Mark Fabian
@markfabian.bsky.social
Ass-Prof of Public Policy at Warwick. Work mostly on wellbeing from an interdisciplinary perspective. Interested in *everything*. Run ePODstemology: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1763534/episodes
Pinned
Mark Fabian
@markfabian.bsky.social
· Feb 26
Beyond Happy: How to rethink happiness and find fulfilment
YouTube video by M. Fabian Education
www.youtube.com
Friends, foes, family:
I have a popular booking coming out on April 10 - Beyond Happy: How to rethink happiness and find fulfilment. It's the book I wish existed when I was 18. I couldn't find it in 20 years of searching, so I went and wrote it.
A video brief:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=6XPZ...
I have a popular booking coming out on April 10 - Beyond Happy: How to rethink happiness and find fulfilment. It's the book I wish existed when I was 18. I couldn't find it in 20 years of searching, so I went and wrote it.
A video brief:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=6XPZ...
Doo doo doo
Brad Karp, the chairman of the Paul Weiss law firm who brokered that deal with Trump last year & agreed to provide $40 million of pro bono services for Trump's causes, resigns due to fallout over his emails with Epstein: www.nytimes.com/2026/02/04/b...
Brad Karp Resigns as Paul Weiss Chairman Amid Epstein Fallout
www.nytimes.com
February 5, 2026 at 9:09 AM
Doo doo doo
Jokes and despair aside the fact that an elected official would admit they were wrong is amazing stuff. UK still has some integrity floating around it seems.
"IT'S ALL SOCIAL CARE!" they screamed.
Reform councillors in Kent told the FT that they were surprised not to find lavish spending on wokeness from their predecessors
Another councillor has resigned from his role lesding "DOGE", regretting his comments to the newspaper acknowledging the challenges
www.kentonline.co.uk/maidstone/ne...
Another councillor has resigned from his role lesding "DOGE", regretting his comments to the newspaper acknowledging the challenges
www.kentonline.co.uk/maidstone/ne...
February 5, 2026 at 9:04 AM
Jokes and despair aside the fact that an elected official would admit they were wrong is amazing stuff. UK still has some integrity floating around it seems.
Reposted by Mark Fabian
In the UK it used to be the case that discovering a dead body and reporting it meant you had to pay for the burial unless someone else claimed the body. Great way to ensure disappearances remain unsolved.
February 4, 2026 at 8:35 AM
In the UK it used to be the case that discovering a dead body and reporting it meant you had to pay for the burial unless someone else claimed the body. Great way to ensure disappearances remain unsolved.
Reposted by Mark Fabian
Happy SBD to all who celebrate
February 1, 2026 at 11:54 AM
Happy SBD to all who celebrate
Why do so many of my politics and international studies students seek internships at finance and equity firms?
Why didn't they study finance in the first place?
Half our department seems to be anti-capitalist critical theorists but then so many of our students just go work for capital. Wassup?
Why didn't they study finance in the first place?
Half our department seems to be anti-capitalist critical theorists but then so many of our students just go work for capital. Wassup?
January 31, 2026 at 1:30 PM
Why do so many of my politics and international studies students seek internships at finance and equity firms?
Why didn't they study finance in the first place?
Half our department seems to be anti-capitalist critical theorists but then so many of our students just go work for capital. Wassup?
Why didn't they study finance in the first place?
Half our department seems to be anti-capitalist critical theorists but then so many of our students just go work for capital. Wassup?
Reposted by Mark Fabian
INLAND EMPIRE - You see a flash of teeth -- a young woman smiling at you, near some railway overpass in your ruined past. She is gorgeous. And she is *yours*.
January 30, 2026 at 11:53 AM
INLAND EMPIRE - You see a flash of teeth -- a young woman smiling at you, near some railway overpass in your ruined past. She is gorgeous. And she is *yours*.
Reposted by Mark Fabian
Someone had a fun example the other day: they had an mri scan on a usb and wanted to see it but apparently it was a proprietary format and you had to pay a lot for an mri viewer. Claude examined the saved scan, guessed how it worked, and one shorted a 3D viewer in a webpage.
