Liz Renner

@lrrenner.bsky.social

620 Followers 941 Following

Academic; cats, culture, child development, cultural evolution, social learning; she/her #BiInSci

A sleepy sphynx cat rests on a pink blanket
A sphynx cat standing/hunching in a large ceramic bowl on a windowsill looks toward the camera.
A sphynx cat observes a young gull through a window. The gull is standing on a wall.
A one-eyed Sphynx cat, eye closed, relaxing with forepaws outstretched under a pink blanket
A one-eyed sphynx cat, eye closed, rests under a pink blanket
for example, in a 2014 study of more than two thousand undergraduate writing assignments from a variety of disciplines at US universities, Dan Melzer found that students were asked to write for general audiences only 7 percent of the time and to their own peers only 6 percent of the time. The situation shifts only marginally in graduate school; unless doctoral students are pursuing a PhD by publication, most write for an audience of just a few people, namely, their dissertation adviser and the members of their examining committee. Even published academics may find it difficult to imagine real people---interested colleagues rather than pejorative judges---sitting at the other end of their sentences. Literary scholar Janelle Jenstad confessed that it took her many years to stop "writing up" to an audience that she felt was judging her
Anthropologists, Behar observes, used to have no conception that their own research subjects might be among their future readers: They worked in peripheral areas and brought that knowledge back to the metropolis. But now the people we have studied talk back to us.
The taxpayer has just funded your research. The least you can do is tell them what you did. (Miles Padgett, Physics, University of Glasgow)
Whether they tailor their writing for specific audiences or cast a wider net, I found, virtually all successful academics put enormout amounts of craft and care into making their work accessible to their chosen readers. I heard versions of this message from scientists: How I would write an article for submission to, say, Nature and Science is very different from how I would write if I wanted to submit it to a more specialist disciplinary journal. That's very
All too often, in fact, our imagined reader is what literary scholar Leah Price describes as "a stern critic who is weighing how original and how learned we are," rather than "someone who could enjoy and be entertained and amused and excited by our writing." Our real enemy, according to Price, "isn't disapproval or bad reviews or that imaginary critic who's poking holes in your argument": The thing we should be afraid of is indifference or boredom: not making our argument interesting enough for someone even
The cover of the book Air & Light & Time & Space: How Successful Academics Write by Helen Seord
A sphynx cat sitting politely and staring raptly at something (a fly, out of frame)
A view out a window with lots of raindrops on it. The view is of a (blurry) grassy garden.
A sphynx cat, arching his back in a stretch (he wants to come into the kitchen)
A sphynx cat wrapped in a grey blanket, eyes closed, with his chin being scratched
What's more, many of them relish rather than resist the effort and challenge involved: I hear the sound of the words as I write, and I care about that. I derive pleasure from polishing my work and hearing it; I take pleasure in getting the language right. (Kevin Kenny, History, Boston College) Perhaps it's a matter of reframing what we mean by success: Success is a process, a mindful process. A lot of students make the mistake of comparing their beginning efforts with other people's final products, which is not a smart thing to do, since rarely do you start with something wonderful. And even if you did, it wouldn't be any fun. (Ellen Langer, Psychology, Harvard University)
text on a page; "They think about concision: The quality I try for most in my writing is succinctness---some people waffle on so much---but it's bloody hard. I think it's one of the hardest forms of writing. (Michael Corballis, Psychology, University of Auckland)"
text on a page: As cultural evolutionists Peter Richerson and Robert Boyd remind us, the default mode of learning in most human societies is to "imitate the common type"; we acquire new skills mainly by observing those around us and doing what they do. A well-designed course moves students beyond the default by equipping them with the confidence and skills that they need to challenge preconceptions, try out new approaches, and create new knowledge. Yet many academics remain remarkably resistant to the notion that they, like their students, might benefit from expert-facilitated courses in writing, teaching, or other essential academic skills---an attitude that contrasts starkly with the disposition of their colleagues in fields such as medicine, law, or engineering, for whom ongoing professional development is not only expected but required.
