Hester Duffy @wordlessreader.bsky.social · 29/08/2026Today I shall mostly be making soup and granola. Might even do a bit of knitting. It's a good thing I've never aspired to be cool, isn't it? 130
Hester Duffy @wordlessreader.bsky.social · 26/08/2026Dolly Parton and Tim Curry were both icons, and they both absolutely hurled themselves into creating and sharing joy, with humour and generosity. They were both utterly themselves, out loud and deliberately, regardless of who was watching. We should all be more Dolly and Tim. 15515
Hester Duffy @wordlessreader.bsky.social · 25/08/2026Ooh, just spotted a nice garden path type sentence which would be great for psycholinguistics studies, except it's on Irish and I don't think anyone is investigating garden path processing as Gaeilge... 110
Hester Duffy @wordlessreader.bsky.social · 21/08/2026I've had a wonderful two weeks of Irish classes and stunning views in Glencolmcille, west Donegal. Was already planning to come back next year but the rainbow on my last night is a nice touch. #oideasgael 010
Hester Duffy @wordlessreader.bsky.social · 12/08/2026I didn't really manage to capture the eclipse but I wrote like these pictures anyway. Solar eclipse seen from Glencolmcille in Donegal. Contrast and darkness edited. 130
Hester Duffy @wordlessreader.bsky.social · 10/08/2026I have thought for a while that I'd like to learn the bodhrán, but I'm not really into trad music. This is really inspiring! 272
Reposted by Hester DuffyDr Michele V @micheleveldsman.bsky.social · 28/07/2026📢📢📢 Neuroscientists and psychologists with kids Did your research interests change as a result of (or after) having kids? Would you mind telling me how/why if it has? Appreciate a repost for reach… 007
Hester Duffy @wordlessreader.bsky.social · 24/07/2026And once again I am forced to notice how quickly literally every pro gen-AI poster becomes really really weird. Like, are _any_ of them just, like, normal people who can have a reasonable conversation about it without getting super creepy or angry and aggressive and just, like, _weird_? 040
Hester Duffy @wordlessreader.bsky.social · 22/07/2026Interesting thread here. Having done a couple of academic integrity meetings due to suspected AI use, I just don't know how we move forward with this. 120
Hester Duffy @wordlessreader.bsky.social · 19/07/2026Stop scrolling and post two characters who bring you happiness. 180
Hester Duffy @wordlessreader.bsky.social · 13/07/2026"Verify your age" Through infant school I drank a third of a pint of room temperature milk through a thin blue plastic straw every day. 040
Hester Duffy @wordlessreader.bsky.social · 04/07/2026I had high hopes for Starter when he first became labour leader. He has disappointed me at every turn, and this thread clearly expresses why. 130
Hester Duffy @wordlessreader.bsky.social · 01/07/2026The world is such a stressful and frightening place, I'm not sure how we even live in it any more. But I spent the morning keeping the bees, observing their quiet (and sometimes not so quiet) industry, harvesting beautiful white honeycombs, re-housing them to give them room to keep working... 1131
Hester Duffy @wordlessreader.bsky.social · 25/06/2026On Sunday, I found myself living the dream; the one where you have to take an exam you haven't revised for. But today I found out I passed with Credit, so I am now officially a qualified beekeeper! 040
Hester Duffy @wordlessreader.bsky.social · 13/06/2026I have practiced lighting smokers, I have deadheaded roses, I have strimmed, I have weeded, and now I shall ache. 260
Hester Duffy @wordlessreader.bsky.social · 13/06/2026This sounds like a late 90s dystopian sci fi movie, and yet somehow we're living in it. Do Not Like. 141
Hester Duffy @wordlessreader.bsky.social · 10/06/2026I know teens get hungry, and the cost of living is sky-rocketing but still, this seems a bit much. 240
Hester Duffy @wordlessreader.bsky.social · 27/05/2026There are a lot of very compelling reasons to be very resistant to genAI, but amongst them is the fact that pro-AI guys are just so _weird_ about it. Like, they talk about genAI like it's enacting humiliating revenge on everyone who ever bullied them and they're getting off on watching it. So weird. 010
Hester Duffy @wordlessreader.bsky.social · 22/05/2026Tentacles (R, pronounced like a Greek philosopher) was a little lonely, so I have just received a companion (L) which I have named Richard, because it has a crack in its bottom (don't we all?) and is therefore a little leaky. Thank you @roseschmits.bsky.social, it is stunning! 050
Hester Duffy @wordlessreader.bsky.social · 21/05/2026Introduce yourself with 10 bands/artists you've seen live. The Dubliners The Cure Terrorvision My Chemical Romance Hozier Alice in Chains The Prodigy Conan Gray Emilie Autumn Devotchka 040
Hester Duffy @wordlessreader.bsky.social · 15/05/2026I don't want to eat the rich. I say compost the rich, and that way we can grow sustainable food for the future. 030
Hester Duffy @wordlessreader.bsky.social · 12/05/2026For speakers of languages other than English, how many regular plural forms are there in those other languages? Like, English has three, technically, but we think of them as just one, plus lots of irregulars. Irish has lots (-aí, -anna, -acha, slenderisation) plus irregulars. I need other examples! 200
Hester Duffy @wordlessreader.bsky.social · 28/04/2026A modern-day St Gobnait. While obviously I condemn violence and also irresponsible beekeeping, I cannot help feeling a sneaking respect for this queen. 070
