Cedar Riener
@criener.bsky.social
College professor, cognitive psychologist, textbook author. Also interested in science writing, social justice, politics and anti-racism. Proud member of AAUP & AFT Local 6741. Personal account. Views are my own and do not represent RMC, AAAS or SCHEV
Reposted by Cedar Riener
I can’t believe a technical solution to a complex social problem didn’t work. Ah well, nevertheless
One Laptop Per Child, 10 years later: "we find no significant effects on academic performance but some evidence of negative effects on grade progression... computer access significantly improved students’ computer skills but not their cognitive skills" www.nber.org/papers/w34495
Laptops in the Long Run: Evidence from the One Laptop per Child Program in Rural Peru
Founded in 1920, the NBER is a private, non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to conducting economic research and to disseminating research findings among academics, public policy makers, an...
www.nber.org
December 7, 2025 at 9:26 PM
I can’t believe a technical solution to a complex social problem didn’t work. Ah well, nevertheless
Reposted by Cedar Riener
"My buddy Steve, who doesn't wash his ass and calls women 'females,' whose last steady job was cleaning the 7-Eleven hot dog machine and he got fired, can't get laid. Here's 4,000 words about why that's the fault of Susan, a constitutional lawyer/supermodel who rescues puppies in her spare time."
December 3, 2025 at 7:37 PM
"My buddy Steve, who doesn't wash his ass and calls women 'females,' whose last steady job was cleaning the 7-Eleven hot dog machine and he got fired, can't get laid. Here's 4,000 words about why that's the fault of Susan, a constitutional lawyer/supermodel who rescues puppies in her spare time."
Reposted by Cedar Riener
Our gorgeous #WakeUpDeadMan end credit portraits, painted from life by Isabella Watling. We’re still in theaters, see my pinned post for a theater finder!
December 6, 2025 at 4:45 PM
Our gorgeous #WakeUpDeadMan end credit portraits, painted from life by Isabella Watling. We’re still in theaters, see my pinned post for a theater finder!
Reposted by Cedar Riener
My teen, who had dreamt of being an astrophysicist, just told me he wants to go to law school because, “Science isn’t going to be a priority in the US in the future…I don’t want a job where I’ll be constantly worried my funding will be taken away.”
Gutting. How many future scientists have we lost?
Gutting. How many future scientists have we lost?
December 7, 2025 at 1:23 AM
My teen, who had dreamt of being an astrophysicist, just told me he wants to go to law school because, “Science isn’t going to be a priority in the US in the future…I don’t want a job where I’ll be constantly worried my funding will be taken away.”
Gutting. How many future scientists have we lost?
Gutting. How many future scientists have we lost?
Reposted by Cedar Riener
That poem post reminded me that in my 20s I used to just write down quotes from things I liked?
Here's a download.
Here's a download.
December 7, 2025 at 3:54 AM
That poem post reminded me that in my 20s I used to just write down quotes from things I liked?
Here's a download.
Here's a download.
Reposted by Cedar Riener
In the sixth month
of a disastrous reign in the house of money
in the street of money in the city of money in the country of money,
our great country of money, we (forgive us)
lived happily during the war
of a disastrous reign in the house of money
in the street of money in the city of money in the country of money,
our great country of money, we (forgive us)
lived happily during the war
December 7, 2025 at 3:39 AM
In the sixth month
of a disastrous reign in the house of money
in the street of money in the city of money in the country of money,
our great country of money, we (forgive us)
lived happily during the war
of a disastrous reign in the house of money
in the street of money in the city of money in the country of money,
our great country of money, we (forgive us)
lived happily during the war
Reposted by Cedar Riener
I think this is a massive story that people are not reporting on. I haven't seen ANYTHING coming out about this beyond this. What OCR is asking of some Universities is MASSIVE.
December 7, 2025 at 3:41 AM
I think this is a massive story that people are not reporting on. I haven't seen ANYTHING coming out about this beyond this. What OCR is asking of some Universities is MASSIVE.
Reposted by Cedar Riener
As someone with pretty extensive knowledge of the breadth of the OCR investigations (being at a university with an investigation), I was actually very curious how they were going to process this massive series of anti-DEI investigations after firing everyone.
www.usatoday.com/story/news/p...
www.usatoday.com/story/news/p...
Education Dept. asks hundreds of fired employees to temporarily return
The federal Education Department is asking hundreds of staffers in the Office for Civil Rights to temporarily return to help clear a backlog of cases.
www.usatoday.com
December 7, 2025 at 3:40 AM
As someone with pretty extensive knowledge of the breadth of the OCR investigations (being at a university with an investigation), I was actually very curious how they were going to process this massive series of anti-DEI investigations after firing everyone.
www.usatoday.com/story/news/p...
www.usatoday.com/story/news/p...
