Sign in

Mark Fabian

@markfabian.bsky.social
1.8K followers 1.8K following 1.5K posts

Ass-Prof of Public Policy at Warwick. Work mostly on wellbeing from an interdisciplinary perspective. Interested in *everything*. Run ePODstemology: www.buzzsprout.com/1763534/episodes

PostsRepliesMedia
Mark Fabian @markfabian.bsky.social · 2h
static.klipy.com
Neil Patrick Harris Shudders
ALT: Neil Patrick Harris Shudders
000
Reposted by Mark Fabian
Dominique Baker @bakerdphd.bsky.social · 20h
Finally a proper working paper for this study that produced one of the most astounding figures I've ever seen. Basically economics is different from every other field, empirically. This paper looks at the concentration of university affiliations for award winners. www.nber.org/papers/w35875
Figure 2 from the paper: institutional concentration of university affiliation at time of award correlated with institutional concentration of phd granting university. Economics is the most concentrated of any field. 
Figure 2 from the paper: institutional concentration of university affiliation at time of award correlated with institutional concentration of lifetime employment. Economics is the most concentrated of any field.
49845
Reposted by Mark Fabian
The USA Singers @theusasingers.bsky.social · 22h
These things are pro-life: Universal Healthcare Universal Education Universal Child Care Paid Sick Leave Paid Maternity Leave Paid Family Leave Paid Vacation Time A Living Wage Clean Air Pure Water Fertile Soil Healthy Food Green Energy Environmental Protection Biodiversity Gun Control Peace Love
311960
Reposted by Mark Fabian
mbbendt @bendts2cents.bsky.social · 20h
I often think about how depriving men of sleep is considered torture and proven to cause psychosis but regularly expected of mothers.
15812
Mark Fabian @markfabian.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
Reminds me of my favourite lines from Simone Weil: "Hope is the knowledge that the evil we carry within us is finite, and every turning towards the good destroys a little of it".
110
Reposted by Mark Fabian
John Teets @suenitos.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
"Good and evil both increase at compound interest. That is why the little decisions we make are of such infinite importance. The smallest good act today is the capture of a strategic point from which, a few months later, you may be able to go on to victories you never dreamed of." — C. S. Lewis 📷🌱
313743
Mark Fabian @markfabian.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
I did an interview with Authority magazine on how to find more satisfaction in life. It's free to read: medium.com/authority-ma...
medium.com
I Can’t Get No Satisfaction: Mark Fabian Of University Of Warwick On Why So Many Of Us Are Feeling…
We’ve basically turbocharged our tendency to be dissatisfied. We’ve also enshrined things that are endless, like the acquisition of stuff…
010
Mark Fabian @markfabian.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Sky now using a fictional gangster to advertise their online casino offerings. Is the world OK? Half the ads on the tube are either gambling, crypto (gambling), investing (gambling), questionable health cures (e.g. testosterone), or thin bestsellers. The rest is musicals.
000
Reposted by Mark Fabian
NBER @nber.org · 05/10/2026
New NBER Book released: The Economics of Place-Based Policies www.nber.org/books-and-ch...
094
Reposted by Mark Fabian
Mike Cook @mtrc.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Every AI/HCI paper I review now just sounds like this.
Research [25] shows that people [26] enjoy the feeling of winning games [3,5,19]. Enjoying things can lead to longer life expectancy [2], higher economic productivity [9,22,33-40,302] and improve mental health [9]. Yet many games still include losing players [67,4]. A recent study showed that less than half of the players in a Chess [1] match win on average [42]. We have developed an LLM-driven co-creative [66], user-led [11], mixed-initiative [80] assistant for Chess [2], through which players can redefine the rules of Chess [3] using generative AI prompting such that they are the winner of Chess [4]. A study (n=3) showed that 100\% of people felt better, healthier and more self-actualised after using our tool, showing that this may be the way forward for games and human culture more broadly in the future.
32814197
Reposted by Mark Fabian
Steel A Jeeg @dogbarkingbees.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
I know I spilled the beans months before they wanted it public, but man... fuck this. Private equity is killing the boutique labels that saved this industry and that ISN'T a coincidence. It's a targeted killing.
6500287
Mark Fabian @markfabian.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
2.5km underwater! 😲
010
Mark Fabian @markfabian.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Am I reading this right - 2.5km down? 😲
110
Mark Fabian @markfabian.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
It does feel this way from the outside.
000
Reposted by Mark Fabian
lastpositivist.bsky.social @lastpositivist.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Perhaps of interest to @kevinzollman.com @cailinmeister.bsky.social @nescio13.bsky.social @carlbergstrom.com

