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William Ngiam | 严祥全

@williamngiam.github.io
1.7K followers 853 following 628 posts

Computational cognitive neuroscientist at Adelaide University | Perception, Attention, Learning and Memory Lab (palm-lab.github.io) | Open Practices Editor at Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics | ReproducibiliTea | williamngiam.github.io

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Reposted by William Ngiam | 严祥全
Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience (JoCN) @jocn.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Patterns of Alpha-band Power Reflect Prioritization of the Most Recently Encoded Location in a Working Memory Sequence
direct.mit.edu
Patterns of Alpha-band Power Reflect Prioritization of the Most Recently Encoded Location in a Working Memory Sequence
Abstract. Space and time play a critical role in working memory formation and maintenance relative to other object features. Particularly, covert spatial attention spontaneously tracks object…
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Reposted by William Ngiam | 严祥全
Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience (JoCN) @jocn.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Long-term Memory Contributions to Working Memory: A Contralateral Delay Activity Study
direct.mit.edu
Long-term Memory Contributions to Working Memory: A Contralateral Delay Activity Study
Abstract. How does long-term memory (LTM) support working memory (WM) performance? Proposed mechanisms include “boosting,” where LTM enhances WM representations through additional activation but does…
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William Ngiam | 严祥全 @williamngiam.github.io · 17h
At least you still have hair!
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Reposted by William Ngiam | 严祥全
Anna Corriveau @annacorriveau.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
New preprint! Are attentional lapses the result of disengagement or simply response failure? Using EEG, we tested how attention fluctuations impact visual representations in the brain. (1/5) www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
biorxiv.org
Degraded neural representations foreshadow failures of sustained attention
Attention prioritizes relevant information from the environment, but does not do so consistently over time. Instead, we sometimes experience poor attentional states which are characterized by a higher...
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Reposted by William Ngiam | 严祥全
ReproducibiliTea @reproducibilitea.org · 28/09/2026
☕️Shape the future of Open Research: Join the ReproducibiliTea Steering Committee for 2027! We are thrilled to announce that applications are officially open to join the ReproducibiliTea Steering Committee starting in early 2027.
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Reposted by William Ngiam | 严祥全
Neuroskeptic @neuroskeptic.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Is there "a fundamental tension between the need for an open science culture and data sovereignty" in neuroscience? pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42786235/ This is a very good question! And not just for neuroscience.
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William Ngiam | 严祥全 @williamngiam.github.io · 25/09/2026
The @reproducibilitea.org conference is starting now!
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Reposted by William Ngiam | 严祥全
ReproducibiliTea @reproducibilitea.org · 23/09/2026
🎉 ReproducibiliTea 2026 Conference | 25 September 2026 “A decade on & decades ahead” 🌟 Spotlight: Keynote Speakers & Closing Remarks We are thrilled to spotlight our opening and closing keynotes.
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Reposted by William Ngiam | 严祥全
Tim Ricker @timricker.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Recruiting a new PhD student to start Fall 2027. Research would focus on Visual Working Memory, possibly with a developmental approach (but not necessarily). Check out my lab website where the are links to the application and contact info if you have questions. rickermemorylab.com
rickermemorylab.com
Memory & Attention Laboratory
The Memory and Attention Laboratory at the University of South Dakota is part of the Human Factors & Applied Cognition  program in the Department of Psychology . We study memory, attention, and...
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Reposted by William Ngiam | 严祥全
Gidon Frischkorn @gidon-frischkorn.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
@cognition-zurich.bsky.social is searching for a PostDoc! Come work with us!
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Reposted by William Ngiam | 严祥全
Martin Zettersten @mzettersten.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Our department at UC San Diego is hiring a new tenure-track Assistant Professor. Open area, research addressing foundational issues in cogsci using modern computational methods. I love my department, and you will too. Apply!! apol-recruit.ucsd.edu/JPF04633 #cogscisci #cogsci #DevPsyc #PsychSciSky
apol-recruit.ucsd.edu
Assistant Professor in Cognitive Science
University of California, San Diego is hiring. Apply now!
