Sign in

Matt Zefferman

@mzefferman.bsky.social
1.7K followers 1K following 202 posts

Any views expressed are, at most, my own and do not reflect those of any organization.

PostsRepliesMedia
Matt Zefferman @mzefferman.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
There is the one. 99percentinvisible.org/episode/mini...
99percentinvisible.org
Mini Stories: Volume 6 - 99% Invisible
99% Invisible is starting the year off with the sixth installment of our staff mini stories. Kicking off 2019 are a set of tales about a perpetual lie about New York City, karaoke, a 50-foot-tall burn...
010
Reposted by Matt Zefferman
War on the Rocks @warontherocks.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
AI-assisted writing is now, by far, the leading reason we reject submissions. Light polishing is one thing. Anything beyond that is not permitted. We require work that clearly reflects self-evident human voice, judgment, and expertise. Our readers deserve nothing less. warontherocks.com/submissions/
warontherocks.com
Editorial Guidelines for Pitching and Submitting
Want to write for War on the Rocks? Start here.
095
Matt Zefferman @mzefferman.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Wish I could have been online for more. I'll DM requests. Thanks!
010
Matt Zefferman @mzefferman.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Honestly, I don't think it's impossible to find all the cats.
000
Matt Zefferman @mzefferman.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
I have seen it.
010
Matt Zefferman @mzefferman.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Any chance the talks will be recorded? I have childcare responsibilities during many of them.
121
Reposted by Matt Zefferman
jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 17/09/2026
stone cold classic
811883129
Reposted by Matt Zefferman
Cultural Evolution Society @culturalevolsoc.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
ACE Research Grant Alert 🚨! CES will give out two awards of up to $3000 each to support early career research projects in cultural evolution. The award is open to applicants worldwide, with an application deadline of October 9th 2026, 9:00 AM AoE. Applications: forms.gle/dsLdKQuNBH4W...
forms.gle
ACE Early Career Research Grants
CES will give out two awards of up to $3000 each to support research projects in cultural evolution. To learn more about the Advancing Cultural Evolution (ACE) initiative, see here. Deadline: Appli...
03037
Reposted by Matt Zefferman
By Cory Doctorow (GPG 0xBF3D9110957E5F4C) @doctorow.pluralistic.net · 12/09/2026
If you showed up at Defcon and gave talk about how your autonomous malware did something unexpected and damaged someone else's computers, the first question from the audience would be "Why are you so shit at making secure sandboxes?" It wouldn't be "How are you so awesome at making hacking tools?"
4520142
Matt Zefferman @mzefferman.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Jeez, also probably Hoppers (2026) which I haven't seen.
010
Matt Zefferman @mzefferman.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
I would consider it science fiction. There are fantastical elements that have a scientific (non-magical) explanation.
110
Matt Zefferman @mzefferman.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Also, maybe Up en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Up_(200...
en.wikipedia.org
Up (2009 film) - Wikipedia
110
Matt Zefferman @mzefferman.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
A Boy and His Dog en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Boy_a...
en.wikipedia.org
A Boy and His Dog (1975 film) - Wikipedia
210
Matt Zefferman @mzefferman.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Read this to my daughter last night: “What’s more?” said the Lorax (his dander was up) “Let me say a few words about the Gluppity-Glupp Your machinery chugs on, day and night without stop Making Gluppity-Glupp, also Schloppity-Schlopp
0112
Matt Zefferman @mzefferman.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
“What’s more?” said the Lorax (his dander was up) “Let me say a few words about the Gluppity-Glupp Your machinery chugs on, day and night without stop Making Gluppity-Glupp, also Schloppity-Schlopp
000
Matt Zefferman @mzefferman.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Interesting. I always thought zero was set at "pretty cold outside" and 100 was set at "pretty hot outside."
021
Matt Zefferman @mzefferman.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
I use "number of fingers" for my quick example. About 0% heritability, but a strong genetic influence. Don't remember where I got that example from.
010
Reposted by Matt Zefferman
Matt Zefferman @mzefferman.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
My department is hiring. It's a rare department that prides itself on massive interdisciplinarity. Our students are all graduate students, typically mid-career military officers, currently ~30% international.
jobs.chronicle.com
Tenure-Track Assistant/Associate/Full Professor in Security Studies - Monterey, California (US) job with Naval Postgraduate School | 38024811
