iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Natalia Fedorova

Mason Youngblood @masonyoungblood.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

New tutorial preprint about simulation-based inference! Shows how to fit a cultural evo model to baby name data using approx Bayesian computation, random forests, and deep learning. Wrote for @eslr.bsky.social but wanted to share with others in @culturalevolsoc.bsky.social! :) osf.io/preprints/so...

osf.io

OSF

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Reposted by Natalia Fedorova

Aki Vehtari @avehtari.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

All four books I've co-authored are freely available online for non-commercial use: - Bayesian Workflow at avehtari.github.io/Bayesian-Wor... Links to other three books are in the quoted post 👇 (too many books to fit in one post!)

avehtari.github.io

Bayesian Workflow book: Website – Bayesian Workflow book

Website for the Bayesian Workflow book by Gelman, Vehtari, McElreath, et al. — case studies, code, and exercises in R and Stan.

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Reposted by Natalia Fedorova

Mason Youngblood @masonyoungblood.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

Doing a short workshop about simulation-based inference on Thursday for @eslr.bsky.social! Come hang out :)

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Oleg Sobchuk 🇺🇦 @sobchuk.bsky.social · 29/06/2026

📣 I'm hiring! Two positions (PhD student & Postdoc) in my ERC project Macroevolution of European Literature. Let's study the cultural evolution of literature using massive data 📚📈 📍Frankfurt | Apply by August 15 Details: www.aesthetics.mpg.de/en/career/jo... Please repost to help spread the word!

Job announcement of two positions at the Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics in Frankfurt: postdoc (Macroevolution of European Literature) and PhD student (Computational Literary Studies). Successful candidates will be affiliated with the research group Cultural Evolution of the Arts.

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Reposted by Natalia Fedorova

Haneul Jang @haneuljang.bsky.social · 03/06/2026

💙 Call for contributions! 💙 To mark 60 years since the Man the Hunter conference (1966), Hunter Gatherer Research is curating a two-part special issue on “Lessons and Reflections from Hunter-Gatherer Research” www.liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk/journal/hgr A thread on the two issues & formats👇

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Jeremy Koster @jeremykoster.bsky.social · 16/04/2026

There is a fully-funded PhD position at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology to pursue dissertation research among the Mayangna of Nicaragua, expanding a longitudinal study of subsistence strategies and behavioral ecology. Please share the posting! www.eva.mpg.de/career/posit...

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ESLR @eslr.bsky.social · 19/03/2026

🚨ESLR Workshop: 🗓 March 26, 2026 ⏰ 2pm CET Online Code review in practice: A checklist for computational reproducibility and collaborative research in ecology & evolution by @fhillemann.bsky.social Our first skill-sharing session of the spring! 🐣 🔗 Join: calendar.app.google/3gjfLpKW4mW2...

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Joan Silk @jbsilk.bsky.social · 16/03/2026

My colleague, Charles Perreault, has published cool new paper documenting impact of culture on human capacity for adaptation: http//www.pnas.org/doi/epdf/10.1073/pnas.2523038123

pnas.org

PNAS

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), a peer reviewed journal of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) - an authoritative source of high-impact, original research that broadly spans...

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Reposted by Natalia Fedorova

Tim Waring @twaring.bsky.social · 16/03/2026

Interested in the Big Questions of human evolution, culture and society? In the Vienna area? Come join my colloquium at the Konrad Lorenz Institute on March 26 at 15:00. I will be speaking on: The Science of an Evolutionary Transition in Humans kli.ac.at/en/events/ev... Also online.

kli.ac.at

Events | Event Calendar | Discover The KLI

The Konrad Lorenz Institute provides a stimulating and creative environment for fellows, visiting scholars, students, and external faculty.

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Reposted by Natalia Fedorova

Catalina I. Fernández, PhD (she/her) @catferna.bsky.social · 27/02/2026

🤩PREPRINT OUT! Using our causal model of 👫 growth, we test if model can estimate growth trajectories of pops. of 🚸 of uncertain age using cross-sectional data. Results: our model provide accurate estimates providing a solution for bioarcheological and other contexts! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

biorxiv.org

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Natalia Fedorova @natyfedorova.bsky.social · 24/02/2026

What a great addition to the existing literature! I wonder what's next, could an abm be brewing?