A Morality Evolutionary Game Theory Can Model

Mikhail Volkov

Abstract

Evolutionary game-theoretic (EGT) models of morality face powerful under-addressed objections. Critics claim the simulations fail to specify their explanandum, muddying their explanatory value. Additionally, morality is suggested to be not computationally representable, jeopardising the method’s general applicability. This paper explicates and addresses the objections. I argue at least one concrete explication of morality, emotionism coupled with functionally understood emotions, can be a plausible subject of EGT explanations. I demonstrate how fixing this explanandum assuages the methodological objections and provide a computational model as proof of concept. If successful, the contribution placates serious long-standing criticisms of evolutionary game theory as a meta-ethical tool.
1112
Mark Fabian @markfabian.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
@eastasiaforum.bsky.social remains the best place for short form commentary on anything that's going on in Asian policymaking. This editorial for example is streets ahead of anything you will get in The Economist or FT: eastasiaforum.org/2026/10/05/c...
eastasiaforum.org
China’s current account imbalance has no quick fix
Trade protectionism overseas and short-term fiscal policies at home will not lead to a structural rebalancing of the Chinese economy
000
Reposted by Mark Fabian
Gavin Jackson @gavinjackson.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
I visited the Amazon rainforest a year ago ahead of the cop conference in Belem. Historically the only thing that has stopped deforestation has been electing Lula da Silva has Brazilian president. www.economist.com/the-americas...
1452157
Reposted by Mark Fabian
Pete Miles @petermiles.eurosky.social · 02/10/2026
This looks really good to me, and the timing is right too... demos.co.uk/research/nor...
demos.co.uk
Northcote-Trevelyan 2.0: Restoring the legitimacy of the state with a Burnham-Romeo plan
Demos is Britain’s leading cross-party think-tank. We produce original research, publish innovative thinkers and host thought-provoking events.
133
Reposted by Mark Fabian
depths of wikipedia @depthsofwikipedia.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
The Phantom of Heilbronn, also referred to as the Woman Without a Face, was a presumed female serial killer whose existence was inferred from DNA evidence found at 40 crime scenes across Austria, France and Germany from 1993 to 2009.

