How a middle aged CS major debunked a classic positive psychology finding (2013)
I worked with Nick a few times in a previous job and he was a reviewer on a paper I wrote; he was really nice and professional, and his feedback was constructive and incisive.<p>The movement he&#x27;s part of is fundamentally disagreeable (in the &#x27;big five&#x27; sense [0]), and some of its prominent characters, as you might expect, have reputations for being interpersonally difficult [1]. Collectively they&#x27;ve been labeled &quot;data thugs&quot; [2] and accused of &quot;methodological terrorism&quot; [3], which is why I think Nick&#x27;s fundamental goodness is an especially valuable asset. We&#x27;d gain a ton of social value from certain reforms to the scientific research apparatus, and, IMO, being kind when delivering pointed critiques helps a difficult pill go down. That&#x27;s different than pulling your punches; it just means staying focused on the thing you actually want to change.<p>[0] <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Big_Five_personality_traits" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Big_Five_personality_traits</a><p>[1] <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;medium.com&#x2F;@OmnesRes&#x2F;the-dumbest-fucking-thing-ive-ever-read-8653e2409ec4" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;medium.com&#x2F;@OmnesRes&#x2F;the-dumbest-fucking-thing-ive-e...</a><p>[2] <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.science.org&#x2F;content&#x2F;article&#x2F;meet-data-thugs-out-expose-shoddy-and-questionable-research" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.science.org&#x2F;content&#x2F;article&#x2F;meet-data-thugs-out-...</a><p>[3] <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;statmodeling.stat.columbia.edu&#x2F;2016&#x2F;09&#x2F;21&#x2F;what-has-happened-down-here-is-the-winds-have-changed&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;statmodeling.stat.columbia.edu&#x2F;2016&#x2F;09&#x2F;21&#x2F;what-has-h...</a>