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Natalia Fedorova @natyfedorova.bsky.social · 10/02/2026

Everyone needs colleagues that appreciate the need to judge cakes, here in Danish festelavnsboller style

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Reposted by Natalia Fedorova

Enrico R. Crema @ercrema.bsky.social · 02/02/2026

Very much looking forward to the upcoming Garrod Seminar Series themed 'Artificial Intelligence & the Past's Future' with some fantastic speakers (see below!). You can attend the seminar series online via Zoom (registration link: talks.cam.ac.uk/show/index/1...) - starting this Thursday!

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Aki Vehtari @avehtari.bsky.social · 26/01/2026

Bayesian Workflow by Andrew Gelman, Aki Vehtari, @rmcelreath.bsky.social with @danpsimpson.bsky.social, @charlesm993.bsky.social, @yulingy.bsky.social, Lauren Kennedy, Jonah Gabry, @paulbuerkner.com, @modrakm.bsky.social, @vianeylb.bsky.social (in production, estimated copy-editing time 6 weeks)

**Part 1: From Bayesian inference to Bayesian workflow**

1. Bayesian theory and Bayesian practice
2. Statistical modeling and workflow
3. Computational tools
4. Introduction to workflow: Modeling performance on a multiple choice exam

**Part 2: Statistical workflow**

5. Building statistical models
6. Using simulations to capture uncertainty
7. Prediction, generalization, and causal inference
8. Visualizing and checking fitted models
9. Comparing and improving models
10. Statistical inference and scientific inference

**Part 3: Computational workflow**

11. Fitting statistical models
12. Diagnosing and fixing problems with fitting
13. Approximate algorithms and approximate models
14. Simulation-based calibration checking
15. Statistical modeling as software development

**4. Case studies**

16. Coding a series of models: Simulated data of movie ratings
17. Prior specification for regression models: Reanalysis of a sleep study
18. Predictive model checking and comparison: Clinical trial
19. Building up to a hierarchical model: Coronavirus testing
20. Using a fitted model for decision analysis: Mixture model for time series competition
21. Posterior predictive checking: Stochastic learning in dogs
22. Incremental development and testing: Black cat adoptions
23. Debugging a model: World Cup football
24. Leave-one-out cross validation model checking and comparison: Roaches
25. Model building and expansion: Golf putting
26. Model building with latent variables: Markov models for animal movement
27. Model building: Time-series decomposition for birthdays
28. Models for regression coefficients and variable selection: Student grades
29. Sampling problems with latent variables: No vehicles in the park
30. Challenge of multimodality: Differential equation for planetary motion
31. Simulation-based calibration checking in model development workflow

**Appendices**

A. Statistical and computational workflow for Bayesians and non-Bayesians
B. How to get the most out of Bayesian Data Analysis

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Reposted by Natalia Fedorova

ERROR @error.reviews · 22/01/2026

Improving scientific practice can seem daunting. In this fantastic talk (and thread below), Julia Rohrer shares practical ways to communicate methodological insights to a wider audience of researchers.

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Reposted by Natalia Fedorova

Eleanor Power @eapower.bsky.social · 15/01/2026

🚨Job alert! The ENDOW project is hiring a Research Officer in Research Database Management, to be based at @lsemethodology.bsky.social. Oversee & expand our database & contribute to research on social & economic inequality. Deadline 15 February. Share & reach out! jobs.lse.ac.uk/Vacancies/W/...

