iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Dr. Zed Sehyr @zedsehyr.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Posters at #SNL2026 by Cognition Language and Plasticity Lab and collaborators! Come by for a chat on Thu Session D (D8) and and Fri Sessions E (E54) & F (F74)

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Dr. Zed Sehyr @zedsehyr.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

OSF Preprint: osf.io/preprints/ps...

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Unofficial preprint sneak peek: It's a small world of signs: Semantic network structure in American Sign Language based on free associations: osf.io/26eaz @kemmorey.bsky.social @naomicaselli.bsky.social @erinbuchanan.bsky.social

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These differences are not deficits - they are adaptations shaped by the visual-manual modality and Deaf language experience. Plus, we'vemapped a fraction of the ASL lexicon. We plan to expand to more signs, sign types & signers to get a better picture of how meaning is organized in signed languages.

But there were also language-specific differences! The ASL lexicon was more loosely interconnected with many cliques compared to English. Semantically related signs were also more visually (phonologically) related. Finally, iconic signs were picky 😉 -they tended to attract less diverse associations.

We gathered 90K+ sign associations and built the first large scale sign semantic network. We compared network structure in ASL with English. ASL, like spoken languages, is organized into a "small-world" network, a system of interconnected neighborhoods that supports efficient language retrieval.

coopmike48 @coopmike48.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

🧠🤟 How is meaning organized in ASL? "It's a small world of signs: Semantic network structure in American Sign Language based on free associations" We asked deaf ASL signers to give three meaning-related signs for each sign in ASL-LEX that immediately came to mind.

osf.io

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Reposted by Dr. Zed Sehyr

How A.I. Learned that Some Cognitive Science Views of the Reading Process are Wrong and Federal and State SoR Laws are Existential A Refutation of Mark Seidenberg’s Language at the Speed of Sight and Emily Hanford’s Sold a Story DENNY TAYLOR teachingindangeroustimes.substack.com/p/how-ai-lea...

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Liz Neeley @lizneeley.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

A scientist who just lost her grant cuts straight to the heart of it: “Requiring that NIH only fund work leading directly to a drug or other biomedical intervention… would rule out much basic research funded by the agency.” It’s pathetic & harmful to limit our understanding of health like this

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Naomi Caselli @naomicaselli.bsky.social · 10/07/2025

I was heading to Capitol Hill to a science fair on cancelled grants when we learned our grant was reinstated. Yay! But that’s not the end of the story. (9/16)

A sign in front of a marble atrium reading "The things we'll never know" in fading color, with the subtitle "a science fair of canceled grants"

Naomi Caselli and Michelle Koplitz, two white women, in front of the Capitol building.

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The Last Mile with USAID @thelastmilewithusaid.substack.com · 16/07/2026

One rule may seem technical. Five rules, moving in the same direction, begin to resemble a pattern documented in democratic backsliding: expanding executive control over the bureaucracy while narrowing institutional checks on personnel decisions. Pay attention.

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Bethany Brookshire @beebrookshire.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

Good morning. Today is the LAST DAY to comment on the proposed OMB rule that will, honestly, destroy science in the US. And it will do FAR MORE THAN THAT. www.theverge.com/science/9576...

theverge.com

The war against ‘woke’ could end US science as we know it

‘Everyone will be affected, not just scientists. Every community in the country.’

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Dr. Zed Sehyr @zedsehyr.bsky.social · 21/06/2026

Submit a comment to oppose the new OMB plans to politicise and destroy science. Disorders and diseases don’t stop based on who is in power!! If there’s one thing you do to help keep the world a better place, do this

ManyLanguages @manylanguagesc.bsky.social · 01/06/2026

Reposted by Dr. Zed Sehyr

If you want to contribute to any of our three projects (ManyTones, CLAPS, Many Uses), you can reach out to the project leads. You will find their contact information here: many-languages.com/projects.html

many-languages.com

Projects

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Michael D. Green, PhD @michaeldgreen.phd · 28/05/2026

President of MIT not mincing words today in @statnews.com www.statnews.com/2026/05/27/s...

So let me say it as clearly as I can: Without basic scientific research, supported by the kind of farsighted public investment that allows large-scale, undirected, curiosity-driven inquiry, the scientific pipeline will run dry.
In daily life, people may not feel the effects right away, or even in 10 years. But we will feel it. And when someone we love needs therapies that could have emerged but didn't or when other countries now
investing in science can launch new science-based industries or run their societies on vast resources of fusion energy or reap the benefits of quantum computing power or advanced medical breakthroughs, America will wish it sustained its leadership in scientific research here and now.
Sally Kornbluth is the president of MIT.

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Dr. Zed Sehyr @zedsehyr.bsky.social · 29/05/2026

Sponsored by or applying for federal grants? You want to know this.

