Eric Pedersen

Eric Pedersen

@ericjpedersen.bsky.social

Associate prof of biology prof at Concordia University. Lost in the wilds between ecology, statistics, and dynamic systems. Always interested in chatting all things GAM- and nonlinear-system related.

2.3K followers868 following297 posts

Eric Pedersen
@ericjpedersen.bsky.social

Why does this trampoline site have a halfway-decent article on biological fitness? Is this text stolen from somewhere else? Did the Gen AI auto-creating a trampoline-slop identify "fitness" as an important topic and "write" its own post de novo? Who knows! It's impossible to tell.

Eric Pedersen
@ericjpedersen.bsky.social

In the last week, four different cars turned immediately in front of me across the bike lane (including 1 left turn!), either because they didn't check their mirrors before turning or didn't care I was there. I now think drivers should have to retake their driving exam every year

ℳatt@matttomic.bsky.social

Every anti-cyclist Red Pill moment is just "I saw a cyclist moving faster than car traffic, thus proving the argument that bike lanes are efficient at moving people and reducing car gridlock. This infuriated me."

Eric Pedersen reposted

Gavin Simpson
@gsimpson.bsky.social

📝 My paper on generalized additive models (GAMs) in animal science is out! Learn nonlinear relationships from data, estimate growth rates and compare treatments, with cows, pigs and quail + reproducible #RStats code. Open access: doi.org/10.1016/j.an... #mgcv #AnimalScience #Statistics 🧪

Eric Pedersen
@ericjpedersen.bsky.social

Canadian negotiators will be pushing hard for a moratorium on Europeans calling anything "poutine" until they have been properly trained in how to make a proper cheese curd

This post is unavailable.

Eric Pedersen reposted

Vincent Arel-Bundock
@vincentab.bsky.social

Big news! 🎉 𝚖𝚊𝚛𝚐𝚒𝚗𝚊𝚕𝚎𝚏𝚏𝚎𝚌𝚝𝚜 1.0.0 for #Rstats is out. It’s a big number and it feels like a big step. I wrote a blog on the challenges of interpreting statistical models, SPEED, cool new features, the future, and a 5 year package development and writing odyssey. arelbundock.com/posts/margin...

Eric Pedersen
@ericjpedersen.bsky.social
404 Media@404media.co

A floating mass of trees and vegetation in British Columbia’s Williston Lake attracted international attention after it was filmed this summer by boaters—and then seemed to disappear.

404media.coHow the Hell Did an Island Suddenly Appear, Then Vanish?A floating mass of trees and vegetation in British Columbia’s Williston Lake attracted international attention after it was filmed this summer by boaters—and then seemed to disappear.
Eric Pedersen
@ericjpedersen.bsky.social

Like cosy murder mysteries? Like alt history? Like dark examinations of how the path to fascism is easily hidden beneath middle class gentile politeness? Read Farthing by @bluejo.eurosky.social www.jowaltonbooks.com/books/the-sm...

jowaltonbooks.comFarthing | Jo Walton -- Science Fiction and Fantasy Author
Kate Armstrong@brainchain.ca

Also - please join me if you will in flooding Bluesky with Canadian culture. Music, art, film, TV. Let’s show the vibrancy of this place I’m proud to call home.

Eric Pedersen reposted

Michael Samonek
@samonek.bsky.social

Replying to @brainchain.ca

A huge part of my interest in "indie" Animation comes from being exposed to weird-ass projects funded by the National Film Board.

Eric Pedersen
@ericjpedersen.bsky.social

I have (somehow) reached a new low point in the journal spam I'm getting. I just got an invite from the "Online Journal of Conference Proceedings". They're on the brink of releasing a "highly anticipated issue", and just need my submission by August 10th!

Eric Pedersen reposted

lauren
@lauren.rotatingsandwiches.com

You just deleted 600 unread emails. Finally, inbox zero. Phew! You refresh the app. There are 600 more unread emails. There will always be 600 more emails. You close your laptop in frustration and look at your phone, only to find there are 600 more emails there too. You cannot escape 600 more emails

Eric Pedersen
@ericjpedersen.bsky.social

This case highlights a core issue with grades that LLMs have brought to the fore: we are using grades to try to measure/do too many different things: 1. learning+readiness for later material 2. teaching effectiveness 3. Sorting by latent ability 4. Effort put into class 5. as a tool to open doors

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Eric Pedersen
@ericjpedersen.bsky.social

All six goals have coexisted in an uneasy peace because of varying priorities among stakeholders. Typically: instructors value 1/2/6 employers 3/4/ + bit of 1 school admin 2/3/5 students 3&5 We can't design assignments that do all 6 well simultaneously, but we pretended that wasn't the case

Eric Pedersen
@ericjpedersen.bsky.social

LLMs have shattered this détente because they allow some students to avoid 1-4 + 6 for take-home exams, but they still want the grades to do 3&5. And many students think they are genuinely learning when using LLMs to avoid 6, so they are surprised when they do poorly on in-person evaluations

Eric Pedersen
@ericjpedersen.bsky.social

This case highlights a core issue with grades that LLMs have brought to the fore: we are using grades to try to measure/do too many different things: 1. learning+readiness for later material 2. teaching effectiveness 3. Sorting by latent ability 4. Effort put into class 5. as a tool to open doors

This post is unavailable.