text on a page: [...] Those institutions, in turn, operate according to the premise that students learn most effectively and efficiently when guided through a formal learning program built on educational units called "courses." (Local terminology may vary.) A course is iterative, cohort based, expert facilitated, research informed, and complemented by a range of learning activities intended to deepen and accelerate both in-class and out-of-class learning: for example, readings, discussions, field trips, research and writing assignments, and group projects. Students receive formative feedback about their learning, and they demonstrate their mastery through summative assessments such as quizzes, tests, examinations, essays, projects, or presentations. In return, their achievements are recognized through some kind of certification, such as a letter of completion or a formal accreditation.
A pie graph, showing a 15% slice at the top labelled "Formal", a 38% slice on the lower right labelled "Semiformal", and a 47% slice on the left labelled "Informal". The caption states: Figure 4. Types of learning reported in interviews and questionnaires in response to the question "How did you learn to write in your discipline?" (n = 1,323). Semiformal may include some informal learning; formal may include both informal and semiformal learning (see pages 215-216).
Weather app screen showing sunset at 21:39 with sunrise at 04:45. Precipitation: 2mm expected Visibility: 15 miles Humidity: 88% Moon: waxing gibbous
A sphynx cat sitting behind a draft excluder that is shaped as a row of owls. He is very handsome.
10-day forecast Today: low of 11, high of 14 Sun: low of 11, high of 14 Mon: low of 11, high of 18
BBC summary of English local elections. Labour has majority in 28 councils (1068 councillors), down 38. Liberal Democrats have majority in 15 councils (844 councillors), up 1. Reform UK has majority in 14 councils (1453 councillors), up 14. Conswrvatives have majority in 9 councils (801 councillors), down 6.
This chapter does away with *should* and focuses instead on *may*, a lovely old-fashioned auxiliary verb that connotes possibility and permission. *May* I discover my own writing rhythms and develop my own writing rituals? Yes, you may. *May* I be released from the guilt of feeling "less disciplined" than my colleague in the office next door, who writes to a daily schedule and posts a weekly word log proclaiming his progress? Yes, you may. *May* I ignore the advice of all those productivity-pumping books, articles, and websites that tell me I should write in a certain way, at certain intervals, for a certain length of time? Yes, you may. Alternatively, you may choose a prescriptive formula and follow it to the letter, if doing so works best for you.
Sprints or marathons? Recast as a sporting metaphor, "snacking versus bingeing" becomes "sprints versus marathons" or "speed versus staying power" or perhaps "Hare versus Tortoise." Which mode should you favor in your writing practice? Any athlete could tell you the answer: both. Fitness in any sport requires cross-training, whereby you undertake a variety of workouts in order to build up your strength, endurance, agility, and mental focus. Studies by Hartley and Branthwaite (1989) and Kellogg (1994) suggest that the most productive writers typically write several times a week for one to three hours per session.
"Hunger for the time Rebecca Piekkari School of Economics, Aalto University (Finland) Picture the following scenario. Your family owns a summer cottage on a remote northern lake, a place where your writing flows freely. Your parents, who happen to own the cottage next door, have offered to look after your children in the mornings while you work. Your afternoons are spent berry picking with the kids, swimming in the lake, or relaxing in the sauna; at night, you share leisurely dinners with family and friends under the twilight glow of the midnight sun. Does that sound like a life of blurred boundaries and endless work stress---or does it sound like paradise?"
Experimental psychologist Cecilia Heyes learned the hard way about the importance of taking a break: When I was a graduate student, finishing up my PhD, I had been working seven days a week for months and months; then I went home to see my mother, and I actually fainted for the first and only time in my life. At that point I realized okay, this seven-days-a-week thing doesn't really work for me. Since then I have always made a point of taking at least one full day a week off from work, often two. (Cecilia Heyes, Psychology, University of Oxford)
Two Sphynx cats under a grey blanket depicting bees. (They are sitting on a lap.) One cat has one eye and is facing the camera; the other cat is looking off to the left.
