Reposted by Roman FeimanGabor Brody @gaborbrody.bsky.social · 21/09/2026I have a new preprint with Athulya Aravind. In it, we ask how can children learn the presuppositional meaning component of a word (e.g. "both" presupposing a |2| domain) Our claim... ...is that they can't. Presuppositional meanings are unlearnable. Preprint: lingbuzz.net/lingbuzz/010... 1206
Reposted by Roman FeimanMark Histed @markhisted.org · 20/09/2026“The arrangement would give Vought, the director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, a direct role in determining how NIH distributes its $48 billion in congressionally-appropriated money.” Bypassing the many checks and balances at NIH on grant funding decisions. 8271193
Reposted by Roman FeimanStand Up for Science! @standupforscience.net · 17/09/2026The Trump admin has decimated American science budgets, taking away life saving opportunities, and the potential for groundbreaking discoveries. This is how you destroy American innovation. apnews.com/article/trum...apnews.comTrump administration has cut or frozen $177 billion in grants across every state, analysis showsAn analysis finds that the Trump administration has cut or frozen up to $177 billion in federal grants since the president took office for his second term. 19622305
Reposted by Roman FeimanJeremy Berg @jeremymberg.bsky.social · 16/09/2026Developing a plan that captures the best aspects of what NSF and NIH were while addressing some long-standing issues is what the effort at the @standupforscience.net policy shop is developing. 26318
Reposted by Roman FeimanHarrison Ritz @hritz.bsky.social · 14/09/2026Social Psychology: US: 23 CA: 2 Cognitive Psychology US: 36 CA: 1 (* no grad program) Same story for the past three years: ~1 Canadian job per year for cognitive psych/neuro. Amazing arbitrage opportunity for Canadian U15 schools to start hiring cog again! 0102
Reposted by Roman FeimanMichael Clemens @mclem.org · 12/09/2026The US President's new proposal to tax international students has been approved by the White House for release this week. It's an unprecedented $100,000 tax on int'l grads who stay to work after graduation on Optional Practical Training (most grads do), a crucial bridge to remaining by any channel. 21432713
Reposted by Roman FeimanMichael Clemens @mclem.org · 13/09/2026This will devastate our research+innovation capacity, bedrock of the 21st century economy. 35% of *all* employed people in the US with STEM PhD degrees are both foreign-born *and* graduated from a US university. —> nap.nationalacademies.org/resource/292... Shutting them out is extremist folly. 1830222
Reposted by Roman FeimanSam Gershman @gershbrain.bsky.social · 01/09/2026If this makes you mad, submit your cognitive science research to @openmindjournal.bsky.social No APCs, no subscription fees. It's funded by university libraries, at low cost. 18934
Roman Feiman @romanfeiman.bsky.social · 30/08/2026I don't think enough people know how hostile the legal US immigration system is (and already was, pre-Trump) 0121
Reposted by Roman FeimanSanjay Srivastava @sanjaysrivastava.com · 28/08/2026The U.S. is a massive funder of science. Canada does not come anywhere close. Stories about a handful of scientists get attention, but rather than "brain drain," the likely outcome if the U.S. continues its path is that there will simply be fewer scientists and less science getting done in the world 1117156
Roman Feiman @romanfeiman.bsky.social · 20/08/2026Heinous. there should be serious investigations and trials after the Trump administration is over. Every future administration has to get the message that it can’t do stuff like this. 062
Reposted by Roman FeimanDan Garisto @dangaristo.bsky.social · 20/08/2026Scoop: For nearly a year, NSF has struggled to make new grants. Now we know that it will not catch up. In fact, NSF will award just 6,100 new grants—a 30% y/o/y decline, itself down from a previous avg. of 11,000+. In fact, the last time NSF awarded so few grants was in the early '80s.nature.comExclusive: NSF set to issue lowest number of new grants in four decadesThe US science-funding agency is withholding $1 billion of its budget so that the money can go to a special White House project. 14754470
Reposted by Roman FeimanDan Garisto @dangaristo.bsky.social · 20/08/2026Finally, this has gone a bit under the radar, so I want to highlight it: The social, behavioral and economic sciences directorate (SBE) has simply ceased to deliver grants to many of its subareas. Any topic not specifically OK'd by the Trump administration is receiving zero new awards. 6422226
