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patrickesavage.bsky.social
Pat Savage
@patrickesavage.bsky.social
2.4K followers 680 following 610 posts
Director: @compmusiclab.bsky.social. Rutherford Discovery Fellow @U Auckland. Assoc. Prof. @Keio U. PI @manyvoices.bsky.social. Music, evolution, diversity. He/him. Tangata tiriti.
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patrickesavage.bsky.social
Pat Savage @patrickesavage.bsky.social · Jun 11
7.5 years after signing the contract, I finally submitted the full manuscript of my book to Oxford University Press!!!
Thanks to Keio's Fukuzawa Fund, it will be published open access. You can already read the submitted version as a preprint at osf.io/b36fm
I hope you all find it useful!
Comparative Musicology Evolution, Universals, and the Science of the World’s Music Patrick E. Savage Senior Research Fellow, School of Psychology, University of Auckland / Waipapa Taumata Rau Associate Professor, Faculty of Environment and Information Studies, Keio University Contents Prologue: How to read/teach this book ii Epigraphs vi Foreword (Psyche Loui, President of the Society for Music Perception and Cognition) x Foreword (Svanibor Pettan, Past President of the International Council for Traditions of Music and Dance) xii Acknowledgments xiv Ch. 1. Introduction: Aims, chapter structure, and key definitions 1 Ch. 2. Tutorial: Acoustic comparison within and between societies (and species) 12 Ch. 3. History: The rise and fall and rise of comparative musicology 34 Ch. 4. Universals: Absolute, statistical, and non-universal aspects of music beyond the “universal language” metaphor 72 Ch. 5. Evolution: Cultural and biological evolution of music(ality), language, and animal song 94 Ch. 6. Applications: Copyright, music therapy, language acquisition, cultural heritage, social bonding, AI, and beyond 120 Epilogue: “Many Voices” and the future of qualitative comparative musicology 135 Appendix: Companion audio recordings/code availability statement 139 Index 140
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patrickesavage.bsky.social
Pat Savage @patrickesavage.bsky.social · 12h
I’ve just finished a symposium in Leipzig where I got to meet Svante. It’s mind-blowing how much his work has revolutionized our understanding of human evolution 🤯

www.eva.mpg.de/events/2025-...
Svante Pääbo and I at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology symposium on “What makes us human?”
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philipcball.bsky.social
Philip Ball @philipcball.bsky.social · 1d
The always brilliant Anjana Ahuja calls out the Royal Society for failing to stand up to Elon Musk.
www.ft.com/content/d4eb...
The Royal Society should be protecting science, not Musk
The esteemed club risks becoming a bystander as reason and rationality come under attack
www.ft.com
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ouinne.bsky.social
ouinne @ouinne.bsky.social · 1d
The only correct take on a fundamentally anti-human technology.
Screenshot of David Simon interview SHAPIRO: OK, so you've spent your career creating television without Al, and I could imagine today you thinking, boy, I wish I had had that tool to solve those thorny problems... SIMON: What? SHAPIRO: ...Or saying... SIMON: You imagine that? SHAPIRO: ...Boy, if that had existed, it would have screwed me over. SIMON: I don't think Al can remotely challenge what writers do at a fundamentally creative level. SHAPIRO: But if you're trying to transition from scene five to scene six, and you're stuck with that transition, you could imagine plugging that portion of the script into an Al and say, give me 10 ideas for how to transition this. SIMON: I'd rather put a gun in my mouth.
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kojamf.bsky.social
KOJAMF🤘🖤🤘 @kojamf.bsky.social · 4d
Dr. Jane Goodall filmed an interview with Netflix in March 2025 that she understood would only be released after her death.
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patrickesavage.bsky.social
Pat Savage @patrickesavage.bsky.social · 3d
Yes, this is great. Have you considered including something like that "AI is research misconduct" wording in the title?
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carlzimmer.com
Carl Zimmer @carlzimmer.com · 8d
I never met Jane Goodall, but she loomed over much of my reporting over the years. With @emilyanthes.bsky.social I wrote a piece about her scientific legacy. Gift link: nyti.ms/46PGBtd
nyti.ms
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patrickesavage.bsky.social
Pat Savage @patrickesavage.bsky.social · 9d
Relatedly, I’m curious: how do people feel about reading books vs listening to audiobooks? It was only really with audiobooks I was able to rediscover the joy of reading for fun since feeling like I didn’t have time to sit and read (especially after becoming a parent)
kattenbarge.bsky.social
Kat Tenbarge @kattenbarge.bsky.social · 10d
The real generational divide is people who refuse to watch a video if it could be an article versus people who refuse to read an article if it could be a video
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clairezagorski.bsky.social
Claire Zagorski, MSc, EMT-P @clairezagorski.bsky.social · 10d
Hi! Did you know that you aren’t pronouncing axolotl correctly?

