Simon J. Greenhill
@simongreenhill.bsky.social
I study how languages and cultures evolve. Primarily with phylogenies and other assorted computational methods. Based at @Biology_UoA. Never met a language phylogeny or a cultural phylogeny I didn't like. #phylolinguistics
Reposted by Simon J. Greenhill
This study was an amazing collaborative experience. I'm really really grateful to all the wonderful people who contributed and made this happen.
It's the closest I have ever come to finding something like a "universal" in human cognition.
It's the closest I have ever come to finding something like a "universal" in human cognition.
Children around the world process #gaze in similar ways. Large cross-cultural study led by @elmanubohn.bsky.social & @dbmhaun.bsky.social finds common 'processing signature' of gaze following. @mpi-eva-leipzig.bsky.social @leuphana.bsky.social tinyurl.com/278wxka3 & academic.oup.com/chidev/advan...
Children around the world process gaze in similar ways
Large cross-cultural study finds common 'processing signature' of gaze following despite differences in accuracy and development
tinyurl.com
February 9, 2026 at 12:32 PM
This study was an amazing collaborative experience. I'm really really grateful to all the wonderful people who contributed and made this happen.
It's the closest I have ever come to finding something like a "universal" in human cognition.
It's the closest I have ever come to finding something like a "universal" in human cognition.
<1 month later>
UNI ADMIN: Please provide unique project code, your last email went into spam.
UNI ADMIN: Please provide unique project code, your last email went into spam.
February 8, 2026 at 11:23 PM
<1 month later>
UNI ADMIN: Please provide unique project code, your last email went into spam.
UNI ADMIN: Please provide unique project code, your last email went into spam.
Reposted by Simon J. Greenhill
Being a professor is like Picture of Dorian Gray except it’s the students who stay young and full of life while you decay year after year in front of them
February 8, 2026 at 1:15 AM
Being a professor is like Picture of Dorian Gray except it’s the students who stay young and full of life while you decay year after year in front of them
Reposted by Simon J. Greenhill
Demonstration of a purely instrument-based analysis of archaeological artifacts (arrowheads), coupled with a Bayesian analysis of phylogeny ... reproduces the classical typology, and much more besides ... osf.io/preprints/so...
OSF
osf.io
February 6, 2026 at 5:19 PM
Demonstration of a purely instrument-based analysis of archaeological artifacts (arrowheads), coupled with a Bayesian analysis of phylogeny ... reproduces the classical typology, and much more besides ... osf.io/preprints/so...
Reposted by Simon J. Greenhill
🗣️ La collection #Pangloss offre, en libre accès, des documents linguistiques sonores, avec une spécialité de langues rares ou peu étudiées.
🎙️Explications avec Alexis Michaud, directeur de recherche CNRS au LACITO, qui assure la gestion de la collection Pangloss ⤵️
www.radiofrance.fr/francecultur...
🎙️Explications avec Alexis Michaud, directeur de recherche CNRS au LACITO, qui assure la gestion de la collection Pangloss ⤵️
www.radiofrance.fr/francecultur...
La plateforme Pangloss rend accessible en ligne les langues rares
À l'occasion d'une journée d'étude consacrée aux mutations des patrimoines sonores au musée du quai Branly Jacques Chirac, Marie Sorbier s'entretient avec le linguiste Alexis Michaud pour comprendre l...
www.radiofrance.fr
February 6, 2026 at 11:47 AM
🗣️ La collection #Pangloss offre, en libre accès, des documents linguistiques sonores, avec une spécialité de langues rares ou peu étudiées.
🎙️Explications avec Alexis Michaud, directeur de recherche CNRS au LACITO, qui assure la gestion de la collection Pangloss ⤵️
www.radiofrance.fr/francecultur...
🎙️Explications avec Alexis Michaud, directeur de recherche CNRS au LACITO, qui assure la gestion de la collection Pangloss ⤵️
www.radiofrance.fr/francecultur...
You’re 3?! Oh I’m jealous.
(And yes humans are far better at being awful than animals are)
(And yes humans are far better at being awful than animals are)
February 7, 2026 at 5:55 AM
You’re 3?! Oh I’m jealous.
(And yes humans are far better at being awful than animals are)
(And yes humans are far better at being awful than animals are)
see Erdős-Bacon number. Natalie Portman is a 5
February 7, 2026 at 2:55 AM
see Erdős-Bacon number. Natalie Portman is a 5
Cognitive Science needs an Epstein number so we can track the creeps.
E1 if you hung out with him on the island, E2 if you just let him buy you a lab at MIT…
E1 if you hung out with him on the island, E2 if you just let him buy you a lab at MIT…
Mathematicians track how close they were to the genius Erdős:
If you published with him your Erdős number is 1. If you published with an E1 you are E2, etc
There are databases you can lookup about this (I’m E5)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erd%C5%...
If you published with him your Erdős number is 1. If you published with an E1 you are E2, etc
There are databases you can lookup about this (I’m E5)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erd%C5%...
Erdős number - Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erdős_number
February 6, 2026 at 11:55 PM
Cognitive Science needs an Epstein number so we can track the creeps.
