The biggest project I've worked on for the last chunk of years was just published. It asks, how big are US Black-white lifespan differences?

This might seem like a narrow question. I hope to convince you by the end that there are answers you didn't anticipate. And I hope some of them will move you.

Applications are open for the Summer Institute in Computational Social Science SICSS 2025 at UCLA! Apply by May 2!

Free, 2-wk institute in comp social science for grad students, postdocs & early-career faculty.

sicss.io/2025/ucla/
@ianlundberg.bsky.social @jenniebrand.bsky.social

Do you know someone (maybe even you!) who has made a a discovery, innovation, or advancement representing a significant contribution to sociological methodology? Send us nominations for the ASA Methodology Section Innovation Award! Due March 1. www.asanet.org/communities-...

Our new paper explains why some life outcomes are hard to predict. We combined machine learning, a mathematical decomposition, and in-depth qualitative interviews to understand the origins of unpredictability: www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

Thanks!

also thanks to additional team members who conducted some of the interviews! Bobbi Brashear, Maria Canals, Kristin Catena, Katie Donnelly, Kaitlin Edin-Nelson, Alexus Fraser, Ashley Hyman, Stefanie Mavronis

Work of a terrific collaborative team! With Rachel Brown-Weinstock, Susan Clampet-Lundquist, Sarah Pachman, Timothy Nelson, Vicki Yang, Kathryn Edin, and @msalganik.bsky.social. Made possible with FFCWS data!

New in PNAS! Qualitative interviews help us understand the origins of unpredictability in life outcome prediction tasks doi.org/10.1073/pnas...