Suppression of indigenous languages by the Spanish is one of the Four Wounds of Colonization. This is a small subversion of colonial power you can use!

Axolotl is a Nahuatl word, and it sounds like this:
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patrickesavage.bsky.social
Pat Savage @patrickesavage.bsky.social · 13d
How much did Colossal pay you for this ad (sorry, “Career Feature”)?
Reposted by Pat Savage
tomerullman.bsky.social
Tomer Ullman @tomerullman.bsky.social · 15d
Although we cannot offer to move your review request further, we believe Communications Tomer may find it of interest, see the link to transfer your review there.

I'm sorry to not respond more positively, and I hope that you continue to see Tomer Ullman as a venue for your future review requests.
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taramcallister.bsky.social
Dr Tara McAllister @taramcallister.bsky.social · 16d
I really like our paper published today. It is written directly for Māori and Pacific prospective and current PhD students in STEM www.journal.mai.ac.nz/10.20507/MAI...
www.journal.mai.ac.nz
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drbenomycin.bsky.social
Ben Dickson @drbenomycin.bsky.social · 16d
The working link to Tara's latest, share this with the Māori and Pacific grads around you!
taramcallister.bsky.social
Dr Tara McAllister @taramcallister.bsky.social · 16d
Damn pēhea tēnei? www.journal.mai.ac.nz/system/files...
www.journal.mai.ac.nz
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patrickesavage.bsky.social
Pat Savage @patrickesavage.bsky.social · 16d
Non-citizen permanent residents can vote in New Zealand
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manvir.bsky.social
manvir singh @manvir.bsky.social · 17d
Honored to have been interviewed for this week's issue of @currentbiology.bsky.social!
currentbiology.bsky.social
Current Biology @currentbiology.bsky.social · 17d
From burying beetles to shamans, follow Manvir Singh @manvir.bsky.social in his sweeping Q&A from our latest issue.

www.cell.com/current-biol...
Manvir Singh
Interview with Manvir Singh, who studies the evolutionary and cognitive origins of human cultural behaviors at the University of California, Davis.
www.cell.com
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davidwlawson.bsky.social
David W Lawson @davidwlawson.bsky.social · 21d
Teaching advice please —

I’m deciding if I should replace traditional paper assignments with an alternative now that we are all battling AI generated student papers…

But what is the best alternative?
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patrickesavage.bsky.social
Pat Savage @patrickesavage.bsky.social · 21d
I’ve started usually requiring all students to give group oral presentations with Q&A in addition to final papers. And in-class participation is weighted most.
Doesn’t solve everything but has helped.
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simongreenhill.bsky.social
Simon J. Greenhill @simongreenhill.bsky.social · 21d
HEY GUYS Let's take money from basic science and use give it the outcome of basic science 🤡
#NZGovtAntiScience
www.nzherald.co.nz/business/ret...
Govt's $70m boost for AI
Funding will be over 10 years and will be rolled out in two phases.
www.nzherald.co.nz
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patrickesavage.bsky.social
Pat Savage @patrickesavage.bsky.social · 21d
🙃
Reposted by Pat Savage
guylavenderforsyth.bsky.social
Guy Lavender Forsyth @guylavenderforsyth.bsky.social · 22d
New paper alert! 🧪

www.doi.org/10.1057/s415...
Language endangerment in Vanuatu: Bislama likely does pose a threat in the world’s most language-diverse country - Humanities and Social Sciences Communications
Humanities and Social Sciences Communications - Language endangerment in Vanuatu: Bislama likely does pose a threat in the world’s most language-diverse country
www.doi.org
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babeheim.bsky.social
Bret Beheim @babeheim.bsky.social · 23d
How to quantify the impact of AI on long-run cultural evolution? Published today, I give it a go!