The ENDOW project is seeking a Research Officer in Research Data Management to be based at the London School of Economics.
- Oversee and extend our database covering geospatial, demographic, economic & social network data from 50+ communities in 30+ countries!
- Contribute to research on the dynamics of social and economic inequality!
- Join a stellar interdisciplinary team!
- funded by the ESRC and the NSF
[world map showing location of ENDOW communities; photos of some of the team members and some of the ENDOW communities showing their diversity

Research Officer in Research Data Management
Salary from £43,277 to £48,220 pa inclusive of London allowance
Fixed-term appointment for 18 months
This research officer position is to work with Eleanor Power as part of the ongoing "ENDOW" project (Economic Networks and the Dynamics of Wealth Inequality), funded by the UKRI and US National Science Foundation. The research officer will be based in the Department of Methodology, a leading centre for research and education in social science research methods. While we expect this to be a full-time appointment, we are open to considering the possibility of a part-time appointment.
The post entails overseeing and extending the database of the "ENDOW" project, which includes data from over fifty communities around the world, comprising economic, demographic, and social network data characterising each community, its resident households, and the individuals within them. The research officer will be responsible for the expansion of this database to include longitudinal data from each community site, implementing a robust data infrastructure to manage and curate this information. The research officer will work closely with Dr Power and data contributors to ensure data quality, standardisation, and appropriate governance. They will contribute to core analyses of the ENDOW project and develop tools and resources that will be of wide utility for the collection, curation, and analysis of cross-cultural data. This role is central to building the data infrastructure that will enable meaningful, productive comparisons across these diverse field sites and will ultimately serve as a resource for the broader scientific community.
The successful candidate will:
Have a completed PhD, be close to completing a PhD, or have other research experience that demonstrates the capability to produce independent original research
Have experience with database design, data management and data governance
Have experience with programming in R or Python

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Rachel Kendal @rachkendal.bsky.social · 04/12/2025

Today sees the publication of the Theme Issue featuring the CES Transformation Fund grant scheme. Enjoy! royalsocietypublishing.org/rstb/issue/3... @durhamdcerc.bsky.social @durhamanthropology.bsky.social @cultevolfunding.bsky.social @culturalevolsoc.bsky.social

Picture of front cover of Theme Issue entitled "Transforming cultural evolution research and its application to global futures." The image on the front cover is of a Yao honey hunter in Mozambique holding retrieved honeycomb.

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Prof. Gillian Brown @gillianrbrown1.bsky.social · 05/11/2025

📢 Here is my commentary about the pitfalls of taking an impoverished evolutionary approach to culture, which include 'the limitations of a unidirectional model of evolution' and 'the neglect of niche construction theory'. #ehbea #evolution #psychscisky 🧪 🧵 1/2 www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

sciencedirect.com

The pitfalls of an impoverished approach to culture: Commentary on Baumard and André

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Natalia Fedorova @natyfedorova.bsky.social · 05/10/2025

Who has/has seen an internal llm usage policy for researchers that they think is good? Please share!

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Anne Pisor @annepisor.bsky.social · 01/10/2025

📢 Come join us! Penn State Anthropology is hiring *two tenure-track assistant professors*, one in human reproductive ecology and one in archaeology. Here are just a few reasons why working at Penn State is awesome:

A photo of the Susan Welch Liberal Arts building at sunrise

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Bret Beheim @babeheim.bsky.social · 16/09/2025

How to quantify the impact of AI on long-run cultural evolution? Published today, I give it a go! 400+ years of strategic dynamics in the game of Go (Baduk/Weiqi), from feudalism to AlphaGo!

Miyagawa Shuntei's 1898 painting, "Playing Go (Japanese Chess)"

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Dominik Deffner @dominikdeffner.bsky.social · 19/11/2024

Part of an exciting special feature celebrating 50 years of quantitative cultural evolution! Check out the rest here: bit.ly/CulturalEvolution

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Richard McElreath 🐈‍⬛ @rmcelreath.bsky.social · 19/11/2024

Theorist bridge trolls barking at you to formally connect theory to data? Wondering how, without troll magic? We can help! "Bridging theory and data: A computational workflow for cultural evolution" With @dominikdeffner.bsky.social @natyfedorova.bsky.social Jeff Andrews. www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

Illustration of a computational workflow for cultural evolution that connects abstract theory to real-world data. The arrows indicate logical and computational dependencies among theoretical, statistical, and scientific elements of a project. For example, an effective inferential model depends upon generative models, a question about those models (estimand), and the structure of the available evidence (sample).

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