In March 2009, investigators concluded that the supposed serial killer did not exist, and the DNA belonged to a woman who worked at a factory that made the cotton swabs used for collecting DNA samples
4852881254
Mark Fabian @markfabian.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Good candidates submit CVs without these things?!
100
Reposted by Mark Fabian
Ian Kikuchi @curatorian.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Having now had twenty-odd years of social media depleting our stocks of sanity, like overfishing North Sea cod, I think now might be a good time for a strict social media quota for about 20 years or so, to let stocks recover.
512724
Reposted by Mark Fabian
Stephen Wild @stephenjwild.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
This has a nice little section that helps you figure out where (some of) the demand for AI slop comes from
031
Reposted by Mark Fabian
rdjonsson @rdjonsson.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Very good piece.
021
Mark Fabian @markfabian.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Also sign of the times that I quickly had to double check that I hadn't made some sort of Freudian slip typo!
010
Mark Fabian @markfabian.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
I wrote something profmarkfabian.substack.com/p/only-meatw...?
profmarkfabian.substack.com
Only meatworld is safe
Will the enshittification of the internet lead us back to each other?
160
Reposted by Mark Fabian
lastpositivist.bsky.social @lastpositivist.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Tragic epic poem about a postdoc who finally gets tenure only to find that to get there they turned themselves into exactly the sort of clout chasing professionalised neurotic who couldn't possibly actually enjoy the freedom it offers.
1523422
Reposted by Mark Fabian
Rafe Meager (they/them) @economeager.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
incoming insult of all time is gonna be "this cornell group chat looking motherfucker". feel free to use immediately.
1476
Reposted by Mark Fabian
Zach Weinersmith @zachweinersmith.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
And so the summer blockbuster of 2030 will be The Big-Tittied Wizards/Jedis vs. Big-Tittied Transformers VII: Faster and Furiouser, Also It's The Matrix
2016011
Reposted by Mark Fabian
Zach Weinersmith @zachweinersmith.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Like, I was joking with Kelly about how a high percent of posts in any ai imagegen is anime girls with giant boobs. Mosts artists wouldn't do that, out of a sense of, what, integrity? Taste? But actually the audience has wanted precisely that all along.
161443
Reposted by Mark Fabian
Rafe Meager (they/them) @economeager.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
and to some extent the later you realise you were harmed the worse the situation is because it means that the assailant(s) have taken control of your mind i have spoken about this in a related context here rottenandgood.substack.com/p/against-fo...
092
Mark Fabian @markfabian.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Geoffrey is also a family friend of the author, because only bourgeois people can go into journalism, real invesigation is too expensive and requires skills you dont get in a media degree, and Geoffrey is an easily accessible story.
010
Mark Fabian @markfabian.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Geoffrey is the only person who reads the SMH. Broadsheets are the purview of over 55s who want a little frisson at the dining table over their toast in the morning but for whom the current state of affairs is good basically. So they employ Jane Caro and write dreck like this.
110
Mark Fabian @markfabian.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Occasionally tunes pop into my head from my clubbing days that were major hits then that I can't even remember the name of and will certainly be dust even in my head within another ten years, e.g. www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HEd...
youtube.com
Daniel Bedingfield - Gotta Get Thru This (2000) (Music Video)
YouTube video by Retro Music Television
020
Mark Fabian @markfabian.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
This is gas. It's really noticeable that the young politicians just have more energy than the geriatrics in the US parliament. It's also noticeable and nice that the democrats are fielding some candidates who want to govern not just be politicians.
000
Reposted by Mark Fabian
Michael Spicer @michaelspicer.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Most TV is just this now.
17271971974
Reposted by Mark Fabian
Ehud @duhe.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
It’s ironic that one of the first things individualistic AI systems invented is collective problem-solving.
131
Reposted by Mark Fabian
Jess McCabe @jessmccabe.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Burnham wants a new generation of council housing. But what are local authorities building already? Are they anything like ready to step up to that job? The answers can be found in my latest survey of every council in Britain: www.insidehousing.co.uk/insight/bigg...
insidehousing.co.uk
Biggest Council House Builders 2026
Which councils built the most homes in Britain last year? Jess McCabe reveals Inside Housing’s exclusive data
1146
Mark Fabian @markfabian.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
It's weird to me that the Ai labs are all focused on developing superintelligence, which could kill us... And requires many new gas guzzling data centres that contribute to climate change, which is killing us... And has bad ROI... Instead of working on model *efficiency* which solves all three.
000
Reposted by Mark Fabian
Gregory Norminton @gregorynorminton.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Three days to go for @northwildlife.bsky.social to raise £30M to buy the Rothbury Estate. Impressively, they've secured over £27M in donations & pledges. But that still leaves a shortfall. I can only hope they're given more time by the seller. Or that he waives the difference. You can chip in here:
wildlifetrusts.org
Donate to Secure The Rothbury Estate | The Wildlife Trusts
Stretching over 3,800 hectares, the Rothbury Estate in Northumberland is abundant with opportunity. It’s the largest continuous area of land to appear on the market in 50 years. Its sale creates a uni...
02829
Reposted by Mark Fabian
Katie Schmuecker @katieschmuecker.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Good to hear the Prime Minister saying to @bbclaurak.bsky.social that crude cuts to welfare just push costs elsewhere, and the problems we need to address are the economic failures that put pressure on our social security system. He’s right about this.
Screen shot of Andy Burnham being interviewed by Laura Kunnesberg
1129
Mark Fabian @markfabian.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
It's wild to me that masking is still core virtue signalling for progressives in America. I haven't seen a mask in the UK for years. Even the most intense COVID fearing people I know abandoned them in 2023. This includes people who can't get a vaccine!
210
Mark Fabian @markfabian.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
three times after I told him to fk off insisting that he was running a legitimate operation and asking when he could expect my publication. What's wrong with these people? Like it's one thing to be a criminal and it's another to clearly be a criminal while insisting vehemently that you're not.
000
Mark Fabian @markfabian.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
A scam and tell them to do something better with their life they don't leave to find an easier mark. Instead I get a long email back explaining my evidence away in terribly unconvincing fashion and insisting they're not scammers. Recently got one from a predatory publisher who followed up...
101
Mark Fabian @markfabian.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Francesco Gino interview and the A24 doco with Liz Holmes makes me wonder why psychopaths can't just walk away? Why debase yourself like this? Similar thing with scams. I get x3 per day written by chatGPT trying to sell me publicity for my book. When I send them evidence they're ...
100
Mark Fabian @markfabian.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
I don't mean to sound snide. I publish in analytical philosophy. It is useful. But it's methods aren't the best, especially when used on their own. Indeed, when they're used on their own I think they obscure more than illuminate.
000
Mark Fabian @markfabian.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Analytical phil is not straightforward. It's tediousness is a function of it using a linear & reductive approach that blind it to complex system dynamics. And the pedantry turns off the empiricists it might benefit from. If it was on the right track it wouldn't still be working on stuff from Plato.
100
Mark Fabian @markfabian.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
I think is basically happening in econ as LLMs and scraping make realistic agent based models viable to build quickly. Complex systems approaches to most econ problems are IMO better than traditional equilibrium and linear ones in most cases, and can absolutely break the field. Indeed, need to.
030
Mark Fabian @markfabian.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Maybe they're not best methods? Or not the best methods if used exclusively?
110
Reposted by Mark Fabian
lastpositivist.bsky.social @lastpositivist.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
The old line that analytic philosophy is answering questions that come naturally to toddlers via methods that come naturally to lawyers remains undefeated.
7557105
Mark Fabian @markfabian.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Informative. And detailed. The biggest red flag is organising summer camps. Assembling teenagers & putting yourself in an authority position is not normal behaviour.
020