Rob MacCoun @robmaccoun.bsky.social · 03/05/2025New Spanish edition of Third Millennium Thinking! There are Italian, German, Chinese, and several other editions out now, and editions in Portugese, Russian, Japanese, Vietnamese, Ukranian and a few other languages soon. Still no interest from the French; pardon moi for badmouthing post-modernism. 030
Rob MacCoun @robmaccoun.bsky.social · 22/02/2025ChatGPT 4o feels my pain. (And yes, I somehow felt compelled to share my inner musings with it, and I always thank AI programs.) 020
Rob MacCoun @robmaccoun.bsky.social · 20/02/2025After trying to give them the benefit of the doubt for a few months, I'm finally cancelling my @washingtonpost.com subscription. So sad. 220
Rob MacCoun @robmaccoun.bsky.social · 13/02/2025www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBjQ...youtube.comWhat's at StakeYouTube video by vlogbrothers 000
Rob MacCoun @robmaccoun.bsky.social · 12/02/2025www.bostonglobe.com/2025/02/09/o...bostonglobe.comPolitics is broken. We can start to repair it only at the community level. - The Boston GlobeWe need new ways of solving thorny problems on a human scale. 021
Rob MacCoun @robmaccoun.bsky.social · 04/02/2025The older I get, the less cleverness resembles either knowledge or wisdom, which seem much harder to come by. 000
Rob MacCoun @robmaccoun.bsky.social · 31/01/2025ChatGPT now seems to mention things it learned about me in previous queries (e.g., that I'm using Quarto for a new book project). This immediately makes it both more useful for me, but also slightly...um, terrifying. 🫣 020
Rob MacCoun @robmaccoun.bsky.social · 28/01/2025{Bra-zil, ian} -- {ver-sion, of our} -- {book is, published}! (Punctuation placed to facilitate reading to a clave beat) 030
Rob MacCoun @robmaccoun.bsky.social · 22/01/2025Seems like a good time to find out what cottagecore is all about, with ~4 yrs worth of videos on YouTube. 010
Reposted by Rob MacCounDavid Mair @davidmair4.bsky.social · 13/01/2025Excellent idea in "Third Millennium Thinking" @robmaccoun.bsky.social to encourage government to copy science and oblige policymakers to express confidence intervals around their factual statements, captured here h/t @ppfideas.bsky.social www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GW_...youtube.comZero Dark Thirty | Meeting Scene | 100% he's there | Jessica Chastain | Jason ClarkeYouTube video by MovieLegend 121
Rob MacCoun @robmaccoun.bsky.social · 27/12/2024The Onion's Supreme Court brief is a must read.supremecourt.gov 011
Rob MacCoun @robmaccoun.bsky.social · 26/12/2024Bob and Julia are always fun to talk with, and Julia and I got to compare notes (before the show) about King Gizzard and the Wizard Lizard.player.fm#101-The Virtues of Evidence-Based Policy Making-with guest Robert MacCoun<p>Even though they affect all of our lives, most of us know almost nothing about how policies are made, especially policy made by our state and federal governments. So, Julia and Bob learned a lot fr... 010
Rob MacCoun @robmaccoun.bsky.social · 19/12/2024The good news: If trained to be evil, this AI may have just faked being evil, temporarily, to make the best of a bad situation. The bad news: Of course it *would* say that, if it really had become evil. Gulp.assets.anthropic.com 000
Rob MacCoun @robmaccoun.bsky.social · 17/12/2024This is a serious problem; the system runs on perceived legitimacy. 000
Rob MacCoun @robmaccoun.bsky.social · 16/12/2024I'm delighted that Third Millennium Thinking is included in Behavioral Scientist's Notable Books of 2024. behavioralscientist.org/behavioral-s...behavioralscientist.orgBehavioral Scientist’s Notable Books of 2024 - by Antonia Violante and Evan Nesterak - Behavioral ScientistOur list of noteworthy behavioral science books published in 2024. 010