Hester Duffy @wordlessreader.bsky.social · 23/04/2026This is just horrifying. We need to be able to trust academic publishing. I don't know how we come back from this. GenAI is so toxic. 010
Hester Duffy @wordlessreader.bsky.social · 18/04/2026Bees are amazing. One of our colonies decided to swarm today, while we were doing a bit of tidying up in the apiary, so we got to watch the whole process, and then get them settled into a new home. 190
Hester Duffy @wordlessreader.bsky.social · 12/04/2026Been doing a bit of sewing, and I am very pleased with how this turned out. Just need some nice warm weather so I can wear it! 2112
Hester Duffy @wordlessreader.bsky.social · 12/04/2026I'm pre-emptively blocking anyone I see responding to the Swalwell case with anything resembling "Innocent until proven guilty" as a reason why he should not be off the ticket immediately. 010
Hester Duffy @wordlessreader.bsky.social · 26/03/2026I will not be engaging in any way with the new Harry Potter thing because I do not want to fund transphobia. I will judge, harshly, anyone who chooses to engage with it. Some people may find that outrageously unfair, but this is a good thread about that feeling. 2186
Hester Duffy @wordlessreader.bsky.social · 22/03/2026A bit of weekend baking; a carrot and courgette loaf topped with brown sugar and pecans. Nice texture, not too sweet, a nice fairly healthy treat for breakfast. 040
Hester Duffy @wordlessreader.bsky.social · 17/03/2026Ah, the most important day of the year for Irish people around the world when we reflect on who we are as a people and a culture. Yes, it's Hozier's birthday! 001
Hester Duffy @wordlessreader.bsky.social · 16/03/2026Instant earworm which also absolutely identifies my age. 030
Hester Duffy @wordlessreader.bsky.social · 06/03/2026A propos of nothing in particular, just because the horrors persist but so must we, this is my new (not new, 1970s danish) light fitting, picked up at auction, and newly installed. 260
Reposted by Hester DuffyWarwick Psychology @warwickpsych.bsky.social · 06/03/2026📢 We’re hiring! The University of Warwick is recruiting for a full-time, permanent academic position in Psychology, available at either: 🔹 Assistant Professor 🔹 Associate Professor 📅 Application deadline: 5th April 2026jobs.ac.ukAssistant or Associate Professor (111338-0226) at University of WarwickAn academic position as a Assistant or Associate Professor (111338-0226) is being advertised on jobs.ac.uk. Click now to find more details and explore additional academic job opportunities. 0310
Hester Duffy @wordlessreader.bsky.social · 19/02/2026This sets a precedent which could ruin universities across the country. Devastating, particularly given how hard universities, and university staff, worked to do our best for our students in the most difficult of circumstances. 040
Hester Duffy @wordlessreader.bsky.social · 13/02/2026A lovely article from my brilliant colleague, about staying positive despite the awful weather. theconversation.com/how-to-stay-...theconversation.comHow to stay positive when it never stops raining – a psychologist offers tipsWe can’t change the weather, but we can try to change how it makes us feel. 000
Hester Duffy @wordlessreader.bsky.social · 11/02/2026As an Irish learner and a beekeeper, this is very relevant to my interests! I named one of my hives after Gobnait and they took it rather too seriously and were quite feisty, whereas the hive I named after Valentine (also patron of beekeepers) were much calmer. 011
Hester Duffy @wordlessreader.bsky.social · 09/02/2026This really does sound simple but also like it would work. 040
Hester Duffy @wordlessreader.bsky.social · 09/02/2026This thread did not go where I thought it would, and is well worth a read. 053
Hester Duffy @wordlessreader.bsky.social · 07/02/2026I have just received, and very carefully unwrapped, my very own tentacle pot, made by the incredibly talented @roseschmits.bsky.social . I love it so much! 4865
Hester Duffy @wordlessreader.bsky.social · 31/01/2026Just received this gorgeous print from the very talented @ciaraioch.bsky.social , along with an assortment of little extras. I love it, and it will take pride of place on my office wall! 172
Hester Duffy @wordlessreader.bsky.social · 25/01/2026I was talking to my students just the other day about what it means to offer a balanced account. It doesn't mean treating every opinion or statement as equally valuable, it means evaluating them and determining their value. 021
Hester Duffy @wordlessreader.bsky.social · 16/01/2026Ooh, look, you can get rid of AI summaries in Google! 032
Hester Duffy @wordlessreader.bsky.social · 30/12/2025I was once on a bus in Oxford, wearing a military blouson jacket. The chap behind me asked what it was, as he didn't recognise the insignia, so I told him it was, as far as I knew, French Foreign Legion. "Ah yes", he said, "they had the right idea, the French..." 140
Hester Duffy @wordlessreader.bsky.social · 07/12/2025Which lines of poetry live rent free in your head? More scouts than strangers, Ghosts who'd walked abroad Unfazed by light, to make a new beginning And make a go of it, alive and sinning Ourselves again, free willed again, Not bad 130
Hester Duffy @wordlessreader.bsky.social · 05/12/2025I visited "An Siopa Leabhar" in Dublin yesterday, and happened to bump into a guy who was in one of my online Irish classes. I don't think he's a regular there, and I've never been before; what are the chances? 131