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Reposted by William Ngiam | 严祥全
Andrey Chetverikov @achetverikov.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
I made an interactive demo with different visual illusions to replace the old videos we used before. Feel free to play with it here illusions.andreychetverikov.org and to use it yourself (the code is on my Github; if I missed to include somebody in the credits - please let me know).
illusions.andreychetverikov.org
Visual Illusions Lab
Eleven live, adjustable visual-illusion demonstrations for outreach events.
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William Ngiam | 严祥全 @williamngiam.github.io · 19/09/2026
Check out the reusability checker ShinyApp! It's very useful for making sure your data repositories are in good condition before the upcoming read-only freeze of OSF repositories.
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Reposted by William Ngiam | 严祥全
Dan Quintana @dsquintana.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
New preprint! 🎉 I analysed 1660 papers from 4 psychology journals and found materials sharing went from 9% of papers in 2015 to 82% in 2025, and these materials *do* get downloaded — a median of 135 times each. BUT shared code is often hard to run. doi.org/10.31234/osf... Let's walk through it 🧵
Two-panel figure. Panel a is a flow diagram tracking 1,611 empirical psychology articles from publication year (545 in 2015, 552 in 2020, 514 in 2025) to repository-link type: 785 link an OSF project, 85 link another platform, and 741 link no repository. Of those with an OSF link, download counts were retrieved for 670 and not retrieved for 115. Panel b is a line chart of the share of empirical papers linking OSF across 2015, 2020 and 2025. The overall rate, shown as a dashed black line, rises from 9% to 57% to 82%. All four journals rise steeply and end close together: Psychological Science 92%, JESP 89%, JML 83%, Cognition 76%, with Psychological Science highest throughout.Three-panel figure. Panel a: ridgeline plot of downloads per file by material type on a log scale, with the percentage never downloaded labelled for each — archive 16% of 545 files, documents 20% of 2,970, code 12% of 3,471, other 17% of 1,646, data 21% of 10,051, media 35% of 2,120, images 35% of 4,102. Most files cluster between 1 and 10 downloads, with long right tails past 100. Panel b: ridgeline plot of downloads per paper by journal, log scale, with dashed median lines; Psychological Science is highest, then JESP, JML and Cognition. Panel c: stacked bars showing, for documents, data and code separately, the share of papers by download band (0, 1–10, 11–100, more than 100) in 2015, 2020 and 2025. The share exceeding 100 downloads falls sharply over time in all three types, from roughly two-thirds in 2015 to a quarter or less in 2025, as the 1–10 band grows.Four-panel figure. Panel a: statistical languages detected among 333 papers with retrievable code — R 88%, SPSS 12%, Stata 4%, SAS 1%. Panel b: code red flags among those 333 papers — 34% hard-code an absolute path, 40% reference a missing file — above documentation among 672 OSF-linked papers — 21% have a README, 30% are documented by README, description or wiki. Panel c: among 562 Elsevier papers with no repository link, 44% (245) host at least one journal supplementary file but only 14% (77) host data, code or an archive. Panel d: composition of those 448 hosted files — documents 52%, data 21%, media 9%, other 7%, archive 6%, code 3%, images 1%. The code panels are green, the journal-supplement panels blue.Coefficient plot (download predictors)

Dot-and-whisker plot of three standardised predictors of OSF download volume, each with a 95% confidence interval. Repository size (number of files) has the largest effect at about 0.76, citations about 0.38, and altmetric attention about 0.12. All three intervals sit entirely above zero, so each predicts more downloads, with repository size roughly twice the effect of citations and six times that of attention. X-axis: standardised effect, −0.2 to 1.0.