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Dr. Zed Sehyr @zedsehyr.bsky.social · 22/05/2026

Ah yes like the visual takeover hypothesis that was built on misinterpretation of one study’s findings and fuelled an ideology that lead to language deprivation in deaf kids?

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Reposted by Dr. Zed Sehyr

Karen Emmorey @kemmorey.bsky.social · 11/05/2026

New paper on fingerspelling (deaf) and print (hearing) spelling errors with @zedsehyr.bsky.social! One cool result: deaf fingerspellers are more accurate in preserving double letters (phonologically marked in FS), highlighting how FS can support writing. Open access paper here: tinyurl.com/5n728jpd

tinyurl.com

Orthographic representations in American Sign Language fingerspelling | Applied Psycholinguistics | Cambridge Core

Orthographic representations in American Sign Language fingerspelling - Volume 47

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The differences we see are not weaknesses, but evidence of a flexible, efficient, visual‑manual way of representing letters and words; one that is well‑suited to ASL and may support literacy in its own right. With @kemmorey.bsky.social

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Deaf signers preserved double letters (e.g. "bb" in "rabbit") likely because fingerspelling marks them with visible movement or repetition. Fingerspelling relies on visual cues, movement, and sequencing, and much less on speech sounds.

Deaf and hearing participants had the same spelling accuracy (~88%) but spelling error patterns differed quite a lot. Deaf signers made more deletions and letter shifts/transpositions. Hearing speakers made more substitutions, reflecting different strategies.

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Orthographic representations in American Sign Language fingerspelling | Applied Psycholinguistics | Cambridge Core

📢 New research on ASL fingerspelling is out! We asked how orthographic knowledge (letter identity, order & quantity) is represented when Deaf signers fingerspell, and how this compares to how hearing speakers spell written English. Open access paper here: tinyurl.com/5n728jpd

tinyurl.com

Orthographic representations in American Sign Language fingerspelling - Volume 47

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Dr. Zed Sehyr @zedsehyr.bsky.social · 02/05/2026

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Deaffest online cinema - watch now, unlock 2 movies for free! 🤟🏼 deaffestonlinecinema.eventive.org/films

deaffestonlinecinema.eventive.org

DEAFFEST ONLINE CINEMA

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Dr. Zed Sehyr @zedsehyr.bsky.social · 09/04/2026

Who’s coming to sunny San Diego in November?

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Reposted by Dr. Zed Sehyr

ManyLanguages @manylanguagesc.bsky.social · 30/01/2026

We’re trialling a new social activity: #ManyLanguagesChallengeOfTheMonth Running large-scale projects means encountering puzzles, hiccups, and the occasional “why is this happening” moment.

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UMassLinguistics @umasslinguistics.bsky.social · 10/12/2025

How a Denver school engaged Latino dads to tutor students in the community on reading #NPR www.npr.org/2025/11/...

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Dr. Lucky Tran @luckytran.com · 21/11/2025

Instead, veterinary medicine, chiropractic and theology are now considered professional degrees.

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Reposted by Dr. Zed Sehyr

ICYMI Dept of Education will no longer considers these professional degrees: Nursing Public health Social work Physician assistant Occupational therapy Physical therapy Audiology Speech-language pathology Social work Counseling & therapy Health Admin A smaller health workforce makes us all sicker

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This work is possible thanks to funding from #NSF and through collaboration with Amelia Becker @naomicaselli.bsky.social @naomicaselli.bsky.social @zedsehyr.bsky.social

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Spoiler: frequent signs shrink too & are produced lower in signing space than infrequent signs. Inclusion of sign languages offers a bigger, BETTER picture of language production. Come to the one and only sign language presentation at #Psychonomics2025 #psynom2025: Sat 9:20am, Governor Square 14.

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Karen Emmorey @kemmorey.bsky.social · 25/10/2025

Much of the way we articulate words isn’t random. It reflects how the brain balances effort & clarity. Common words are shorter & more “shrunk”, confusable words are pronounced more clearly. We asked if ASL signs show similar patterns of reduction using pose-tracking on thousands of ASL signs.

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New case study of a Deaf autistic signer finds autism affects both linguistic and affective facial expressions, supporting accounts grounded in motor and maybe prosodic difficulties. Also supports effective languaging strategies beyond the neurotypical norm. www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/15...

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Dr. Zed Sehyr @zedsehyr.bsky.social · 30/09/2025

Holy moly. That’s terrifying! the firefighter demonstrated admirable amount of composure given his situation. Wow

Dr. Zed Sehyr @zedsehyr.bsky.social · 27/09/2025

Oh that’s good to know! I just updated Word and was considering updating EndNote (the latest version has a fancy AI assistant and all that..) but maybe I’ll wait until they figure out support. Endnote has historically had issues keeping up with MS Office upgrades.. sigh! Zotero is ok ish.