The House of Commons has released a thoughtful, critical report on UK research quality

The recommendations to government are excellent, both practical and progressive

Highlights:

Make all research open access

Require data and code accompany all publications

Move peer-review and publication acceptance before data collection

Specifically fund replications

Remove “originality” from REF, instead require transparency

Impose a 3-year minimum term for all postdocs

https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm5803/cmselect/cmsctech/101/summary.html

What if brain (dys)function is like weather?

You've probably heard about the 1972 idea from Lorenz: A butterfly flapping its wings over Brazil causes a tornado it Texas. It's the idea that in a nonlinear system, small causes can lead to big effects. Note that for weather, we can forecast for a few days out given current conditions (because small causes take a while to have their big effects), but we don't really know the "causes" of the weather today at the level of butterfly wings.

It seems likely that many of the causes of brain function and dysfunction will be like that as well - after all, the brain is unquestionably a complex nonlinear system. Thus we might be able to forecast where a brain will be in the near term and we may be able to understand some of the principles that give rise to it's complexity. But the causes of an individual's brain dysfunction might never be clear. (This is a pretty different way than most brain researchers think about things, I suspect).

What does this imply for treatments?

Y’all, if you’re getting frustrated you’re not seeing the content you want to like news or intel you need on Mastodon, you really need to shift your thinking from algorithmic social media. Follower counts don’t matter much here. Likes do not matter to post reach. Without your interaction, you will just see a live FIFO firehose. Some quick fixes:

Hashtag your posts liberally and consistently, and follow key hashtags of interest to you. Hashtags matter a ton here to being seen.

Follow and also alert on accounts you always want to see content from.

Consider using the built in RSS feature for your feeds and for specific hashtags.

Consider switching to the more advanced UI in your preferences, so you can watch multiple filtered and unfiltered feeds. Or a different mobile app.

Use Fedifinder to follow all the accounts you followed on Twitter, and sync up your follow and block lists.

Avail yourself of the multiple public lists of hundreds of journalist accounts on Mastodon.

#mastodontips

1/4 A key thing I've learned about Mastodon: When you find your friends on here, don't just follow them — add them to a list!

If you follow a lot of accounts, your close friends' posts may not show up in your feed at a time you're logged on. Unlike FB or Twitter, Mastodon has no algorithm to resurface your friends' posts from hours or days ago.

Solution: Create a list called "Friends" and check it when you're on. This will ensure that you see what they posted while you were away. (cont'd)