The rules of science are changing, to the exhilaration of some and apprehension of others. The problem is by now well defined: when we run an analysis on an unstable effect using a small sample, we can get a variety of different statistical outcomes. If only some of those outcomes are acceptable by journal standards, the literature will produce a skewed … [Read more…]
These thoughts about plotting were largely inspired by Guillaume Rousselet’s blog. Let’s start with this combined scatter ERP/ERF plot: These are real data from an early paper of mine, picked for convenience. The blue and red lines are the signal recorded by a set of temporal MEG sensors, to a tone click played twice (under two different conditions, called Blue … [Read more…]
I read a few papers and wanted to share my thoughts with the cognitive science community. If phrases like predictive coding, mismatch negativity, or gamma band don’t mean much to you, the rest of the text is likely to be mind-numbingly boring. Mismatch negativity If we hear a train of identical tones, occasionally interrupted by … [Read more…]
In one of the first classes of my first neuroimaging course, a confusing dialogue took place. Professor: In this experiment, people looked at a cross at the center of the screen while a Gabor patch was presented either to the left or to the right of the cross… Student: Excuse me, what’s a Gabor patch? … [Read more…]
I remember a sense of defeat when I started learning about research methodology. I enrolled in psychology brimming with questions, but instead of getting answers, there was this statistics course that seemed to be just caveat after caveat after caveat about what we’re allowed to conclude from data. You should have a representative sample, but … [Read more…]
I previously discussed why our search for intelligence in the brain bypasses some critical features of how IQ is measured, thus leading to data which add up to a theoretically confusing picture. It is possible that a clear-cut neural correlate of intelligence will be found some day. It is also possible that intelligence is a … [Read more…]
Being intelligent is about being good at many things. Intelligence researchers assign a single number to a diverse constellation of aptitudes, and this single number is the best across-the-board predictor of performance that differential psychology has ever yielded. Intuitively, there should be an ability behind this constellation: the more of this ability people have, the … [Read more…]
I previously argued that psychologists don’t need brain research, and that neuroscience and psychology essentially abuse each other. I feel strongly about this, I think there are real problems when the two fields meet. But it would be wrong to think that people don’t care about these issues. Neuroscience is a new field. It brings together … [Read more…]
Kia Nobre’s Brain and Cognition Lab recently discussed best research practices. Ana’s list of suggestions was accepted as a starting point, and the discussion continued from there. Overall, the atmosphere was of easy acceptance of new research practices that will hopefully enhance the reliability of our findings and conclusions. We noted that the general lack of theoretical coherence in the … [Read more…]
When my son was born, friends and family embarked on a furious attempt to answer the most important question of all: who does he look like? The kid has his own combination of features, but people would be strongly convinced he looks just like one of us. And on average, these estimations were random! Like any new … [Read more…]