iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Yann de Mey @yanndemey.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

Interested in joining next year? Keep an eye on the course page at wass.crs.wur.nl/courses/deta...

wass.crs.wur.nl

Yann de Mey @yanndemey.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

Today we finished five intensive and inspiring Summer School days at @w-u-r.bsky.social, where we explored how to characterize, analyse and manage the many risks facing agriculture and how to strengthen its resilience! Thanks to all participants 🙏

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AEA Data Editor @aeadata.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

Lesson? I don't know about the econometrics - but don't use --quietly-- in #Stata ! (or "source()" without "echo=TRUE" in #R, or drop the ";" in #MATLAB). Good night, and good computing!

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Yann de Mey @yanndemey.bsky.social · 22/07/2026

Amazing achievement, congratulations!

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Yann de Mey @yanndemey.bsky.social · 17/07/2026

This cow chilling at the river Rhine here in @gemeentewageningen.bsky.social might just be my spirit animal of the day!

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Robert Finger @robertfinger.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

'Probabilistic Tillage Mapping at Scale: Fusing Predictions from a Theory-Based Agronomic Model and a Bayesian Neural Network' Joins us next week for a FRIES Seminar by Alexa Leyens, University of Bonn July 13 at ETH or via zoom ethz.zoom.us/j/61682523452 FRIES frieseth.wixsite.com/friesethz

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Michael Okun @michael-okun.bsky.social · 10/06/2026

I’ve officially resigned as Associate Editor for Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience. It used to be a reputable journal, but became a case study in how forced automation destroys academic integrity. 👇

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Yann de Mey @yanndemey.bsky.social · 08/07/2026

📅 24–28 August 2026 📍 Wageningen Campus, the Netherlands 🎓 3 ECTS | Small group (maximum 20 participants) If you're a PhD candidate or early-career researcher working on agricultural economics, risk, resilience, or related topics, we'd be happy to welcome you.

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Yann de Mey @yanndemey.bsky.social · 08/07/2026

Over five days, we'll combine theory with hands-on sessions covering: ✔️ Risk measurement and decision-making ✔️ Econometric analysis of risk ✔️ Empirical applications in agriculture ✔️ Current (EU) policy developments on agricultural risk management and resilience

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Yann de Mey @yanndemey.bsky.social · 08/07/2026

🚨 We still have spots available! 🚨 Interested in deepening your understanding of risk analysis, risk management, and resilience in agriculture? Join us in our WASS PhD Summer School at Wageningen University & Research!

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Yann de Mey @yanndemey.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

I accidentally emailed the wrong Stelios and was rewarded with the best reply of the year so far 😇 🫒🇬🇷❤️

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Yann de Mey @yanndemey.bsky.social · 30/05/2026

That’s a great tip, thanks 🙏

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Yann de Mey @yanndemey.bsky.social · 29/05/2026

Anyone else doing this more as well? I feel like this is needed because it is so easy to just generated scientific (like) output nowadays. One very bad case of hallucinations is what trew me off (just a fraction of my comments in this picture below)

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Yann de Mey @yanndemey.bsky.social · 29/05/2026

I increasingly cross-check the full reference list of work submitted by students (BSc-MSc-PhD). Where in the past I would mostly do a random check and quick scanning of relevant literature, I now deliberately click and search myself to rule our hallucinated references.

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Per Engzell @pengzell.bsky.social · 26/03/2026

The rise and fall of instrumental variables and twoway fixed effects. From: arxiv.org/abs/2501.06873

Figure showing the proliferation of methods used in NBER and CEPR working papers. Instrumental variables (IV) peak around 2010, twoway fixed effects (TWFE) five years later.

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Paolo Crosetto @paolocrosetto.bsky.social · 19/03/2026

🚨Today 4pm CET🚨 PCI Webinar: The Drain of Scientific Publishing: why publishing is becoming a burden for science and how to fix it An overview talk based on three papers on #ScientificPublishing, where it stands & how to fix it. Plus dad jokes and bad acronyms. peercommunityin.org/pci-webinar-...

