Rense Corten 🟥

Rense Corten 🟥

@rensec.bsky.social

Sociologist at Utrecht University, NL, studying cooperation, trust, social networks, social media, platform economy, using computational social science and experimental methods. I mostly follow academics. Also: @RenseC@mastodon.online

1.6K followers1.2K following752 posts

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Rense Corten 🟥
@rensec.bsky.social

Earlier, I voiced my doubts here about a recent PNAS paper claiming that an alleged "rise in connectivity" explains an increase in polarization. PNAS was kind enough to publish our comments this week: www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

pnas.orgMore social interactions, more polarization? The evidence is not there | PNASMore social interactions, more polarization? The evidence is not there
Rense Corten 🟥@rensec.bsky.social

This is a very interesting paper but the empirical evidence presented for an increase in connectivity (in their Fig. 1E) is rather problematic. A little thread 👇(1/7):

Rense Corten 🟥 reposted

European Commission
@ec.europa.eu

We have designated ChatGPT as a Very Large Online Search Engine and Reddit and Roblox as Very Large Online Platforms under the Digital Services Act. They now have four months to comply with additional DSA obligations. #DSA

Rense Corten 🟥
@rensec.bsky.social

At my daughter's recent piano recital all students but one were girls. What's up with that? Among my generation, I know many men who play keys. Has piano, or playing music more generally, become a girls' thing?

Rense Corten 🟥
@rensec.bsky.social

Funny how even @pnas.org labels a social networks study as "economics" apparently for the sole reason that the authors are economists. There is nothing particularly "economic" about the research question, the theory, the application or the methods. www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

pnas.orgPNASProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), a peer reviewed journal of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) - an authoritative source of high-impact, original research that broadly spans...
Rense Corten 🟥
@rensec.bsky.social

People applauding this (well-intended) question misunderstand Mark Rutte. From my (Dutch) experience, Rutte does not care about things like self-respect. He's a pure strategist. You may disagree with his strategy or his goals, but in any case he's probably not doing it for himself or to look good.

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com

WOW -- Danish reporter *goes there* with Rutte "You sit next to Trump when he talks about conquering Greenland, lashes out at allies like Spain -- things it doesn't seem like the old Mark Rutte would approve of. Does this have any affect on your self-respect when you sit there and say nothing?"

Rense Corten 🟥
@rensec.bsky.social

The debate on whether an overall "rise in connectivity" is a credible explanation of rising polarization continues in @pnas.org , now with a comment by Piotr Gorski et al., claiming that an increasing relative prevalence of *weak ties* is the more likely cause: www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

pnas.orgMore connections, higher polarization: The role of weak ties and status-driven dynamics | PNASMore connections, higher polarization: The role of weak ties and status-driven dynamics
Rense Corten 🟥@rensec.bsky.social

Earlier, I voiced my doubts here about a recent PNAS paper claiming that an alleged "rise in connectivity" explains an increase in polarization. PNAS was kind enough to publish our comments this week: www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

pnas.orgMore social interactions, more polarization? The evidence is not there | PNASMore social interactions, more polarization? The evidence is not there

Rense Corten 🟥 reposted

Miranda Lubbers
@mirandalubbers.bsky.social

Intro to our Special Issue on #NetworkScaleUpMethod & #AggregatedRelationalData, w. Beate Völker & @mbojan.bsky.social: we reviewed 300 studies (full list available), mapped how the field evolved, summarized survey practice & proposed a reporting checklist & a cool new graph on biases bit.ly/4czhEoz

kwnsfk27.r.eu-west-1.awstrack.mePlease wait whilst we redirect youAll content on this site: Copyright © 2026 Elsevier B.V., its licensors, and contributors. All rights are reserved, including those for text and data mining, AI training, and similar technologies. For all open access content, the relevant licensing terms apply.
Rense Corten 🟥
@rensec.bsky.social

Als het ik studenten wel eens vertel dat ik, toen ik in Amerika woonde, Netflix nog als postorderservice gebruikte denken ze dat ik ze voor de gek houd www.volkskrant.nl/cultuur-medi...

volkskrant.nlRevolutionair maar ook hard voor werknemers: medeoprichter Reed Hastings zwaait af bij NetflixReed Hastings, mede-oprichter van Netflix, vertrekt in juni bij de streamingdienst die hij in 1997 als dvd-bezorgdienst begon. Deze Amerikaan veranderde de manier waarop de wereld naar films en televi...
Rense Corten 🟥
@rensec.bsky.social

Serious Dutch newspapers now discuss whether it's appropriate that the king and queen spend the night at the White House during their upcoming visit, given who the host is.