Tenure-Track Assistant/Associate/Full Professor in Security Studies in the Department of Defense Analysis, The Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, CA
232
Matt Zefferman @mzefferman.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
A group of people act out the plot of a children's board game.
000
Matt Zefferman @mzefferman.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
Batman for a Week
010
Matt Zefferman @mzefferman.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
Minimum Qualifications: PhD degree in a relevant Social Science or Humanities discipline (e.g., History, Political Science, Economics, Strategic Studies, Public Policy, International Relations, Communications, Psychology, Sociology, Anthropology, Philosophy, Information Science, and other fields).
021
Matt Zefferman @mzefferman.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
"The candidate must have an interest in interdisciplinary research and willingness to work with a cross-disciplinary faculty and military and policy stakeholders. "
110
Matt Zefferman @mzefferman.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
"...must demonstrate the ability to pursue an independent program of... research in areas such as national and international security, future warfare, conflict studies, terrorism, insurgency, political violence, artificial intelligence and conflict, innovation, or strategic decision-making."
110
Matt Zefferman @mzefferman.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
My department is hiring. It's a rare department that prides itself on massive interdisciplinarity. Our students are all graduate students, typically mid-career military officers, currently ~30% international.
jobs.chronicle.com
Tenure-Track Assistant/Associate/Full Professor in Security Studies - Monterey, California (US) job with Naval Postgraduate School | 38024811
Tenure-Track Assistant/Associate/Full Professor in Security Studies in the Department of Defense Analysis, The Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, CA
232
Matt Zefferman @mzefferman.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
I was with you until you started (unnecessarily) disparaging other disciplines. I just checked the CV of the Anthropology NSF GRF winner from my graduate cohort. She's been publishing in such obscure journals as Science and PNAS. And would you believe her papers have both maths and charts!
100
Reposted by Matt Zefferman
Hanna Kokko @kokkonut.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
Come and work with us (the Kokkonuts) as a postdoc! Our research within (theory-evo-eco) is broad; let's say it's implicitly defined by the journal club papers we read. Which is why the application process includes a JC-related task, I hope it'll be a fun one for you! www.evoldir.net/brian/evoldi...
evoldir.net
195118
Matt Zefferman @mzefferman.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
I guess now is the time to post my favorite movie since I was, like, 10 years old:
Tim Curry and Madeline Kahn crying in a scene from the movie Clue.
000
Matt Zefferman @mzefferman.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
Yeah. My daughter has never worked a day in her life, so it is hilarious to hear her belting out the lyrics from the back seat.
020
Matt Zefferman @mzefferman.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
9-to-5 is my five year old's all time favorite song.
120
Matt Zefferman @mzefferman.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
Overall, it is hard to assume the full causal model, as the students were not randomized into AI use. But the dif-in-dif design is probably the best that could be done withthis type of observational data.
120
Matt Zefferman @mzefferman.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
The paper itself says "AI users who maintain similar homework completion time as non-AI users experience small learning losses." Assuming the causal model is true, the direct effect of AI is negative even after adjusting for the mediator of homework doing.
110
Matt Zefferman @mzefferman.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
Overall, it is hard to assume the full causal model, as the students were not randomized into AI use. But the dif-in-dif design is probably the best that could be done without a proper RCT.
000
Matt Zefferman @mzefferman.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
Assuming the causal story that AI use decreases learning because students stop doing their homework, the difference between OP and commenters is the policy intervention. OP seems focused on the mediator (doing homework). Commenters seemed focused on the upstream cause (discouraging AI use).
110
Matt Zefferman @mzefferman.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
I agree. The term is supposed to be analogizing to experimental controls, so it addresses confounding. But, especially outside of a causal framework, people just use it for any kind of model adjustment. That's why I find a picture helps.
100
Matt Zefferman @mzefferman.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
Drawing DAGs is helpful when there is confusion.
120