Rob MacCoun @robmaccoun.bsky.social · 15/12/2024New paper in The Critical Review of Social Science Studies cites me for an imaginary paper: "MacCoun, R. J. (2006). Moral decision making and the psychology of conflict. Social Psychology Quarterly, 69(4), 334-350." No such paper. Curious to see if it gets cited in the future now that it "exists." 000
Rob MacCoun @robmaccoun.bsky.social · 13/12/2024In the old neighborhood, I would have been alarmed that I follow more people than follow me. A new neighborhood calls for new norms: Following interesting others is something to celebrate. 👋 000
Rob MacCoun @robmaccoun.bsky.social · 12/12/2024I regularly invite my students to ponder the puzzle of how humans often violate Bayes theorem and yet tiny bumblebee brains are capable of optimal Bayesian foraging. This paper might offer the solution: psycnet.apa.org/record/2023-... @bayesandbounds.bsky.socialpsycnet.apa.orgAPA PsycNet 011
Rob MacCoun @robmaccoun.bsky.social · 11/12/2024On Thanksgiving afternoon, I happened to relisten to Joni Mitchell's "Down to You". For some reason, it has been playing in my head non-stop ever since. Perhaps I should be concerned, but it has remained glorious the whole time. 000
Rob MacCoun @robmaccoun.bsky.social · 11/12/2024Hey, we're in German too, with a bilingual title. 001
Rob MacCoun @robmaccoun.bsky.social · 10/12/2024This place is an American treasure. www.gofundme.com/f/help-secur...gofundme.comDonate to Help Secure El Cerrito's Cultural Landmark, organized by Les Blank Films IncHelp Save the longtime home of Les Blank Films , Arhoolie Foundation , … Les Blank Films Inc needs your support for Help Secure El Cerrito's Cultural Landmark 000
Rob MacCoun @robmaccoun.bsky.social · 09/12/2024I'm very excited that our book will come out soon in China! 000
Rob MacCoun @robmaccoun.bsky.social · 06/12/2024Just last night, I was telling an audience how important it is to protect the integrity and continuity of federal data collection efforts (economic, public health, criminal justice, etc.), so I was heartened by this morning's lovely NYT essay: www.nytimes.com/2024/12/06/b...nytimes.comEverybody Loves FRED: How America Fell for a Data ToolFrom Facebook political debates to college classrooms, the St. Louis Fed’s data tool has gained a major following. 010
Rob MacCoun @robmaccoun.bsky.social · 30/11/2024I'm looking forward to our book event at the Exploratorium After Dark this Thursday. It's a wonderful place and if you go, you get the whole museum to yourself before and after our event (i.e., no school field trips to compete with). www.exploratorium.edu/visit/calend...exploratorium.eduAfter Dark: Figure It Out | Exploratorium Museum EventFind out how to make better decisions with the help of philosophy, psychology, and physics. 101
Rob MacCoun @robmaccoun.bsky.social · 24/11/2024Wow. My curated Bluesky feed is so different from my old feed-that-shall-not-be-mentioned. A big dose of beautiful art, nature, and science, and then some policy stuff that is about ideas, evidence, and problem solving. I don't even feel the need to make this post wry or clever. 030
Rob MacCoun @robmaccoun.bsky.social · 20/11/2024fivebooks.com/category/new... Nice to see our Third Millennium Thinking getting a nod here.fivebooks.comNew Books - Five Books Expert RecommendationsWith so many new books coming out, what’s the best way to choose what to read? Our list highlights books for understanding or enjoying the world better 110
Rob MacCoun @robmaccoun.bsky.social · 20/11/2024On Saturday, we had a fun reunion of the team that in 2009-2015 published projections of effects of cannabis legalization in CA and several other states. With Jonathan Caulkins, Gregory Midgette, Beau Kilmer, Rosalie Pacula, Rosanna Smart, and Peter Reuter. (Working on new paper; watch this space!) 120
Rob MacCoun @robmaccoun.bsky.social · 15/11/2024"You're my blue sky, you're my sunny day Lord, you know it makes me high When you turn your love my way Turn your love my way, yeah". 100