Reposted by Roman FeimanHakeem Jefferson @hakeemjefferson.bsky.social · 17/08/2026“I was asked not to mention the Times at all. I’m choosing not to honor that norm, b/c silence abt how accountability journalism gets suppressed is itself a form of suppression.” Read the back story of how @nytimes.com and @thebulwark.com killed @adambonica.bsky.social’s piece. What a mf badass.data4democracy.substack.comWith Fear and FavorInstitutions don’t have courage. They have incentives. 11197451
Reposted by Roman Feimanvincentholst.bsky.social @vincentholst.bsky.social · 13/08/2026In 2023, @nature.com published 'Papers and patents are becoming less disruptive over time', receiving world-wide media attention. Our Matters Arising, published after a 32 month delay (more on that soon), shows that the reported decline can largely be attributed to dataset artefacts. 🧵 9351173
Roman Feiman @romanfeiman.bsky.social · 03/08/2026A new venue for work at the intersection of human and machine cognition. Excited to be involved as an Associate Editor! 0203
Reposted by Roman FeimanMelissa Kibbe @levelsof.bsky.social · 31/07/2026Now out in an issue! Children find it easier to represent uncertainty about *what* an object is than *where* an object is, with interesting implications for both early possibility reasoning and object representations ~~ Check it out 👉 direct.mit.edu/opmi/article...direct.mit.eduChildren’s Representations of Possibility: Uncertainty About “What” Is Easier Than Uncertainty About “Where”Abstract. Young children struggle in situations involving mere possibility, such as when a target object could be in one of two possible locations. This difficulty is often interpreted as a general li... 05212
Reposted by Roman FeimanCarolyn Bertozzi @carolynbertozzi.bskyverified.social · 30/07/2026We already do this and companies who want them are happy to pay for PhD student interns. Why do precious and limited NSF funds need to be deployed for this? Most PhD student pursue industry jobs anyways - that has always been true. Use NSF funds to support basic science that industry wont support! 728698
Reposted by Roman Feimanvelveetasneeze.bsky.social @velveetasneeze.bsky.social · 28/07/2026In his role as Director of the Office of Management and Budget, Russell Vought is the central architect driving the destruction of your government. He created lawlessness in every part of the Trump administration. Russell Vought isn’t just engaging in politics; he is dismantling our government.impeachvought.comImpeach VoughtWe are current and former federal workers from across the government. We have witnessed first-hand the harm Russell Vought has inflicted on American communities. We are urging Congress to act now to p... 02814
Reposted by Roman FeimanDon Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 23/07/2026Once you understand that this is a model of science written by non-scientists who hate universities but love venture capital and redirecting money to political allies, everything makes a lot more sense. www.nytimes.com/2026/07/22/u...nytimes.comTrump’s Plan for Science: More Money for A.I., Less for UniversitiesMichael Kratsios, President Trump’s science adviser, proposed overhauling how the government funds research. Democrats said Mr. Trump’s actions had weakened science. 372278966
Reposted by Roman FeimanDanny Kingsley @dannykay68.bsky.social · 20/07/2026EXCELLENT: The Netherlands new OA policy seems to be well thought through obc.copim.pub/when-scaling... Policy explicitly recommends redirection & reallocation of funds from existing ‘big deal’ budgets towards community-driven alternatives, incl university-led diamond OA & Netherlands Uni Pressesobc.copim.pubWhen 'scaling small' becomes national policyThe Netherlands' new open access strategy echoes the principles the Open Book Collective was built on - 'scaling small' and community-led publishing 17333
Reposted by Roman FeimanKestrel Casey @kestrelcasey.com · 17/07/2026Time to bring this one back around. 2382111
Reposted by Roman FeimanRaphaël Millière @raphaelmilliere.com · 11/06/2026Now published in open access! Your one-stop shop for the philosophy of language models. It's the spiritual descendant of our two-part preprint from 2024, fully updated. This should be particularly useful for anyone looking for an entry point into this rapidly growing field.compass.onlinelibrary.wiley.comThe Philosophy of Language ModelsThe success of large language models (LLMs) across many domains of AI research has generated intense debate. Some attribute their impressive performance on complex tasks to human-like linguistic and ... 211032
