Liz Renner

@lrrenner

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

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Liz Renner@lrrenner· 2d

Why yes I *will* buy every exotic flavor that Jaffa Cake comes out with... the UK is basically a tropical island now anyway

A box of Jaffa Cakes Mango Flavour that shouted to me from the supermarket shelf.

Liz Renner@lrrenner· 3d

It's that time of year

Liz Renner@lrrenner· Jul 25

Scottish summer returns. (This is what my first ~8 summers here looked like)

A weather report for the next 10 days, showing high temperatures between 17 and 20C, and a chance of rain most days

Liz Renner@lrrenner· Jul 23

This is becoming the morning ritual: snuggles (plus coffee) before work.

A sleepy sphynx cat rests on a pink blanket

Liz Renner@lrrenner· Jul 21

The cat knows he has been Caught. Doesn't even bother to run, just enjoys the sunbeam 🤷

A sphynx cat standing/hunching in a large ceramic bowl on a windowsill looks toward the camera.

Liz Renner@lrrenner· Jul 19

A fledgling gull got stuck in the back garden of our rental when we were in the middle of moving, and the chance to observe gulls up close has made me fall in love with them.... they're so silly, and smart, and cool!

A sphynx cat observes a young gull through a window. The gull is standing on a wall.

Liz Renner@lrrenner· Jul 11

She's really settled in

A one-eyed Sphynx cat, eye closed, relaxing with forepaws outstretched under a pink blanket

Liz Renner@lrrenner· Jul 11

who can resist a little weekend snooze?

A one-eyed sphynx cat, eye closed, rests under a pink blanket

Liz Renner@lrrenner· Jun 21

Should we be teaching our students to write for a general audience or their peers?

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

Liz Renner@lrrenner· Jun 21

And sometimes, if you're an anthropologist or a psychologist, your reader will actually be a participant or subject of your research

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.

Liz Renner@lrrenner· Jun 21

This quote is about the ethical imperative of communicating with the public about your work (which I agree with). While this is definitely true for some values of "funded", in the current environment, not so much actual funding of research is going on. Anyway, Padgett is right.

The taxpayer has just funded your research. The least you can do is tell them what you did. (Miles Padgett, Physics, University of Glasgow)

Liz Renner@lrrenner· Jun 21

It's always enjoyable to see familiar names and hear that they are people, who have processes. Anyway, Russell Gray tells us we have to tailor work for our audience. Which I *know*, but do I actually do it? 🤔

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

different from how I write a grant application, and again that's very different from writing a review-style article. (Russell Gray, Director, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History)

Liz Renner@lrrenner· Jun 21

The first part of this section is "writing for others", considering the reader. Leah Price notes that boredom is the enemy. I totally get that writing should come from a position of strength rather than be defensive (which can come across badly).

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

to care whether it has holes in it. (Leah Price, English, Harvard University)

Liz Renner@lrrenner· Jun 21

OK this mofo is due back at the library this week so I guess I should finish it

The cover of the book Air & Light & Time & Space: How Successful Academics Write by Helen Seord

Liz Renner@lrrenner· Jun 21

Why did I buy all these cat toys over the years when I could have just invited a fly inside and entertained them for eternity 🤦

A sphynx cat sitting politely and staring raptly at something (a fly, out of frame)

Liz Renner@lrrenner· Jun 19

Ooof, it's kinda yucky out there. And it's Review Day, so I'm working on reviews, so many reviews! Grateful to the scientists doing interesting work, the editors keeping the knowledge system going, and the people who review my work (among others). It's a cool system! (even if it's flawed)

A view out a window with lots of raindrops on it. The view is of a (blurry) grassy garden.

Liz Renner@lrrenner· Jun 17

Slinky cat, comin towards you @poorlycatdraw.bsky.social

A sphynx cat, arching his back in a stretch (he wants to come into the kitchen)

Liz Renner@lrrenner· Jun 7

I think he likes getting his chin scratched

A sphynx cat wrapped in a grey blanket, eyes closed, with his chin being scratched

Liz Renner@lrrenner· Jun 2

Two really nice quotes on this page. One thing I've heard of people trying is having a text-to-speech program read a draft to you. But I have never done this myself. Maybe worth a try?

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)

Liz Renner@lrrenner· Jun 2

The quoted academic is right about a lot of things in a short 2 sentences!

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)"

Liz Renner@lrrenner· Jun 2

Hey, look who it is! I am impressed at what feel like deep cuts in the cognitive and human sciences.

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.

Liz Renner@lrrenner· Jun 2

Luckily this is clarified somewhat by this passage. (Which also points out where modern universities may sometimes be falling down on the job...)

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.

Liz Renner@lrrenner· Jun 2

I think the point made with this graph is that only 15% of academic writers surveyed received any form of formal writing training in their discipline. Tbh I'm not even sure what formal writing training in my discipline would look like: a graduate-level class? A multi-day/ -week/ -month workshop?

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).

Liz Renner@lrrenner· May 30

Ah yes, we are entering the 17+ hours of daylight phase of the year. Only ~6 more weeks of this, I guess. Can't decide if I love it or hate it 🤷

Weather app screen showing sunset at 21:39 with sunrise at 04:45.

Precipitation: 2mm expected
Visibility: 15 miles
Humidity: 88%
Moon: waxing gibbous

Liz Renner@lrrenner· May 25

Is this cat having a (very cute) identity crisis?

A sphynx cat sitting behind a draft excluder that is shaped as a row of owls. He is very handsome.

Liz Renner@lrrenner· May 23

the rest of the UK gets a heatwave and my little microclimate gets... nothing

10-day forecast
Today: low of 11, high of 14
Sun: low of 11, high of 14
Mon: low of 11, high of 18

Liz Renner@lrrenner· May 11

Hm. Labour still in charge of the largest number of councils overall (but is now beat by No Overall Control), so "obliterated" is inaccurate if not inflammatory.

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.

Liz Renner@lrrenner· May 5

Should versus may, an interesting change of perspective (sorry for slightly crooked photos, just evidence that it is a physical book)

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.

Liz Renner@lrrenner· May 5

Bringing the idea of cross-training to writing, I love it!

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.

Liz Renner@lrrenner· May 5

You know the answer! 😝 (but definitely bring the blackout curtains)