1/ New preprint! Reasoning models often require hundreds of task examples and thousands of rollouts to improve on a task. How can they learn more from much less?
Introducing CORE: contrastive self-reflection for rapid, sample-efficient, and interpretable self-improvement 🧵
1\ Can you make this Roman-numeral equation true by moving exactly one matchstick?
Video
How do we predict what others will do next? 🤔
We look for patterns. But what are the limits of this ability?
In our new paper at CCN 2025 (@cogcompneuro.bsky.social), we explore the computational constraints of human pattern recognition using the classic game of Rock, Paper, Scissors 🗿📄✂️
In neuroscience, we often try to understand systems by analyzing their representations — using tools like regression or RSA. But are these analyses biased towards discovering a subset of what a system represents? If you're interested in this question, check out our new commentary! Thread:
Now up as a reviewed @elife.bsky.social preprint: "Continuous developmental changes in word recognition support language learning across early childhood" elifesciences.org/reviewed-pre...
Using data from ~2000 kids ages 1-6, we quantify links between word recognition and early vocabulary growth!
Linas Nasvytis
Linas Nasvytis
My final project from grad school is out now in Dev Psych! Mombasa County preschoolers were more accurate on object-based than picture-based vocabulary assessments, whereas Bay Area preschoolers were equally accurate on object-based and picture-based assessments.
psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?d...
Now out in Cognition, work with the great @gershbrain.bsky.social @tobigerstenberg.bsky.social on formalizing self-handicapping as rational signaling!
📃 authors.elsevier.com/a/1lo8f2Hx2-...
When people form conventions in reference games, how easy are they for outsiders to interpret? (for values of "outsider" that include naïve humans and vision-language models) Check out @vboyce.bsky.social's poster today at #CogSci2025 to find out.
paper: escholarship.org/uc/item/16c4...
Excited to share our new publication, “Measuring Naturalistic Speech Comprehension in Real Time”!
➡️ rdcu.be/fa3hk #psynomBRM
w/ @kriesjill.bsky.social, Shiven Gupta, Maria Papworth Burrel, & @lauragwilliams.bsky.social
🧵1/11
One of the first studies from my PhD is out now in JEP:G 🥳We tested whether people can infer the truth from teachers who were either helpful, misleading, or randomly sampling. With Keith Ransom and @perfors.net
psycnet.apa.org/fulltext/202...
Author(s): Boyce, Veronica; Prystawski, Ben; Tan, Alvin Wei Ming; Frank, Michael C. | Abstract: When are in-group linguistic conventions opaque to non-group members (teen slang like "rizz") or general...
Really excited about this project, and thanks so much to my wonderful collaborators @gershbrain.bsky.social @tobigerstenberg.bsky.social for making this happen! Some main takeaways in thread 🧵 (1/5)
Yang Xiang
It was such a pleasure to work on this project with Yang and Sam! 🙏
The paper develops a signaling theory of self-handicapping, tests it in two novel experiments, and shows how it explains some earlier findings, too.
Tobias Gerstenberg
@yangxiang.bsky.social, @tobigerstenberg.bsky.social, and I have a fun new paper on self-handicapping:
osf.io/preprints/ps...
We analyze this phenomenon in terms of rational signaling, showing how it depends on assumptions about whether observers are naive or sophisticated.