Reposted by Roman FeimanGabor Brody @gaborbrody.bsky.social · 10/06/2026Can infants or other animals represent "mutually exclusive possibilities"? In a new paper in JEP:G, we argue for specifying: in thinking or seeing? We show that in object perception (shared with infants and many animals), the answer is yes. (w Peter Mazalik & Roman Feiman) osf.io/preprints/ps... /1osf.ioOSF 13916
Reposted by Roman FeimanGavin Schmidt @climateofgavin.bsky.social · 08/06/2026H1B visas were historically key for postdocs and research scientists (and future PIs and professors) - and the fee threatened to totally derail that pipeline. This is good news. 18035
Reposted by Roman FeimanDavid Roberts @volts.wtf · 08/06/2026Metaphor alert.nytimes.comHuge American Flag Flies Into Power Lines, Knocking Out Power for Thousands 323139
Reposted by Roman FeimanEsra Nur Turan-Küçük @esranur.bsky.social · 10/05/2026New paper in Open Mind! 2-to-4-year-olds find it easier to reason about an object's possible identity than its possible location, and we argue this asymmetry traces back to the architecture of early object representations. 🧵osf.ioOSF 14212
Reposted by Roman FeimanDerek Lowe @dereklowe.bsky.social · 28/05/2026An unapologetically angry post about what’s being done to US science:science.orgThe Current Crisis: What's Happening to Science in America 10518249
Reposted by Roman FeimanAlex Wild @alexwild.bsky.social · 30/05/2026There's a persistent fantasy that maybe some other nice countries will start mass-hiring US scientists. That's not going to happen. A few high-profile, big name researchers will get poached, sure. But most countries, including some very nice ones, are underemploying their own scientists already. 431971397
Reposted by Roman FeimanChenxin Li, PhD @chenxinli2.bsky.social · 30/05/2026Dear colleagues, PLEASE submit a comment against OMB's proposed rule. Elizabeth wrote great guide on drafting a comment. To submit it, go to www.regulations.gov/search and search for OMB-2026-0034. It will take time & effort to write a good comment, but a worthwhile effort to save our profession.regulations.govRegulations.gov 14846
Reposted by Roman FeimanEbru Evcen @ebruevcen.bsky.social · 29/05/2026New preprint w/ @drbarner.bsky.social, and probably the most fun project I've worked on!! Past studies find kids fail to compute scalar implicatures. Do those tasks test spontaneous interpretation, or do they proffer worlds kids would never consider? 🧵 osf.io/preprints/ps...osf.ioOSF 1247
Roman Feiman @romanfeiman.bsky.social · 29/05/2026Worth highlighting this part. If it goes through, I’m not sure conferences survive. Currently scheduled ones may see people withdrawing at rates that require cancellation. I don’t know anyone with an active grant who budgeted for specific conferences, and many don’t have alternative funds. 080
Reposted by Roman FeimanCarl T. Bergstrom @carlbergstrom.com · 29/05/2026Of all the harm this administration has done to US science, today's proposed changes to the way federal grants are awarded and administered is the most damaging yet. The text of the federal register document is impenetrably tedious by design, so here's an excellent summary of what it says. 331658977
Reposted by Roman FeimanUrvi Maheshwari ツ @urvi.bsky.social · 26/05/2026New preprint w @carenwalker.bsky.social & @drbarner.bsky.social! We test the "minimal representations" hypothesis that explains gaps in 3yos modal reasoning. Against it, we find that even 2½yos reason about mutually exclusive possibilities... when goals are clear to them. osf.io/preprints/ps... 1/6osf.ioOSF 14412
Roman Feiman @romanfeiman.bsky.social · 26/05/2026Excited to have been wrong about this! A few years ago, Tal told me he was working on intuitions about complexity. I knee-jerkily said, “but surely that’s not a natural kind! Why think that people have intuitions about complexity across domains?” Good thing this is the last time I’ll ever be wrong! 1202
Reposted by Roman FeimanUrvi Maheshwari ツ @urvi.bsky.social · 20/05/2026Fun little review paper w/ @drbarner.bsky.social, in which we discuss the role of language in the development of exact number concepts! 1/5 osf.io/preprints/ps...osf.ioOSF 1226
Reposted by Roman FeimanGabor Brody @gaborbrody.bsky.social · 19/05/2026The work: experimental studies of language and conceptual development with kids 2-7. 1-yr position with possible renewal, starts Aug/Sep 2026. Please share with interested students! Lab: childlanguage.yale.educhildlanguage.yale.eduChild Language Development Lab | Child Language Development Lab 011