Matt Zefferman @mzefferman.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
I think the confusion in the replies is that everyone seems to agree that "homework effort" is, causally, a mediator of AI use on learning. However, you are using the word "control" which is normally what you do for a confounder, not a mediator.
260
Matt Zefferman @mzefferman.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
Can we please make the "graphical abstract" a requirement for an accepted, as opposed to a submitted, article?
030
Matt Zefferman @mzefferman.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
Me? I always start with the methods section. If the methods are bad, I typically don't read anything else. Crazy how many journals bury the methods section at the end in tiny font or in an appendix.
020
Matt Zefferman @mzefferman.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
Also, these journals aren't exactly disclosing these fees on their submission pages either.
150
Matt Zefferman @mzefferman.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
I did a similar exercise for a college project circa 2001. I went to the country records office, in person, for help. I don't know what would be available online in 2026.
110
Matt Zefferman @mzefferman.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
Your municipality or county records office. Should be property records, maybe tax records.
110
Reposted by Matt Zefferman
Elizabeth Hobson @elizabethhobson.bsky.social · 28/01/2026
Are you (or do you know someone) recently graduated from undergrad looking to beef up your skills and experience prior to starting grad school/career? Do you like social drama and parakeets? Come join my team! I'm looking for two people to start very soon!! tinyurl.com/59rf8jcy
Graphical ad for Hobson Lab Parakeet sociality & cognition Postbac Research Technician, with a graphic showing a flock of monk parakeets flying towards a social network, two unmarked monk parakeets perched, and examples of our individually color-marked birds showing their dye marks and color codes
03226
Reposted by Matt Zefferman
Barbara Klump @barbaraklump.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
Join us in Vienna! We are looking for a PhD student and a Postdoc to investigate innovation in corvids within the “Comparative ecological innovation styles” project funded by @fwf-at.bsky.social. More info: barbaraklump.com Application deadline July 24th. Please share widely!
A carrion crow holding a walnut. Photo: @valentine-comin.bsky.social
2103104
Reposted by Matt Zefferman
Prof Nichola Raihani @nicholaraihani.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
If you have (or will soon) complete your PhD & would like to join a thriving cultural evolution research group in NEW ZEALAND, drop me a line. UoA offers a handful of funded research fellowships. Applications must be made by a faculty member. Deadline August. Pls share with your students
13751
Reposted by Matt Zefferman
Eiko Fried @eikofried.bsky.social · 28/06/2026
1/ We have a PhD position open on 'Mental Disorders as Harmful Stable States'. If you know students interested in the intersection of mental health & statistical modeling (EMA & time series), please encourage them to apply. www.academictransfer.com/nl/jobs/3621...
academictransfer.com
PhD Position on "Mental disorders as harmful stable states"
PhD Position on “Mental disorders as harmful stable states” The departments Clinical Psychology and Methodology & Statistics, at the Institute of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, Leiden Univers...
15446
Matt Zefferman @mzefferman.bsky.social · 27/06/2026
This is pretty good.
josephheath.substack.com
Harari vs. Henrich
What science actually says about human evolution
030
Matt Zefferman @mzefferman.bsky.social · 13/06/2026
When I was deployed to the UAE we had a few American vs Emirati soccer matches. Our American team was *entirely* immigrants - except for one female officer who played in college.
010
Matt Zefferman @mzefferman.bsky.social · 09/06/2026
And also the most commonly spelled words in her presence.
100
Matt Zefferman @mzefferman.bsky.social · 09/06/2026
A friend tried to spell "pie" in front of my toddler and she piped up with "p-i-e spells pie." My friend was impressed, but I was like "she only knows how to spell desserts."
120
Reposted by Matt Zefferman
Kate Watson @loreandordure.com · 22/05/2026
Well this is a fun* game! *horrifyingly dystopian
Google search for “stop” which returns:

stop /stop/
Understood. I have stopped my current action and am standing by. How can I help you?Google search for ‘ignore’ which returns:

ignore
/g'nวt/
Understood! I'll disregard the previous prompt and stand by for your next request.
Let me know what you'd like to work on!Google search for “forget it” which returns:

No problem at all! If you change your mind or need help with anything later, just let me know.Google search for “not that” which returns:

My apologies! Let's completely wipe the slate clean.
Could you please clarify exactly what you are looking for, or provide more detail about what you need? Let me know what you need help with, and I will get right on it!
320067