Adam L. Ozer

Introducing The UK MP Inbox: a public database of email newsletters written by UK Members of Parliament. To read more about the Inbox, I wrote a blog post discussing these data and some potential use cases for social scientists and researchers: adamlozer.github.io/blog/posts/2... #polisky

Seeing a lot of posts talking about political ads for the US election, so just thought I'd repost an old classic youtu.be/FtJuiTAR29E?...

Mission accomplished. Great show, @themountaingoats.bsky.social, so glad I could be there to see it.

Some shameless self-promotion from my academia days: journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.... TL;DR - uses and abuses of the terms "socialism" and "capitalism" in the news are pretty ineffective as a means of policy persuasion. They really only trigger affective polarisation.

Unsolicited hot take: "The marketplace of ideas" is a dumb metaphor. That's not how most street markets, arcades, or conventions work. You can't just rock up, set up a stall, and start selling whatever you like. There are SO many permit processes, regulations, and fees. Get real.

Don't make me tap the sign

Imagine you're trying to respond to a rage-inducing email, and a coworker looks over your shoulder and says "let me rewrite a better response for you." You'd want to slap em for the audacity, right? So why is Copilot programmed to do that? It makes me want to spontaneously combust.

An enduring lesson of the past decade: Politics is really, really hard. Anyone who tells you it's easy is probably pretty bad at politics.

Apropos of nothing: youtu.be/jWvtaIB0jJg?...

Tuchel got this so devastatingly wrong in the second half, utterly shocking

Always remember: When someone else does it, it's "p-hacking and cherry-picking". But when you do it, it's "bold scientific exploratory analysis".

Playing some D&D

Been avoiding stick my neck out there with the current leadership scuffle, but I must speak my truth: The State Opening of Parliament closed a few roads today and mildly inconvenienced my commute to work. No other issue is quite as important. Thus, Sir Starmer must go.

Good news: new and improved job title. Bad news: jokes remain old and bad.

Chili tastes better with turkey mince than with beef mince

Check out the new research that my team and I published for the Department of Culture, Media, and Sport, in conjunction with our partners at University of Glasgow and Faculty www.gov.uk/government/c... #polisky

My first ever craft project. A spicy pillow for a spicy lad.

If we just paint flames on all of the ships and build a big ramp, they can just jump over the Strait of Hormuz while blasting some sick guitar solos. Why hasn't the government tried this?

Shameless self-plug: Zach Zwald, Ryan Kennedy, and I wrote a whole paper on public support and trust in automated weapons systems. Spoiler alert: the relationship between AI, the military, and public opinion is quite complicated and contextual. #polisky academic.oup.com/jpr/article/...

Feel like starting some beef today: The best theme in ggplot is theme_bw()

New blog post: Did MPs who performed better in the 2024 UK election discuss the election more often in their e-newsletters? In a brief exploratory look, I find that they do, though that relationship is more complex than simply asking "who won the race?". #polisky adamlozer.github.io/blog/posts/2...

Useful list of MPs on here. bsky.app/profile/did:...

Today, one of my D&D campaigns hit its 69th session. It's the little things in life that give you light in the darkness.

Fun fact: Billy Idol's full name is William Idolatry.

Fun fact: in high school, I sent a letter to my Senator asking to be granted a letter of marque for privateering, as my history teacher promised the class a free A as a joke if we got one. I never got a response. I guess I was just ahead of my time.

Extremely lukewarm take: In politics, calling someone a prick is not an ad hominem attack if the fact that they are a prick directly impacts their ability to govern.

Me, the vast majority of the time: "I quite enjoy living in the UK." Me in December: "It is 7:34 am and the sun has not yet risen. All joy has fled this decrepit island, there is only despair."

Lukewarm take: AI doesn't improve productivity much b/c large chunks of time at most desk jobs are spent waiting for responses to your emails. Sure, AI can help code a bit faster, but if I can't code until Charles in budgeting green lights my project, I'm still moving at the speed of bureaucracy.

Hey #polisky, If you have smart students with an interest in data and public policy, Verian has a graduate scheme to get them started in the industry. www.linkedin.com/feed/update/...

predicting-ball.co.uk Ever wanted to quantify just how much Bayern Munich are running away with the Meisterschale, but all the projection models out there focus on the Premier League? Well, have I got the model for you!

You ever have Schrödinger's meeting, existing in a simultaneous state of cancelled and not cancelled until the hour arrives and you can directly observe?

What are we calling this? Mamda-mination? Winning Zor-handily?

A great job opportunity for any data experts with a love of social sciences and social research. Pros: you get to work on cool projects with important public policy impact. Cons: you have to listen to me make bad puns in meetings. www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/43... #polisky

The existence of Singapore implies the existence of Danceapore and Actapore. And if you visit all three, you unlock access to EGOTapore.

One of my favourite things to do is shock my well-meaning but unaware UK colleagues with how much immigrants pay for the right to be here and contribute. "Nice nationality dork, did your parents get it for you? Couldn't be me."

You know, if you ignore literally any and all of the numerous dissimilarities between the invention of automobiles and the advent of AI, they're really quite similar situations. I think there are a lot of lessons we can learn from that.

A depressing amount of your 30s is waking up and thinking "I'm way too hungover, I've got to stop drinking", only to realise that you didn't drink last night. In fact, you didn't drink any night last week. Your body is just like this sometimes.

Are the results from this clearly flawless and highly scientific poll shocking? Not at all. But the cynicism is still a bit depressing, no?

You, a cultureless heathen: "No one engages with my posts, BlueSky is clearly dying!!!" Me, an intellectual and man of culture: "No one engages with my posts because I'm deeply unfunny and not very clever. Seems like you have a skill issue, get gud like me."