Reposted by Roman FeimanGabor Brody @gaborbrody.bsky.social · 19/05/2026Hiring! Athulya Aravind and I are looking for a full-time Postgraduate Associate at Yale (Linguistics/Psychology). The position is designed as preparation for PhD applications in linguistics, cog sci, or psychology, including structured mentoring and research training. tinyurl.com/mrxjya5ttinyurl.comPostgraduate Researcher in Language and Conceptual Development — Department of Linguistics and Department of Psychology, Yale University (joint appointment); affiliated with the Program in Cognitive S... 12117
Reposted by Roman FeimanGrace Lindsay @neurograce.bsky.social · 14/05/2026If you've ever sought NSF funding for anything behavioral sciences related, do this now: cossa.org/action-cente...cossa.orgAction Center | COSSAA consortium of Social Science Associations works to communicate the importance of social & behavioral science research to policymakers. The powerful stories come from people who express how it is lik... 01711
Roman Feiman @romanfeiman.bsky.social · 14/05/2026NSF wouldn’t have to do this if only we had institutions where the best researchers from different disciplines were all in a complex of buildings so it would be easy to work together, and also they did that while training the next generation of researchers, and also they liked Trump more 081
Reposted by Roman FeimanRyan Lei @ryanlei.bsky.social · 12/05/2026I went to go look, and this time last year, NSF SBE had funded 216 awards. This year, they have funded 2. 16435
Reposted by Roman FeimanJoshua Weitz @joshuasweitz.bsky.social · 08/05/2026American science deserves better... not just from the federal government but from the leaders of the organization that ostensibly represents the best of the best in science, engineering and medicine. But, that reputation depends not just on past achievements but what they do in the moment. 3279
Reposted by Roman FeimanJoshua Weitz @joshuasweitz.bsky.social · 08/05/2026Announcement for @nationalacademies.org "State of the Science" address on 6/2 declares: "Since McNutt delivered her 2025 address, federal funding for science has held steady, but significant cuts are still being considered." Really? On what planet is funding steady & cuts being *considered*? a 🧵 48338
Reposted by Roman FeimanJenna Norton @jenna-m-norton.bsky.social · 30/04/2026The grant is "clean" means it no longer contains "terms potentially associated with misalignment with agency priorities" picked up by the "computational text analysis tool." Grants cannot be funded without checking this box. Yet NIH leaders like Bhattacharya & Letai insist NIH has no banned words. 428579
Reposted by Roman FeimanAlondra Nelson @alondra.bsky.social · 25/04/2026I resigned from the National Science Board in May when meaningful oversight became untenable. I respect colleagues who stayed to serve the NSB's mission. Today's news clarifies that was an erosion of oversight and function has become open elimination of the Board itself. 🧵 time.com/7285045/resi...time.comWhy I’m Resigning from the NSF and Library of CongressI cannot participate in systems that require dishonesty as the price of belonging. 271462699
Reposted by Roman FeimanJoshua Weitz @joshuasweitz.bsky.social · 27/04/2026Once the expert advisory boards are gone, next step: replace with political ideologues and/or patronage system. Example from NIH via @mmolteni.bsky.social: Blanche may not have prior publications/NIH funding but is Founder/CEO of "Integrative Healing Center & Spa, a holistic medicine practice."statnews.comDoctor, wife of acting U.S. attorney general, appointed to NIH advisory councilAn integrative medicine doctor who is the wife of the acting U.S. attorney general has been named as a member to one of the advisory councils that provides critical funding recommendations to the NIH. 610066
Reposted by Roman FeimanNoam Ross @noamross.net · 26/04/2026Again, the White House has decided to prioritize the destruction of public science, ignoring both what the public want and what the laws that Congress has passed demand. 045
Reposted by Roman FeimanRyan Comes @rbcomes.bsky.social · 23/04/2026Congress has to stop assuming that it's business as usual! Write it in the law! I'm at a loss for why @vanhollen.senate.gov and company would assume that OMB isn't going to use every lever at their disposal to break the government. 071
Reposted by Roman FeimanDan Garisto @dangaristo.bsky.social · 23/04/2026We asked Congress about this. Here's the statement we got from @vanhollen.senate.gov's office. 2208