Rense Corten 🟥
@rensec.bsky.social

Very nice to see another introduction to mathematical sociology (there are not many of those around) by a well-respected scholar, but why does it have to cost more than €100 for 236 pages? That effectively prohibits its use as a textbook. www.e-elgar.com/shop/gbp/und...

e-elgar.comUnderstanding Mathematical Sociology‘Skvoretz brings the field of mathematical sociology to life, tracing its evolution through the key developments of the past century. This book is an essential contribution to the discipline, showcasi...
Rense Corten 🟥
@rensec.bsky.social

Interessant: de Democratische Partij is in de afgelopen decennia meer een partij van beter gepositioneerden geworden, maar dat is *niet* omdat minder gepositioneerden kiezers de partij de rug toe hebben gekeerd, zoals vaak gedacht. Benieuwd hoe dat in Nederland zit. www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

pnas.orgElites moved toward democrats more than nonelites moved away: Income, education, and occupational class in US presidential elections, 1980–2020 | PNASRecent discussion of voting in US elections claims a strong movement of White working-class voters away from voting for Democrats, with much discus...

Rense Corten 🟥 reposted

Chris Bail
@chrisbail.bsky.social

Want to learn about computational social science *for free* and identify new research partners across academic fields? Apply to one of the 2026 Summer Institutes in Computational Social Science (described in yellow in the attached map) here: sicss.io/locations

Rense Corten 🟥 reposted

Rense Corten 🟥
@rensec.bsky.social

For those following along, some thoughts on Thurner et al.'s reply to our critique to their "connectivity causes polarization" claim. At first sight, this looks like a solid rejoinder, perhaps even justifying the mildly sarcastic tone. Upon closer inspection, not so much. So, another thread... 1/

Rense Corten 🟥@rensec.bsky.social

Earlier, I voiced my doubts here about a recent PNAS paper claiming that an alleged "rise in connectivity" explains an increase in polarization. PNAS was kind enough to publish our comments this week: www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

pnas.orgMore social interactions, more polarization? The evidence is not there | PNASMore social interactions, more polarization? The evidence is not there
Rense Corten 🟥
@rensec.bsky.social

For those following along, some thoughts on Thurner et al.'s reply to our critique to their "connectivity causes polarization" claim. At first sight, this looks like a solid rejoinder, perhaps even justifying the mildly sarcastic tone. Upon closer inspection, not so much. So, another thread... 1/

Rense Corten 🟥@rensec.bsky.social

Earlier, I voiced my doubts here about a recent PNAS paper claiming that an alleged "rise in connectivity" explains an increase in polarization. PNAS was kind enough to publish our comments this week: www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

pnas.orgMore social interactions, more polarization? The evidence is not there | PNASMore social interactions, more polarization? The evidence is not there
View full thread
Rense Corten 🟥
@rensec.bsky.social

Most alarmingly, they once more fail to clarify the source for precisely this one crucial post-2010 US/GSS data point. To the best of our knowledge, GSS 2020 did not measure core discussion networks. The original paper does not provide a plausible reference for it either. 8/

Rense Corten 🟥
@rensec.bsky.social

We mentioned this in our critique. If I where THK, I would get to the bottom of this and make crystal clear that these data exist, and where they can be found. I find the fact that they didn't do so increasingly puzzling. 9/9

Rense Corten 🟥
@rensec.bsky.social

For those following along, some thoughts on Thurner et al.'s reply to our critique to their "connectivity causes polarization" claim. At first sight, this looks like a solid rejoinder, perhaps even justifying the mildly sarcastic tone. Upon closer inspection, not so much. So, another thread... 1/