400+ years of strategic dynamics in the game of Go (Baduk/Weiqi), from feudalism to AlphaGo!
Miyagawa Shuntei's 1898 painting, "Playing Go (Japanese Chess)"
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culturalevolsoc.bsky.social
Cultural Evolution Society @culturalevolsoc.bsky.social · 27d
The count down starts for #CESRabat! Follow @ces2026.bsky.social and join us May 11-13 next year for an exciting meeting in Rabat, Morocco.

Massive thanks to the #CESRabat organising committee:
Sarah Alami (co-chair)
Mathieu Charbonneau (co-chair)
Zachary Garfield
Edmond Seabright
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sardonicus.eu
Sardonicus @sardonicus.eu · 23d
man rolling rock up hill how it started how its going
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rebeccasear.bsky.social
Rebecca Sear @rebeccasear.bsky.social · 24d
Harvard Sues Ex-HBS Professor Gino for Defamation, Accusing Her of Falsifying Evidence

www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...
Harvard Sues Ex-HBS Professor Gino for Defamation, Accusing Her of Falsifying Evidence | News | The Harvard Crimson
Harvard sued behavioral scientist Francesca Gino for defamation in August, alleging the former Harvard Business School professor sent the school a falsified dataset to prove she did not commit data fr...
www.thecrimson.com
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patrickesavage.bsky.social
Pat Savage @patrickesavage.bsky.social · 28d
From a few months ago:
www.newsweek.com/peter-turchi...
Professor who predicted 2020s unrest sees US sliding deeper into crisis
Fifteen years ago Peter Turchin warned America was on the brink of a decade of growing political unrest. This is what he says now.
www.newsweek.com
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olivia.science
Olivia Guest · Ολίβια Γκεστ @olivia.science · Sep 6
Finally! 🤩 Our position piece: Against the Uncritical Adoption of 'AI' Technologies in Academia:
doi.org/10.5281/zeno...

We unpick the tech industry’s marketing, hype, & harm; and we argue for safeguarding higher education, critical
thinking, expertise, academic freedom, & scientific integrity.
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Abstract: Under the banner of progress, products have been uncritically adopted or even imposed on users — in past centuries with tobacco and combustion engines, and in the 21st with social media. For these collective blunders, we now regret our involvement or apathy as scientists, and society struggles to put the genie back in the bottle. Currently, we are similarly entangled with artificial intelligence (AI) technology. For example, software updates are rolled out seamlessly and non-consensually, Microsoft Office is bundled with chatbots, and we, our students, and our employers have had no say, as it is not considered a valid position to reject AI technologies in our teaching and research. This is why in June 2025, we co-authored an Open Letter calling on our employers to reverse and rethink their stance on uncritically adopting AI technologies. In this position piece, we expound on why universities must take their role seriously toa) counter the technology industry’s marketing, hype, and harm; and to b) safeguard higher education, critical thinking, expertise, academic freedom, and scientific integrity. We include pointers to relevant work to further inform our colleagues. Figure 1. A cartoon set theoretic view on various terms (see Table 1) used when discussing the superset AI (black outline, hatched background): LLMs are in orange; ANNs are in magenta; generative models are in blue; and finally, chatbots are in green. Where these intersect, the colours reflect that, e.g. generative adversarial network (GAN) and Boltzmann machine (BM) models are in the purple subset because they are both generative and ANNs. In the case of proprietary closed source models, e.g. OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Apple’s Siri, we cannot verify their implementation and so academics can only make educated guesses (cf. Dingemanse 2025). Undefined terms used above: BERT (Devlin et al. 2019); AlexNet (Krizhevsky et al. 2017); A.L.I.C.E. (Wallace 2009); ELIZA (Weizenbaum 1966); Jabberwacky (Twist 2003); linear discriminant analysis (LDA); quadratic discriminant analysis (QDA). Table 1. Below some of the typical terminological disarray is untangled. Importantly, none of these terms are orthogonal nor do they exclusively pick out the types of products we may wish to critique or proscribe. Protecting the Ecosystem of Human Knowledge: Five Principles
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