Reposted by Cedar Riener
what follows immediately after the birthright clause? the privileges and immunities and due process clauses? and what follows them? the equal protection clause. all of this is explicitly to say, "the declaration is the constitutional law of the land"
December 6, 2025 at 6:03 PM
what follows immediately after the birthright clause? the privileges and immunities and due process clauses? and what follows them? the equal protection clause. all of this is explicitly to say, "the declaration is the constitutional law of the land"
Reposted by Cedar Riener
the birthright clause was not just written to wipe dred scott off of the books, it was written to repudiate the *idea* behind dred scott, you might say the larger *ideological project* of dred scott. and the whole of section 1 of the 14th amendment is a constitutional statement of political equality
December 6, 2025 at 6:03 PM
the birthright clause was not just written to wipe dred scott off of the books, it was written to repudiate the *idea* behind dred scott, you might say the larger *ideological project* of dred scott. and the whole of section 1 of the 14th amendment is a constitutional statement of political equality
Reposted by Cedar Riener
These are really good doughnuts but I need them to calm down
December 5, 2025 at 11:36 PM
These are really good doughnuts but I need them to calm down
Reposted by Cedar Riener
The non-bolded part of this quote is overstated (and a bit offensive, honestly). But the bolded part is right.
Relatedly, I hope to see a bunch of friends at the Washtenaw County Democratic Party meeting this morning!
Relatedly, I hope to see a bunch of friends at the Washtenaw County Democratic Party meeting this morning!
from a state party director
December 6, 2025 at 1:51 PM
The non-bolded part of this quote is overstated (and a bit offensive, honestly). But the bolded part is right.
Relatedly, I hope to see a bunch of friends at the Washtenaw County Democratic Party meeting this morning!
Relatedly, I hope to see a bunch of friends at the Washtenaw County Democratic Party meeting this morning!
Reposted by Cedar Riener
In brain scans of around 1,400 people, the cognitive scientist Ev Fedorenko has identified a sort of digestive system for language. Fedorenko spoke with Quanta about the system’s workings and how they might be compared to an LLM or the digestive system. www.quantamagazine.org/the-polyglot...
The Polyglot Neuroscientist Resolving How the Brain Parses Language | Quanta Magazine
Is language core to thought, or a separate process? For 15 years, the neuroscientist Ev Fedorenko has gathered evidence of a language network in the human brain — and has found some similarities to LL...
www.quantamagazine.org
December 5, 2025 at 2:33 PM
In brain scans of around 1,400 people, the cognitive scientist Ev Fedorenko has identified a sort of digestive system for language. Fedorenko spoke with Quanta about the system’s workings and how they might be compared to an LLM or the digestive system. www.quantamagazine.org/the-polyglot...
Reposted by Cedar Riener
The idea that they want only legal immigration was a lie from the start.
Routine naturalization ceremonies scheduled for this month in Putnam, Dutchess and Ulster counties to welcome new U.S. citizens were abruptly canceled last week by the federal government, surprising local officials. buff.ly/8emFeDU
Citizen Ceremonies Canceled
Dutchess, Putnam clerks say they have new dates for next year
buff.ly
December 6, 2025 at 1:35 PM
The idea that they want only legal immigration was a lie from the start.
Reposted by Cedar Riener
Yes, I didn't know that women made up 65% of The Black Panther Party.
"Comrade sisters" ran community schools, free medical clinics, voter registration sites , community nutrition programs, and elder care centers across the country.
The photos are from north, south, east & west coast, mid-west.
"Comrade sisters" ran community schools, free medical clinics, voter registration sites , community nutrition programs, and elder care centers across the country.
The photos are from north, south, east & west coast, mid-west.
January 27, 2024 at 3:28 PM
Yes, I didn't know that women made up 65% of The Black Panther Party.
"Comrade sisters" ran community schools, free medical clinics, voter registration sites , community nutrition programs, and elder care centers across the country.
The photos are from north, south, east & west coast, mid-west.
"Comrade sisters" ran community schools, free medical clinics, voter registration sites , community nutrition programs, and elder care centers across the country.
The photos are from north, south, east & west coast, mid-west.
Reposted by Cedar Riener
Berkeley, California: Sons and
daughters of members of the
Black Panther Party march in
front of the office, 1971
Photo by Stephen Shames.
Between 1967 and 1973, Shames, then a young white man from Cambridge, MA, was asked by Bobby Seales to be official photographer of the Black Panther Party.
daughters of members of the
Black Panther Party march in
front of the office, 1971
Photo by Stephen Shames.
Between 1967 and 1973, Shames, then a young white man from Cambridge, MA, was asked by Bobby Seales to be official photographer of the Black Panther Party.