Rense Corten 🟥@rensec.bsky.social

Earlier, I voiced my doubts here about a recent PNAS paper claiming that an alleged "rise in connectivity" explains an increase in polarization. PNAS was kind enough to publish our comments this week: www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

pnas.orgMore social interactions, more polarization? The evidence is not there | PNASMore social interactions, more polarization? The evidence is not there
View full thread
Rense Corten 🟥
@rensec.bsky.social

THK furthermore fail to acknowledge that establishing a trend requires measures that are consistent over time (Stats 101), while theirs differ *systematically* over time. 6/

Rense Corten 🟥
@rensec.bsky.social

Nearly *all* their "post-transition" measure are based on different instruments than the "before" measures; with the "post" measures likely to produce higher estimates of network sizes. In fact, the *only* consistent time series in their figure are the 3 red squares for US/GSS (2004, 2008, 2020). 7/

Rense Corten 🟥
@rensec.bsky.social

For those following along, some thoughts on Thurner et al.'s reply to our critique to their "connectivity causes polarization" claim. At first sight, this looks like a solid rejoinder, perhaps even justifying the mildly sarcastic tone. Upon closer inspection, not so much. So, another thread... 1/

Rense Corten 🟥@rensec.bsky.social

Earlier, I voiced my doubts here about a recent PNAS paper claiming that an alleged "rise in connectivity" explains an increase in polarization. PNAS was kind enough to publish our comments this week: www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

pnas.orgMore social interactions, more polarization? The evidence is not there | PNASMore social interactions, more polarization? The evidence is not there
View full thread
Rense Corten 🟥
@rensec.bsky.social

They also do not address the issue that when looking *only* at the US, the alleged increase in connectivity cannot be established as preceding the increase in polarization. Without justification, they pool the data of *several countries* to establish the causal order. 4/

Rense Corten 🟥
@rensec.bsky.social

By doing so, they seem to treat polarization somehow as a cross-country phenomenon, even though the paper's title says "polarization in societies" (in fact they measure it in only one society, the US). 5/

Rense Corten 🟥
@rensec.bsky.social

For those following along, some thoughts on Thurner et al.'s reply to our critique to their "connectivity causes polarization" claim. At first sight, this looks like a solid rejoinder, perhaps even justifying the mildly sarcastic tone. Upon closer inspection, not so much. So, another thread... 1/

Rense Corten 🟥@rensec.bsky.social

Earlier, I voiced my doubts here about a recent PNAS paper claiming that an alleged "rise in connectivity" explains an increase in polarization. PNAS was kind enough to publish our comments this week: www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

pnas.orgMore social interactions, more polarization? The evidence is not there | PNASMore social interactions, more polarization? The evidence is not there
Rense Corten 🟥
@rensec.bsky.social

First, not that THK bring up post-hoc exclusion criteria for our counterexamples, which are not even consistently applied. Eg., post-communist societies are now excluded (but not Germany, which is in their Fig), kin ties don't count (although also included in their GSS-based measures), etc. 2/

Rense Corten 🟥
@rensec.bsky.social

Likewise, THK invoke inclusion criteria (for measures) that turn out to be rather broad ("close friendships, core discussion networks, and strong ties") and do not in fact exclude our alternative measures 3/

Rense Corten 🟥 reposted

Saskia Bonjour
@saskiabonjour.bsky.social

Deze collega's schrijven: "Zo berichte NRC over een studie die liet zien dat migratieonderzoekers met uiteenlopende ideologische opvattingen tot tegenstelde conclusies kwamen op basis van dezelfde dataset" Deze grafiek uit de studie laat zien dat dat n volstrekt onjuiste interpretatie is.

Opiniestukken@opiniestukken.bsky.social

In NRC: Linkse dominantie op de universiteit ondergraaft vertrouwen in wetenschap

nrc.nlLinkse dominantie op de universiteit ondergraaft vertrouwen in wetenschap Universiteiten zijn volgens radicaalrechts bastions van wokeactivisme. In zulke populistische retoriek zit volgens Floris Burgers, Adriaan Duiveman en Lotte Hogeweg een kern van waarheid: de academie is overwegend links.