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Yann de Mey @yanndemey.bsky.social · 12/03/2026

Indeed, that is very likely the case. But on a pure principal ground, it feels wrong to accept (free) work when there is no response on the other end (I already contacted the journal about our own submission but got no relevant response)

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Yann de Mey @yanndemey.bsky.social · 12/03/2026

A journal just sent me a review request. But we have a paper "with editor", i.e. stuck at the first stage after submission for 4 months now. Is it understandable that I request an update on that end first, before agreeing to do work for them? #notaskingforafriend

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Yann de Mey @yanndemey.bsky.social · 01/03/2026

So “*in a world where there is really no effect*, the result would be produced by chance less than 5% of the time” is correct; but without adding that first part lord Bayes would like to have a word. In context: “*in a world where smoking bans actually do not work*” (2/2)

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Yann de Mey @yanndemey.bsky.social · 01/03/2026

However, one significant comment: your layman’s definition of a p-value perpetuate a statistical misconception 🙃 it is crucial to add that it is a probability under the null hypothesis, and not in general (1/2)

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Yann de Mey @yanndemey.bsky.social · 01/03/2026

@planetmoney.bsky.social I love the latest episode on Replication games!! Definitely a most listen for any scientist podcasts.apple.com/be/podcast/p...

podcasts.apple.com

Don't hate the replicator, hate the game

Podcast Episode · Planet Money · 27 February · 36m

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Yann de Mey @yanndemey.bsky.social · 02/02/2026

Gemini even shamed me for allegedly referring to a past labelling incident (I was not) and then shamed me into suffering from Apophenia before admitting the data was fake =) bsky.app/profile/yann...

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Yann de Mey @yanndemey.bsky.social · 21/01/2026

More information about our group can be found here: www.wur.nl/en/chair-gro...

wur.nl

People of Business Economics

Meet the people of this Chair Group.

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Yann de Mey @yanndemey.bsky.social · 19/01/2026

Another banger by Paolo Crosetto, Pablo Gómez Barreiro, and Mark Austin Hanson! While special issues with guest editors are not a problem in themselves, journals that build a business model around then invites people to start gaming the system...

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Yann de Mey @yanndemey.bsky.social · 16/01/2026

Very grateful to have received this ERAE Reviewer certificate. But I am passing this on to @khoavuumn.bsky.social in recognition of his unique commitment to our profession. Should have been his in the first place.

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Yann de Mey @yanndemey.bsky.social · 29/12/2025

And now a podcast segment is out on the Food for Europe podcast frol the EU: podcasts.apple.com/be/podcast/f...

podcasts.apple.com

64. Agri-Food Days 2025: focus on food security

Podcast Episode · Food for Europe · 23/12/2025 · 22m

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David Schindler @david-schindler.de · 21/12/2025

Utrecht University abolishes its English language bachelor's program in economics and replaces it with a Dutch one. They told staff (~30% international) the week before Christmas. Layoffs seem likely now. Unwarranted lobotomy is the only word I can find for it... dub.uu.nl/en/news/econ...

dub.uu.nl

Economics programme in shock after sudden cancellation of English-taught track

The Bachelor's programme in Economics & Business Economics will only be offered in Dutch from 2029 onwards, the Executive Board announced on Tuesday. The news came as a complete surprise to the econom...

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Yann de Mey @yanndemey.bsky.social · 18/12/2025

A more general overview of the farmers' protests across Europe can be found (open access) in: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

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Yann de Mey @yanndemey.bsky.social · 18/12/2025

“Policy dissatisfaction” and “Unfair market conditions”, were highly mentioned as protest reasons across Germany, France, Belgium and the Netherlands. The paper further focuses on farmers’ own stated grievances and how EU/national policy reactions aligned or failed to align with them.

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Yann de Mey @yanndemey.bsky.social · 18/12/2025

In our recent Food Policy article, we examined farmers’ own stated grievances during last year’s protests across four EU countries and how governments responded. Our findings suggested that unresolved and misaligned policy responses would likely contribute to repeated escalation.

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Yann de Mey @yanndemey.bsky.social · 18/12/2025

The renewed farmers’ protests today highlight the persistence of European agricultural policy tensions. Condemning the associated violence and destructive actions is necessary. At the same time, preventing its recurrence requires understanding why farmers mobilize in the first place.

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Yann de Mey @yanndemey.bsky.social · 17/12/2025

LinkedIn style would be: "Comment MOAR below and I will share the code via DM"

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Yann de Mey @yanndemey.bsky.social · 17/12/2025

Finally, while President von der Leyen highlighted that the CAP aims to provide stability, I highlighted that in my research farmers consistently perceive *policy uncertainty* as a major source of risk. A stable policy framework is therefore essential in my view!