The cover of the book "Air & Light & Time & Space" by Helen Sword (subtitle: How successful academics write)
A sphynx cat stretched out on a grey blanket with an alert bordering on wacky expression on his face.
A Sphynx cat seen from the side, with his eye tightly closed, nestled in a fuzzy red blanket.
A Sphynx cat with his eyes closed and a bit of white fuzz on his nose, wrapped in a grey blanket
A chat interface. The first bubble ("you asked for text") says: "is my cat the cutest of all?". The reply/second bubble ("ai" responded) says: "The cutestestestestest"
3 cacti in fresh soil in plastic terra cotta-coloured pots sitting together far away from a windw sill
Part of a Wikipedia entry reading: Toxicity All species of Leucojum are poisonous, as the leaves and bulbs contain the toxic alkaloids lycorine and galantamine. [...]
A white flower on a green lawn. I think it is a snowdrop, but does not look like the most common kind.
A Sphynx cat with his eye partially open, really curled hard into his own foot under a fuzzy white blanket
A Sphynx cat with closed eyes and feet tucked under his chest, sitting under a red blanket
"The result was a body-blow. Scotland, as I had expected, voted overwhelmingly to remain - 63% versus 37% in favour of leaving, with every local authority area recording a pro-EU vote. It didn't matter, though. The 52%/48% leave vote UK-wide meant we would be ripped out of the EU against our will."
The first page of Chapter 14 of Nicola Sturgeon's memoir, "Frankly". The chapter is titled Europe No More. The chapter begins: 'Sordid SNP love triangle' was the headline I woke up to on 17 May 2016, the day I was due to be formally reinstalled as First Minister in the Scottish Parliament.
A picture of a hill in the distance, surrounded by clouds with the sun glowing from behind. In the foreground are some fields and stone walls
Jade, in the kitchen at the Traitors castle, wondering why she and some others are still in, having been wrong so often.
A can of Irn Bru Winter Bru ("spiced ginger & cinnamon flavour"). The can proclaims it's Limited Edition.
A Sphynx cat pulling firmly on a green zipper pull with his mouth
A cactus with pink flowers in roughly a ring around the top
A small cactus viewed from above, with several orange flowers blooming on top. The cactus is in a light purple container.
A Sphynx cat asleep in a grey blanket
A mixing bowl full of dough with chocolate chunks on top.
An alert Sphynx cat sitting on a grey sofa cushion looking at the camera. There is a small white and blue mouse toy with a feather near its outstretched paws. The sunlight is casting a shadow behind him.
A sphynx cat sleeping between two blankets.
A Sphynx cat with ears forward wrapped in a grey blanket, with one paw reaching out of the blanket and delicately holding my hand
The cover of the book Coming of Age: How Adolescence Shapes Us by Lucy Foulkes
A sphynx cat (on the left) licks another cat's face (on the right); she has her eye closed. They are both wrapped in a red blanket.
two sphynx cats wrapped under blankets, looking contented
Excerpt from How to break up with your phone (p. 92) DAY 5 (FRIDAY) DELETE SOCIAL MEDIA APPS As we've discussed, social media is like junk food: bingeing on it makes us feel bad, and yet once we start consuming it, it's really hard to stop. So let's take control of it.
A small frog sitting on the ground
A book entitled How to Break Up with Your Phone: the 30-Day Plan to Take Back Your Life by Catherine Price. The cover is yellow, white, and blue.
A hairless cat licking his leg. Toe beans are fully visible.
A Sphynx cat with his eyes closed and face toward the camera (and some cute forehead wrinkles) is sitting under a grey blanket with his ears halfway between forward and back. His human (not pictured) is reading about the brain-as-computer metaphor.