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the capricious nature of p < .05, or why data peeking is evil
There’s a time-honored tradition in the social sciences–or at least psychology–that goes something like this. You decide on some provisional number of subjects you’d like to run in your study; usually...
View Articlethe perils of digging too deep
Another in a series of posts supposedly at the intersection of fiction and research methods, but mostly just an excuse to write ridiculous stories and pretend they have some sort of moral. Dr. Rickles...
View Articlebabygate blues: a neuromarketing tale
Cory Doctorow has a new short story (“Ghosts in my Head“) about the undesirable consequences of neuromarketing run amok up on the Subterranean Press website. I liked the story, but thought the premise...
View Articlerepost: narrative tips from a grad school applicant
Since it’s grad school application season for undergraduates, I thought I’d repost some narrative tips about how to go about writing a personal statement for graduate programs in psychology. This is an...
View Articleto each their own addiction
An only slightly fictionalized story, for my long-suffering wife. “It’s happening again,” I tell my wife from the couch. “I’m having that soul-crushing experience again.” “Too much work?” she asks,...
View ArticleCNS 2011: a first-person shorthand account in the manner of Rocky Steps
Friday, April 1 4 pm. Arrive at SFO International on bumpy flight from Denver. 4:45 pm. Approach well-dressed man downtown and open mouth to ask for directions to Hyatt Regency San Francisco. “Sorry,”...
View Articlesunbathers in America
This is fiction. Kind of. Science left for a few days and asked fiction to care for the house. I ran into my friend, Cornelius Kipling, at the grocery store. He was ahead of me in line, holding a large...
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deconstructing the turducken
This is fiction. Which means it’s entirely made up, and definitely not at all based on any real people or events. Cornelius Kipling came over to our house for Thanksgiving. I didn’t invite him; I...
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the seedy underbelly
This is fiction. Science will return shortly. Cornelius Kipling doesn’t take No for an answer. He usually takes several of them–several No’s strung together in rapid sequence, each one louder and more...
View ArticleJirafas
This is fiction. The party is supposed to start at 7 pm, but of course, no one shows up before 8:45. When the guests finally do arrive, I randomly assign each of them to one of four groups–A through...
View Articlethen gravity let go
This is fiction. My grandmother’s stroke destroyed most of Nuremberg and all of Wurzburg. She was sailing down the Danube on a boat when it happened. I won’t tell you who she was with and what they...
View Articlethe weeble distribution: a love story
“I’m a statistician,” she wrote. “By day, I work for the census bureau. By night, I use my statistical skills to build the perfect profile. I’ve mastered the mysterious headline, the alluring photo,...
View ArticleThe Great Minds Journal Club discusses Westfall & Yarkoni (2016)
[Editorial note: The people and events described here are fictional. But the paper in question is quite real.] “Dearly Beloved,” The Graduate Student began. “We are gathered here to–” “Again?” Samantha...
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memories of your father
This is fiction. Well, sort of. “What’s the earliest memory you have of your father,” Baruch asks me. He’s leaning over the counter in his shop, performing surgery on an iPhone battery with a...
View Articlethe fifty percent sleeper
That’s the title of a short fiction piece I have up at lablit.com today; it’s about brain scanning and beef jerky, among other things. It starts like this: Day 1, 6 a.m. Ok, I’m locked into this place...
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the capricious nature of p < .05, or why data peeking is evil
There’s a time-honored tradition in the social sciences–or at least psychology–that goes something like this. You decide on some provisional number of subjects you’d like to run in your study; usually...
View Articlethe perils of digging too deep
Another in a series of posts supposedly at the intersection of fiction and research methods, but mostly just an excuse to write ridiculous stories and pretend they have some sort of moral. Dr. Rickles...
View Articlerepost: narrative tips from a grad school applicant
Since it’s grad school application season for undergraduates, I thought I’d repost some narrative tips about how to go about writing a personal statement for graduate programs in psychology. This is an...
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