January 27, 2024 at 2:35 PM
Berkeley, California: Sons and
daughters of members of the
Black Panther Party march in
front of the office, 1971
Photo by Stephen Shames.
Between 1967 and 1973, Shames, then a young white man from Cambridge, MA, was asked by Bobby Seales to be official photographer of the Black Panther Party.
daughters of members of the
Black Panther Party march in
front of the office, 1971
Photo by Stephen Shames.
Between 1967 and 1973, Shames, then a young white man from Cambridge, MA, was asked by Bobby Seales to be official photographer of the Black Panther Party.
Reposted by Cedar Riener
It's the 160th anniversary of the United States' refounding, the ratification of the 13th Amendment.
December 6, 2025 at 12:38 PM
It's the 160th anniversary of the United States' refounding, the ratification of the 13th Amendment.
Reposted by Cedar Riener
wtf is a FIFA peace prize? that's like being an NFL laureate in physics
December 5, 2025 at 7:21 PM
wtf is a FIFA peace prize? that's like being an NFL laureate in physics
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worth saying that some portion of the freed slaves were themselves illegal aliens having been brought illegally into the united states by smugglers. if the birthright clause applies to them, it applies to undocumented immigrants
Here is the question presented. It's a relatively clean vehicle for the Supreme Court to finally decide whether it is lawful for the president to deny birthright citizenship to the children of immigrants. www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/25...
December 5, 2025 at 7:03 PM
worth saying that some portion of the freed slaves were themselves illegal aliens having been brought illegally into the united states by smugglers. if the birthright clause applies to them, it applies to undocumented immigrants
Reposted by Cedar Riener
We need better ways of capturing the reality of research funding - Colin’s thread shows one desperate situation where a thriving lab has been strangled, but won’t show up in counts of officially terminated projects
We started building Verena in 2019. Three years into being an NSF Center, we are/were a preposterously productive research team; the open science organization for pandemic prevention; a training hub that was creating new paths into the field; and a community that means a lot to all of us. /2
December 5, 2025 at 3:39 PM
We need better ways of capturing the reality of research funding - Colin’s thread shows one desperate situation where a thriving lab has been strangled, but won’t show up in counts of officially terminated projects
Reposted by Cedar Riener
I wish I could say "the work, at least, will continue" with a straight face. But the people driving this project are (mostly early-career) researchers who U.S. face funding shortages across the board. In-progress work will be lost on fundamental bio, climate change, and pandemic risk assessment /4
December 5, 2025 at 3:10 PM
I wish I could say "the work, at least, will continue" with a straight face. But the people driving this project are (mostly early-career) researchers who U.S. face funding shortages across the board. In-progress work will be lost on fundamental bio, climate change, and pandemic risk assessment /4
Reposted by Cedar Riener
I'm devastated by what the field has lost in terms of pandemic prevention research and infrastructure, but even more for the (to date, 60+) PhD students and postdocs on the project, many of whom face an immediate funding cliff at the end of the year. NSF had the funds for them and just didn't pay /3
December 5, 2025 at 2:57 PM
I'm devastated by what the field has lost in terms of pandemic prevention research and infrastructure, but even more for the (to date, 60+) PhD students and postdocs on the project, many of whom face an immediate funding cliff at the end of the year. NSF had the funds for them and just didn't pay /3
Reposted by Cedar Riener
We started building Verena in 2019. Three years into being an NSF Center, we are/were a preposterously productive research team; the open science organization for pandemic prevention; a training hub that was creating new paths into the field; and a community that means a lot to all of us. /2
December 5, 2025 at 2:40 PM
We started building Verena in 2019. Three years into being an NSF Center, we are/were a preposterously productive research team; the open science organization for pandemic prevention; a training hub that was creating new paths into the field; and a community that means a lot to all of us. /2
Reposted by Cedar Riener
I think it’s ok to admit that the Nazis borrowed from US white supremacy and current US white supremacy is borrowing from their innovations and previous US white supremacy
Both can be true at once
Both can be true at once
December 5, 2025 at 2:41 PM
I think it’s ok to admit that the Nazis borrowed from US white supremacy and current US white supremacy is borrowing from their innovations and previous US white supremacy
Both can be true at once
Both can be true at once
Reposted by Cedar Riener
I think one of the reasons the Nazi takeover of Germany is a helpful parallel for what’s happening in academia specifically is that unlike the Jim Crow US where integration hadn’t happened (not even during reconstruction), Jews were integrated into the German academy and had to be forced out
Also
Also
December 5, 2025 at 2:39 PM
I think one of the reasons the Nazi takeover of Germany is a helpful parallel for what’s happening in academia specifically is that unlike the Jim Crow US where integration hadn’t happened (not even during reconstruction), Jews were integrated into the German academy and had to be forced out
Also
Also