January 29, 2026 at 10:31 AM
Someone had a fun example the other day: they had an mri scan on a usb and wanted to see it but apparently it was a proprietary format and you had to pay a lot for an mri viewer. Claude examined the saved scan, guessed how it worked, and one shorted a 3D viewer in a webpage.
Hahahahahaha this is hilariously true. I get a couple on happiness but I'm sure it would be x100 worse in consciousness or religion etc.
I have learned that after a successful career as sth like a CFO or CTO in pharma or finance, the next logical step for some men is to submit papers on consciousness directly to my inbox.
#philsky #philosophy #consci #cogsci #academicsky
#philsky #philosophy #consci #cogsci #academicsky
January 28, 2026 at 8:49 AM
Hahahahahaha this is hilariously true. I get a couple on happiness but I'm sure it would be x100 worse in consciousness or religion etc.
Bumping this for anyone who only logs on in the evening.
After 5 years I can finally share a full WP of our project conducting cognitive interviews of life satisfaction reporting.
Main findings:
1. LS scales are psychometrically valid, but...
2. Standard statistical assumptions made when analysing LS data are not credible.
osf.io/gv5e3/files/...
Main findings:
1. LS scales are psychometrically valid, but...
2. Standard statistical assumptions made when analysing LS data are not credible.
osf.io/gv5e3/files/...
January 26, 2026 at 5:13 PM
Bumping this for anyone who only logs on in the evening.
Reposted by Mark Fabian
We still have a relatively poor understanding of the relationship between evidence and policy. Program evaluation in particular is often motivated by a desire to make policy better. But how effective is program evaluation itself?Michelle Rao's JMP tackles this question. www.michellerao.com/research
November 27, 2024 at 5:42 AM
We still have a relatively poor understanding of the relationship between evidence and policy. Program evaluation in particular is often motivated by a desire to make policy better. But how effective is program evaluation itself?Michelle Rao's JMP tackles this question. www.michellerao.com/research
Reposted by Mark Fabian
One of the best things I’ve read in a while:
January 25, 2026 at 10:39 PM
One of the best things I’ve read in a while:
I just made a donation to the Fred Hollows foundations and encourage others to do the same.
www.hollows.org/en-GB/
They're a straightforward outfit doing cheap, lifechanging interventions for preventable blindness (e.g. cataracts) for ppl in poverty.
Effective Altruism evaluations are strong.
www.hollows.org/en-GB/
They're a straightforward outfit doing cheap, lifechanging interventions for preventable blindness (e.g. cataracts) for ppl in poverty.
Effective Altruism evaluations are strong.
The Fred Hollows Foundation | The Fred Hollows Foundation UK
www.hollows.org
January 26, 2026 at 2:00 PM
I just made a donation to the Fred Hollows foundations and encourage others to do the same.
www.hollows.org/en-GB/
They're a straightforward outfit doing cheap, lifechanging interventions for preventable blindness (e.g. cataracts) for ppl in poverty.
Effective Altruism evaluations are strong.
www.hollows.org/en-GB/
They're a straightforward outfit doing cheap, lifechanging interventions for preventable blindness (e.g. cataracts) for ppl in poverty.
Effective Altruism evaluations are strong.
Don't these people have enough money?
Why can't people like this just retire quietly and enjoy all that they have?
Immortality would be such terrible technology because such personalities would never leave us alone.
Why can't people like this just retire quietly and enjoy all that they have?
Immortality would be such terrible technology because such personalities would never leave us alone.
Genuinely the funniest possible panel line-up of all time and it's for a real estate conference in Riyadh
January 26, 2026 at 11:33 AM
Don't these people have enough money?
Why can't people like this just retire quietly and enjoy all that they have?
Immortality would be such terrible technology because such personalities would never leave us alone.
Why can't people like this just retire quietly and enjoy all that they have?
Immortality would be such terrible technology because such personalities would never leave us alone.
After 5 years I can finally share a full WP of our project conducting cognitive interviews of life satisfaction reporting.
Main findings:
1. LS scales are psychometrically valid, but...
2. Standard statistical assumptions made when analysing LS data are not credible.
osf.io/gv5e3/files/...