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William Ngiam | 严祥全 @williamngiam.github.io · 19/09/2026
📅 Make sure that you have the ReproducibiliTea conference marked in your calendars on Friday! I will be chairing the first session where we look at some of the issues around computational reproducibility including statistical interpretation, sleuthing and review, and dissemination. Link below👇
reproducibilitea.org
Session 1: Big Problems in Reproducibility · Spilling the ReproducibiliTea 2026
Where does reproducibility break down? Four short talks on computational reproducibility, the misuse of statistics, paper mills and research fraud, and what the editorial process can and cannot catch ...
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William Ngiam | 严祥全 @williamngiam.github.io · 18/09/2026
If psychological judgments of similarity are non-metric (Tversky, 1977), and we are evaluating similarity of neural representations by using metric spaces (like Procrustes distance), then how does that mismatch get resolved for neural representations of similarity?
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William Ngiam | 严祥全 @williamngiam.github.io · 13/09/2026
static.klipy.com
Embarrassed Kid During Interview
ALT: Embarrassed Kid During Interview
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William Ngiam | 严祥全 @williamngiam.github.io · 13/09/2026
Can we put OpenAI/Anthropic/etc. through any Institutional Review Board / Research Ethics Committee? It would be so fun to watch them implode from all the administrative barriers and minutiae they have to get through to do their "research" (let alone address all the actual ethical issues).
Michelle Yeoh saying "Have you heard the one about the unstoppable force that met the immovable object?"
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William Ngiam | 严祥全 @williamngiam.github.io · 13/09/2026
Yes, a fair critique; we share your intuition about the similarity task as well and could force that into our model and create a common representation. But doing that masks the need for clear psychological and/or neural models of similarity judgments themselves, rather than ad-hoc "fixes"!
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Reposted by William Ngiam | 严祥全
Alon Zivony @alonzivony.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Is your lab doing research in developmental cognitive psychology? Are you looking for (online) speakers for your lab meetings? Then perhaps reach out to Jenny.
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William Ngiam | 严祥全 @williamngiam.github.io · 09/09/2026
I really appreciate the call to focus on representations (and their geometry) to better understand cognition! I head down a similar path here: bsky.app/profile/will.... Looking forward to diving into your paper further!
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William Ngiam | 严祥全 @williamngiam.github.io · 09/09/2026
Hi Arthur! I skipped to the working memory section - thought I would mention that Philip Smith has a ton of work on a sample-size law that explains set-size effects that is neglected by the field; I think it deserves attention in your piece if you get to revise it. psycnet.apa.org/fulltext/201...
psycnet.apa.org
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Reposted by William Ngiam | 严祥全
Australian Research Council @arc-gov-au.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
📢 Open for feedback: Draft ARC FAIR Data Policy Have your say on a draft FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable) Data Policy for future NCGP schemes to support more consistent management, description and sharing of ARC-funded research data. More: www.arc.gov.au/news-and-pub...
Graphic promoting consultation on the ARC FAIR Data Policy. The image features a dark purple background with a light purple banner reading “Seeking feedback” at the top. In the centre, a white line-art illustration combines a clipboard outline with an upward-trending bar chart, symbolising data collection and analysis. At the bottom, white text reads “Draft ARC FAIR Data Policy.” The design uses purple and white colours with abstract curved line elements.
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Reposted by William Ngiam | 严祥全
Eric Schares @eschares.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
🚨Update: Our analysis of global APC expenditure has now been expanded to cover more publishers (7 -> 14) and more years (2019-2025). We estimate $15B in APCs paid over seven years, $3.7B in 2025 alone. Elsevier crosses the $1B threshold by itself in 2025. arxiv.org/abs/2608.16322 #ScholComm
Line chart showing 5 biggest publishers from 2019-2025
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William Ngiam | 严祥全 @williamngiam.github.io · 01/09/2026
More like Dan "uh-really?" amirite
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William Ngiam | 严祥全 @williamngiam.github.io · 25/08/2026
Which causes more distress: the cold pressor test or getting a manuscript rejected after the second round of reviews?
