councils (801 councillors), down 6.

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Liz Renner @lrrenner.bsky.social · 05/05/2026

Should versus may, an interesting change of perspective (sorry for slightly crooked photos, just evidence that it is a physical book)

This chapter does away with *should* and focuses instead on *may*, a lovely old-fashioned auxiliary verb that connotes possibility and permission. *May* I discover my own writing rhythms and develop my own writing rituals? Yes, you may. *May* I be released from the guilt of feeling "less disciplined" than my colleague in the office next door, who writes to a daily schedule and posts a weekly word log proclaiming his progress? Yes, you may. *May* I ignore the advice of all those productivity-pumping books, articles, and websites that tell me I should write in a certain way, at certain intervals, for a certain length of time? Yes, you may. Alternatively, you may choose a prescriptive formula and follow it to the letter, if doing so works best for you.

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Liz Renner @lrrenner.bsky.social · 05/05/2026

Bringing the idea of cross-training to writing, I love it!

Sprints or marathons?
Recast as a sporting metaphor, "snacking versus bingeing" becomes "sprints versus marathons" or "speed versus staying power" or perhaps "Hare versus Tortoise." Which mode should you favor in your writing practice? Any athlete could tell you the answer: both. Fitness in any sport requires cross-training, whereby you undertake a variety of workouts in order to build up your strength, endurance, agility, and mental focus. Studies by Hartley and Branthwaite (1989) and Kellogg (1994) suggest that the most productive writers typically write several times a week for one to three hours per session.

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Liz Renner @lrrenner.bsky.social · 05/05/2026

You know the answer! 😝 (but definitely bring the blackout curtains)

"Hunger for the time
Rebecca Piekkari
School of Economics, Aalto University (Finland)

Picture the following scenario. Your family owns a summer cottage on a remote northern lake, a place where your writing flows freely. Your parents, who happen to own the cottage next door, have offered to look after your children in the mornings while you work. Your afternoons are spent berry picking with the kids, swimming in the lake, or relaxing in the sauna; at night, you share leisurely dinners with family and friends under the twilight glow of the midnight sun. Does that sound like a life of blurred boundaries and endless work stress---or does it sound like paradise?"

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Liz Renner @lrrenner.bsky.social · 05/05/2026

These two are helping by sitting on my lap under a blanket here in the conservatory. I'd guess the temp is about 20 degrees and rising but they will not settle without that blanket.

Two Sphynx cats under a grey blanket depicting bees. (They are sitting on a lap.) One cat has one eye and is facing the camera; the other cat is looking off to the left.

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Liz Renner @lrrenner.bsky.social · 05/05/2026

I have been meaning to read this book about academic writing for aaaages but never found the time! And already on page 1 am enjoying myself

The cover of the book "Air & Light & Time & Space" by Helen Sword (subtitle: How successful academics write)

$The first page of the Preface of the book Air & Light & Time & Space, which references the poem by Charles Bukowski. At the bottom of the page, the author says: "We long for "air and light and time and space," an architecture of possibilities and pleasure; instead, we find ourselves crushed under the weight of expectations and the rubble of our fractured workdays."$

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Liz Renner @lrrenner.bsky.social · 19/04/2026

Sometimes, a gnat gets in your brain and you don't know what to do and then you have to run around and wrestle with invisible ghosts. I don't write the rules.

A sphynx cat stretched out on a grey blanket with an alert bordering on wacky expression on his face.

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Liz Renner @lrrenner.bsky.social · 21/03/2026

Just quietly dozing in my lap and occasionally purring to himself #Caturday

A Sphynx cat seen from the side, with his eye tightly closed, nestled in a fuzzy red blanket.

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Liz Renner @lrrenner.bsky.social · 09/03/2026

I freaking love this website youraislopbores.me

A chat interface. The first bubble ("you asked for text") says: "is my cat the cutest of all?". The reply/second bubble ("ai" responded) says: "The cutestestestestest"

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Liz Renner @lrrenner.bsky.social · 07/03/2026

The cactus potting soil instructions say to put the cacti in the shade for 3 weeks after repotting so... 🤷 guess they're hanging out in the dining room for a bit?