Main findings:
1. LS scales are psychometrically valid, but...
2. Standard statistical assumptions made when analysing LS data are not credible.
osf.io/gv5e3/files/...
January 26, 2026 at 8:39 AM
After 5 years I can finally share a full WP of our project conducting cognitive interviews of life satisfaction reporting.
Main findings:
1. LS scales are psychometrically valid, but...
2. Standard statistical assumptions made when analysing LS data are not credible.
osf.io/gv5e3/files/...
Main findings:
1. LS scales are psychometrically valid, but...
2. Standard statistical assumptions made when analysing LS data are not credible.
osf.io/gv5e3/files/...
Reposted by Mark Fabian
Final Fantasy ass marina
January 25, 2026 at 5:15 PM
Final Fantasy ass marina
Likely to interest to everyone who was at the @gamesbeyond.bsky.social Metamodern Games Conference.
Call for papers: Philosophy through Art, Games, and Fiction think.taylorandfranc... Guest editor: Lisa Bortolotti. Deadline: 31 July 2026. Submit your work! #philsky #philpsy
Philosophy through Art, Games, and Fiction
Can we do philosophy by writing fiction, drawing, designing a game, or telling a story? Submit work to this special issue honouring the legacy of Helen De Cruz.
think.taylorandfrancis.com
January 23, 2026 at 8:30 AM
Likely to interest to everyone who was at the @gamesbeyond.bsky.social Metamodern Games Conference.
Reposted by Mark Fabian
In honour of the you know everything etc I'm going to post one of my favourite poems, by Danez Smith: "I'm going back to minnesota where sadness makes sense"
January 21, 2026 at 12:20 PM
In honour of the you know everything etc I'm going to post one of my favourite poems, by Danez Smith: "I'm going back to minnesota where sadness makes sense"
My favourite part of this piece is where the author underlines that as tenured faculty they have the latitude to do this and need to lead by example.
To often the most privileged people somehow expect the most precarious to bear all the costs of integrity.
To often the most privileged people somehow expect the most precarious to bear all the costs of integrity.
Great piece on prioritizing quality over quantity in scientific publication.
For those of us with labs, this necessarily involves shrinking our group size. After I got tenure I started to downsize my lab and have not regretted it one iota. More time for each student & more time to think & write.
For those of us with labs, this necessarily involves shrinking our group size. After I got tenure I started to downsize my lab and have not regretted it one iota. More time for each student & more time to think & write.
I’m going to halve my publication output. You should consider slow science, too
If we don’t slow down, the research enterprise is going to crash, argues Adrian Barnett.
www.nature.com
January 20, 2026 at 6:15 PM
My favourite part of this piece is where the author underlines that as tenured faculty they have the latitude to do this and need to lead by example.
To often the most privileged people somehow expect the most precarious to bear all the costs of integrity.
To often the most privileged people somehow expect the most precarious to bear all the costs of integrity.
Reposted by Mark Fabian
New post just out:
"Power to the People"
Today we have a guest post from @jamestplunkett.bsky.social on how Labour can counter the "Britain is Broken" narrative by investing in civic life and giving people more control over their community.
(Free to read)
open.substack.com/pub/samf/p/p...
"Power to the People"
Today we have a guest post from @jamestplunkett.bsky.social on how Labour can counter the "Britain is Broken" narrative by investing in civic life and giving people more control over their community.
(Free to read)
open.substack.com/pub/samf/p/p...
Power to the People
How Labour can restore civic life and counter the "Britain is broken" narrative
open.substack.com
January 18, 2026 at 8:54 AM
New post just out:
"Power to the People"
Today we have a guest post from @jamestplunkett.bsky.social on how Labour can counter the "Britain is Broken" narrative by investing in civic life and giving people more control over their community.
(Free to read)
open.substack.com/pub/samf/p/p...
"Power to the People"
Today we have a guest post from @jamestplunkett.bsky.social on how Labour can counter the "Britain is Broken" narrative by investing in civic life and giving people more control over their community.
(Free to read)
open.substack.com/pub/samf/p/p...