E1 if you hung out with him on the island, E2 if you just let him buy you a lab at MIT…
E1 if you hung out with him on the island, E2 if you just let him buy you a lab at MIT…
Mathematicians track how close they were to the genius Erdős:
If you published with him your Erdős number is 1. If you published with an E1 you are E2, etc
There are databases you can lookup about this (I’m E5)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erd%C5%...
If you published with him your Erdős number is 1. If you published with an E1 you are E2, etc
There are databases you can lookup about this (I’m E5)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erd%C5%...
Erdős number - Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erdős_number
February 6, 2026 at 11:53 PM
Mathematicians track how close they were to the genius Erdős:
If you published with him your Erdős number is 1. If you published with an E1 you are E2, etc
There are databases you can lookup about this (I’m E5)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erd%C5%...
If you published with him your Erdős number is 1. If you published with an E1 you are E2, etc
There are databases you can lookup about this (I’m E5)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erd%C5%...
Reposted by Simon J. Greenhill
A longstanding feature of language is that more frequent words are shorter than less frequent words. In our latest paper analyzing our corpus of 1000+ comics, we show a similar trade-off between the size and frequency of panels with different amounts of information www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
February 6, 2026 at 1:35 PM
A longstanding feature of language is that more frequent words are shorter than less frequent words. In our latest paper analyzing our corpus of 1000+ comics, we show a similar trade-off between the size and frequency of panels with different amounts of information www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
dont forget his 3 or 4 monographs on barnacles!
February 6, 2026 at 8:34 PM
dont forget his 3 or 4 monographs on barnacles!
Reposted by Simon J. Greenhill
Sorry for the preview pic in your feed, but we've posted a thoughtful story by @dangaristo.bsky.social that delves into the tangled web of relationships between Jeffrey Epstein and various scientists: www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Epstein files reveal deeper ties to scientists than previously known
Latest batch of documents show researchers consulting the financier and sex offender on publications, visas and more.
www.nature.com
February 6, 2026 at 8:21 PM
Sorry for the preview pic in your feed, but we've posted a thoughtful story by @dangaristo.bsky.social that delves into the tangled web of relationships between Jeffrey Epstein and various scientists: www.nature.com/articles/d41...
I think it's important to teach functions (code organisation, abstraction, easier testing/abstraction/extension etc.)
I've taught these as a "machine": everytime you insert "a^nb" it produces T. Then you write the machine as a script first, then wrap it as a function.
I've taught these as a "machine": everytime you insert "a^nb" it produces T. Then you write the machine as a script first, then wrap it as a function.
February 5, 2026 at 9:56 PM
I think it's important to teach functions (code organisation, abstraction, easier testing/abstraction/extension etc.)
I've taught these as a "machine": everytime you insert "a^nb" it produces T. Then you write the machine as a script first, then wrap it as a function.
I've taught these as a "machine": everytime you insert "a^nb" it produces T. Then you write the machine as a script first, then wrap it as a function.
(I want to stress that this was exactly how my phone completed that)
February 4, 2026 at 8:50 PM
(I want to stress that this was exactly how my phone completed that)
Yep looks useful
February 4, 2026 at 5:04 PM
Yep looks useful
Agree with you both here. You can make important contributions but still be an evil person. you can’t ignore the contribution and you shouldn’t ignore the shittiness
February 4, 2026 at 2:51 AM
Agree with you both here. You can make important contributions but still be an evil person. you can’t ignore the contribution and you shouldn’t ignore the shittiness
Psst. Anyone wanna buy a flash drive with a slightly used copy of "Encylopedia of Language and Linguistics" on it? 🤯
February 4, 2026 at 2:05 AM
Psst. Anyone wanna buy a flash drive with a slightly used copy of "Encylopedia of Language and Linguistics" on it? 🤯
Almost as good as my rule of thumb: has anyone you know ever written anything in it you want to cite? If not, then it’s not the Journal for you.
🚨Scientists 🚨: Tired of come-ons from journals & conferences that may or may not be predatory? A new tool called Aletheia-Probe could help. 🧪 By @silverjacket.bsky.social @nature.com www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Is this journal legitimate? This tool can help you decide
Aletheia-Probe provides a one-stop shop to help you assess whether journals and conferences are trustworthy or predatory.
www.nature.com
February 3, 2026 at 10:49 PM
Almost as good as my rule of thumb: has anyone you know ever written anything in it you want to cite? If not, then it’s not the Journal for you.
Reposted by Simon J. Greenhill
The current reforms of the research system are now on track for another failure. They double down on mistakes that undermine long-term growth, well being & safety. We must ask for accountability and transparency about three key issues as we go into the election year.
scientists.org.nz/news/13593197
scientists.org.nz/news/13593197
February 2, 2026 at 8:31 PM
The current reforms of the research system are now on track for another failure. They double down on mistakes that undermine long-term growth, well being & safety. We must ask for accountability and transparency about three key issues as we go into the election year.
scientists.org.nz/news/13593197
scientists.org.nz/news/13593197
Reposted by Simon J. Greenhill