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William Ngiam | 严祥全 @williamngiam.github.io · 23/08/2026
Make a band bigger Two Door Cinema Spade
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William Ngiam | 严祥全 @williamngiam.github.io · 22/08/2026
Hi Emily! I'm curious how you think this plays into anthropomorphism and perceptions of machine consciousness. Do you think both language features and the LLM user's need for an explanation play a role here? If so, do you think one plays a larger role than the other?
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William Ngiam | 严祥全 @williamngiam.github.io · 22/08/2026
Papers so good that it can't be touched
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William Ngiam | 严祥全 @williamngiam.github.io · 16/08/2026
Very glad to see that this is happening!
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Reposted by William Ngiam | 严祥全
Josh de Leeuw @joshdeleeuw.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
With the upcoming changes to OSF, DataPipe (pipe.jspsych.org) is migrating to a multi-backend model. We're currently developing support for Zenodo, Dataverse, and Google Drive. If there are other providers that you'd like to see as options please get in touch.
pipe.jspsych.org
DataPipe
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Reposted by William Ngiam | 严祥全
Daniel Lakens @lakens.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
New Blog post: Which Data Repository Should you Use? In light of OSF closing down, I compare Zenodo, Dataverse, ResearchBox, PsychArchive, and local repositories on six important dimensions. If you want to know which to pick: It depends! daniellakens.blogspot.com/2026/08/whic...
daniellakens.blogspot.com
Which Data Repository Should You Use?
The Center for Open Science has announced that from November 16, 2026, no new projects can be created on the Open Science Framework. After F...
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William Ngiam | 严祥全 @williamngiam.github.io · 16/08/2026
I've been data editing for Attention, Perception, and Psychophysics for a year and a bit now; I feel slightly vindicated for nagging people about READMEs in their repositories and to organise their files. Note that you won't be able to make edits to existing repos from mid-February onwards!
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William Ngiam | 严祥全 @williamngiam.github.io · 12/08/2026
static.klipy.com
Man Disappears: Bye I'm Out
ALT: Man Disappears: Bye I'm Out
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William Ngiam | 严祥全 @williamngiam.github.io · 11/08/2026
static.klipy.com
Bro Is Finished: Dog Basking in Golden Light
ALT: Bro Is Finished: Dog Basking in Golden Light
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William Ngiam | 严祥全 @williamngiam.github.io · 11/08/2026
On a quick skim, the core function that OSF will fulfil is registration of studies (plus protocols and analysis plans) and hosting preprints. This means we will need to find data repositories for new projects following mid-November; perhaps Github, Zenodo, or university-operated commons.
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Reposted by William Ngiam | 严祥全
Jonathan Peelle @jpeelle.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
Yikes “Starting November 16, 2026, no new projects or child components of existing projects can be created on OSF. After February 19, 2027, all public and private OSF projects will become read-only.” www.cos.io/osf-changes
cos.io
OSF Changes | Center for Open Science
We are preparing substantial changes to OSF that will reduce its functionality, focus OSF on its unique strengths, and move toward an integrated model with complementary services. As part of that shif...
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Reposted by William Ngiam | 严祥全
Tom Wallis @tsawallis.bsky.social · 09/08/2026
New preprint! Have you ever wanted to measure psychometric functions in high-dimensional stimulus spaces, but realised that this is infeasible? We present and validate a technique to adaptively estimate psychometric functions for stimulus spaces up to 50 dimensions. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
biorxiv.org
Adaptive experiments in high-dimensional feature spaces: A particle filtering approach
Behavioral experiments are often infeasible when stimulus spaces have many dimensions or when testing time is limited. One way to address this challenge is adaptive stimulus selection, where informati...
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William Ngiam | 严祥全 @williamngiam.github.io · 07/08/2026
Ever thought meta-research and Open Science needed a virtual conference that all could attend? @reproducibilitea.org is putting one together in September, with the program shaping up to be insightful and impactful. Please reach out if you would like to help! reproducibilitea.org/conference2026
reproducibilitea.org
Spilling the ReproducibiliTea 2026
An online conference on reproducibility in research: open discussions, fresh perspectives, and community building with researchers worldwide.