Reposted by Mark Fabian
We @bennettschool.cam.ac.uk are hiring an associate prof www.cam.ac.uk/jobs/associa... and 2 assistant profs www.jobs.cam.ac.uk/job/54210/ Two of the roles will focus on digital policy.
Associate Professor in Public Policy
Applications are invited for an Associate Professor at the new Bennett School of Public Policy in the Faculty of Human, Social and Political Science (BSPP). The start date for this role will be July
www.cam.ac.uk
January 20, 2026 at 11:01 AM
We @bennettschool.cam.ac.uk are hiring an associate prof www.cam.ac.uk/jobs/associa... and 2 assistant profs www.jobs.cam.ac.uk/job/54210/ Two of the roles will focus on digital policy.
Reposted by Mark Fabian
FIRST! SOLE-AUTHORED! PUBLICATION! 🎊
Making myself guilty of self-promotion but my first ever sole-authored article is an Editor’s Choice... still open access for 10 days, get it while it’s hot
Link doi.org/10.1332/2631...
Making myself guilty of self-promotion but my first ever sole-authored article is an Editor’s Choice... still open access for 10 days, get it while it’s hot
Link doi.org/10.1332/2631...
January 20, 2026 at 11:01 AM
FIRST! SOLE-AUTHORED! PUBLICATION! 🎊
Making myself guilty of self-promotion but my first ever sole-authored article is an Editor’s Choice... still open access for 10 days, get it while it’s hot
Link doi.org/10.1332/2631...
Making myself guilty of self-promotion but my first ever sole-authored article is an Editor’s Choice... still open access for 10 days, get it while it’s hot
Link doi.org/10.1332/2631...
Very informative and important post here from James Plunkett on community as a policy tool.
Especially important for wellbeing policy enthusiasts:
open.substack.com/pub/samf/p/p...?
Especially important for wellbeing policy enthusiasts:
open.substack.com/pub/samf/p/p...?
Power to the People
How Labour can restore civic life and counter the "Britain is broken" narrative
open.substack.com
January 19, 2026 at 8:54 AM
Very informative and important post here from James Plunkett on community as a policy tool.
Especially important for wellbeing policy enthusiasts:
open.substack.com/pub/samf/p/p...?
Especially important for wellbeing policy enthusiasts:
open.substack.com/pub/samf/p/p...?
After a provocation from Todd Kashdan I wrote up some frustrations I have with "wellbeing science", specifically the idea that it was born with life satisfaction scales.
I think this belief is untrue and unhelpful.
profmarkfabian.substack.com/p/airing-my-...
I think this belief is untrue and unhelpful.
profmarkfabian.substack.com/p/airing-my-...
Airing my grievances with wellbeing science
We have a streetlight problem
profmarkfabian.substack.com
January 19, 2026 at 8:12 AM
After a provocation from Todd Kashdan I wrote up some frustrations I have with "wellbeing science", specifically the idea that it was born with life satisfaction scales.
I think this belief is untrue and unhelpful.
profmarkfabian.substack.com/p/airing-my-...
I think this belief is untrue and unhelpful.
profmarkfabian.substack.com/p/airing-my-...
Reposted by Mark Fabian
The idea the world has been free riding on the backs of poor America was the signal that US elites have taken leave of their senses.
The deal was they buy globally, savings from elsewhere fund their extravagant lifestyles. They fund a military that supports this system.
That's what they wanted.
The deal was they buy globally, savings from elsewhere fund their extravagant lifestyles. They fund a military that supports this system.
That's what they wanted.
January 19, 2026 at 8:05 AM
The idea the world has been free riding on the backs of poor America was the signal that US elites have taken leave of their senses.
The deal was they buy globally, savings from elsewhere fund their extravagant lifestyles. They fund a military that supports this system.
That's what they wanted.
The deal was they buy globally, savings from elsewhere fund their extravagant lifestyles. They fund a military that supports this system.
That's what they wanted.
Reposted by Mark Fabian
Please don't ask me why my brain works like this, because I don't have an answer
January 16, 2026 at 9:22 AM
Please don't ask me why my brain works like this, because I don't have an answer