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Yann de Mey @yanndemey.bsky.social · 17/12/2025

While traditional risk management focuses mainly on robustness to known risks, resilience thinking offers a broader perspective: preventing risks where possible, enabling adaptation, and even allowing for long-term transformation in the face of both known and unknown challenges.

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Yann de Mey @yanndemey.bsky.social · 17/12/2025

This puts pressure on: • Farmers dealing with “everyday” on-farm risks • Markets handling rarer risks with big consequences • Governments stepping in when risks become catastrophic

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Yann de Mey @yanndemey.bsky.social · 17/12/2025

My main point was: risk has *always* been part of farming, but today’s risk landscape is changing fast. Risks increasingly interact and compound, and co-occur with big shocks like COVID-19 or the war in Ukraine.

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Yann de Mey @yanndemey.bsky.social · 17/12/2025

It was amazing to take part in the 🌽 EU Agri-Food Days 🧑‍🌾 at the European Commission as a panelist in the policy session on "Building a resilient agri-food sector".

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Andrew Heiss @andrew.heiss.phd · 09/12/2025

Some closing thoughts for my students this semester on LLMs and learning #rstats datavizf25.classes.andrewheiss.com/news/2025-12...

Will you incorporate LLMs and AI prompting into the course in the future?
No.

Why won’t you incorporate LLMs and AI prompting into the course?
These tools are useful for coding (see this for my personal take on this).

However, they’re only useful if you know what you’re doing first. If you skip the learning-the-process-of-writing-code step and just copy/paste output from ChatGPT, you will not learn. You cannot learn. You cannot improve. You will not understand the code.

In that post, it warns that you cannot use it as a beginner:

…to use Databot effectively and safely, you still need the skills of a data scientist: background and domain knowledge, data analysis expertise, and coding ability.

There is no LLM-based shortcut to those skills. You cannot LLM your way into domain knowledge, data analysis expertise, or coding ability.

The only way to gain domain knowledge, data analysis expertise, and coding ability is to struggle. To get errors. To google those errors. To look over the documentation. To copy/paste your own code and adapt it for different purposes. To explore messy datasets. To struggle to clean those datasets. To spend an hour looking for a missing comma.

This isn’t a form of programming hazing, like “I had to walk to school uphill both ways in the snow and now you must too.” It’s the actual process of learning and growing and developing and improving. You’ve gotta struggle.

This Tumblr post puts it well (it’s about art specifically, but it applies to coding and data analysis too):

Contrary to popular belief the biggest beginner’s roadblock to art isn’t even technical skill it’s frustration tolerance, especially in the age of social media. It hurts and the frustration is endless but you must build the frustration tolerance equivalent to a roach’s capacity to survive a nuclear explosion. That’s how you build on the technical skill. Throw that “won’t even start because I’m afraid it won’t be perfect” shit out the window. Just do it. Just start. Good luck. (The original post has disappeared, but here’s a reblog.)

It’s hard, but struggling is the only way to learn anything.

You might not enjoy code as much as Williams does (or I do), but there’s still value in maintaining codings skills as you improve and learn more. You don’t want your skills to atrophy.

As I discuss here, when I do use LLMs for coding-related tasks, I purposely throw as much friction into the process as possible:

To avoid falling into over-reliance on LLM-assisted code help, I add as much friction into my workflow as possible. I only use GitHub Copilot and Claude in the browser, not through the chat sidebar in Positron or Visual Studio Code. I treat the code it generates like random answers from StackOverflow or blog posts and generally rewrite it completely. I disable the inline LLM-based auto complete in text editors. For routine tasks like generating {roxygen2} documentation scaffolding for functions, I use the {chores} package, which requires a bunch of pointing and clicking to use.

Even though I use Positron, I purposely do not use either Positron Assistant or Databot. I have them disabled.

So in the end, for pedagogical reasons, I don’t foresee me incorporating LLMs into this class. I’m pedagogically opposed to it. I’m facing all sorts of external pressure to do it, but I’m resisting.

You’ve got to learn first.

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Yann de Mey @yanndemey.bsky.social · 11/12/2025

This game almost made me fail an exam 😃 addictive stuff!!

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Robert Finger @robertfinger.bsky.social · 09/12/2025

New paper in Nature Communications🥳 Our paper ’Expected effects of a global transformation of agricultural pest management’ led by Niklas Möhring is now online Open Access www.nature.com/articles/s41...

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Yann de Mey @yanndemey.bsky.social · 03/12/2025

Always cool to see these kinds of Wrapped-style summaries. I particularly like the Emoji overview as well 😀

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