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Reposted by William Ngiam | 严祥全
Jessie Sun @jessiesun.bsky.social · 07/07/2026
Interested in doing a postdoc with me in Auckland, New Zealand? 🇳🇿 See info below on a competitive award opportunity, and please spread the word!
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re-vision-init.bsky.social @re-vision-init.bsky.social · 01/08/2026
(1/6) Do our visual neuroscience findings actually replicate? And do they generalize beyond the datasets they were found in? We've lauched re:vision, a community-driven initiative to answer these questions, and we are looking for scientistis to participate. re-vision-initiative.org
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Minds, Machines, and Brains (MMB) @mmb-journal.bsky.social · 02/08/2026
Hello world! 👋 We’re Minds, Machines, and Brains (MMB) 👤🤖🧠 a new open access journal from @mitpress.bsky.social exploring the principles of intelligence and cognition across natural and artificial minds. Submissions open this Fall! 🔗 direct.mit.edu/mmb
direct.mit.edu
Minds, Machines, and Brains | MIT Press
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William Ngiam | 严祥全 @williamngiam.github.io · 01/08/2026
This is critical reading for those wondering about the future of open science; we ought to make progress by being clear-eyed on the origins of the movement (and in this case, the dangers raised by the sources of seed funding being those with wealth and influence).
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William Ngiam | 严祥全 @williamngiam.github.io · 31/07/2026
Fun to see the "impossible" size-weight illusion (and Alan Davies' reaction) on QI! If only the joy and curiosity that these illusions sparks was reason enough to provide funding to the basic sesnsation and perception sciences! @chazfirestone.bsky.social h/t to @deannegreen.bsky.social
youtube.com
The Experiment That Blew Alan's Mind | QI
YouTube video by QI
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William Ngiam | 严祥全 @williamngiam.github.io · 22/07/2026
The ECRs @reproducibilitea.org are hosting a free online symposium! When: September 25, 2026 – 10:00 (UTC+1) Where: Online via Zoom — free and open to all! Details: reproducibilitea.org/conference2026 Grab your favourite cup as we pour over what the community has been brewing for ten years.
docs.google.com
Virtual Conference Registration: "Spilling the ReproducibiliTea: A decade on and decades ahead"
This registration for is to confirm your attendance at the virtual ReproducibiliTea conference "Spilling the ReproducibiliTea: A decade on and decades ahead", taking place online (Zoom) on September 2...
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Reposted by William Ngiam | 严祥全
WMSymposium.bsky.social @wmsymposium.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
3 more hours until the first day of WMS 2026 (a.k.a. PARTY)! See you all there!! www.wmsymposium.org/program (Don't forget to join Slack before the party starts!)
static.klipy.com
Hours Three More Hours
ALT: Hours Three More Hours
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William Ngiam | 严祥全 @williamngiam.github.io · 13/07/2026
The advance we make in this work is that we can infer the representation from the behaviour within the task itself. We hope this case study convinces cognitive researchers that we need to explain the cognitive representation rather than outsource it to a derivation from similarity judgments. /end
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William Ngiam | 严祥全 @williamngiam.github.io · 13/07/2026
We think both approaches are scientifically worthwhile; either way, we hope it pushes the field to deliberate on what a cognitive representation is. One example, I will pursue whether different conditions of a working memory task (that ought to be process-invariant) change the representation. /7
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William Ngiam | 严祥全 @williamngiam.github.io · 13/07/2026
The cataloging approach examines variants of our task-specific models (e.g. decision rules, different stimuli, adjusting priors). The goal is to infer when representations are (or ought to be) invariant or variant across tasks contexts, allowing generalization to new experimental settings. /6
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William Ngiam | 严祥全 @williamngiam.github.io · 13/07/2026
The unification approach tries to combine the task-specific models and resolve a single underlying representation. This can be achieved by adding principled processes explaining variation across tasks (e.g. selective attention in Nosofsky's work) or by altering how the representation is defined. /5
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