Mark McNeilly

Marketing Professor-UNC, Author: Sun Tzu & the Art of Business, Ex-Mktg Exec: Lenovo & IBM. Chair - UNC AI Cmte. Mimir's Well:

[Prof. Carl Sagan @ProfCarlSagan]

The difference between a good student and a great one is that a good student is concerned more about the outcome while a great one is fascinated by the process of learning.

-Richard P. Feynman

[War Times @wartirnes]

D-Day in Color: The Filthy Thirteen Prepare for Normandy 🇺🇸

U.S. paratroopers of the 101st Airborne prepare for the Normandy invasion with war paint, heavy gear, and final briefings before boarding their C-47 aircraft.

Featuring the legendary “Filthy Thirteen” of the 506th PIR, with their signature Mohawks, face paint, and fearless reputation before jumping into occupied France.

[Military History Now @MilHistNow]

On this day in 1942, U.S. warships ambush a Japanese task force at Midway. Japan loses four carriers and nearly 250 warplanes in the ensuing battle. It's a turning point in the Pacific War.

[Dale Chu @Dale_Chu]

The collapse of academic standards in one chart.

[Jen Brick Murtazashvili @jmurtazashvili]

We can remind the public and our students that the of the purpose of the university is truth-seeking not social change. This demands humility rather than certainty. It requires curiosity and the courage to change your mind in public. It means we are in awe of what we don’t know.

[Vicky C Yang @VickyCYang]

Between 1985--2023, MIT's faculty grew 9%. Administrative staff grew 189%. 📈 Why? In new @PNASNews paper, we use dynamical system model to show administrative bloat can emerge without empire-building--just from well-intentioned problem-solving gone awry https://t.co/MZgGkxilZ2

[Mark McNeilly @markmcneilly]

AI and the Meaning of Life: If AI is better than us at our work, where do we find meaning?
https://t.co/LHNXbNpYXF

[Steve Stewart-Williams @SteveStuWill]

Non-replicable research gets cited more than replicable research. This is consistent with what I call Steve’s Law: Boring findings and non-PC findings are more replicable than interesting or PC ones.

https://t.co/PNnu2ZzVky

[NSTRIKE @NSTRIKE1231]

🇺🇦 According to The Economist, Ukraine could achieve a significant armored breakthrough on the front this year.
American military analyst Rob Lee believes that the war in Ukraine has reached a stage similar to the final phase of the First World War — characterized by a static front line and mutual exhaustion of both sides.
At the same time, he draws attention to new tactics that emerged in 1918, when the combination of precise artillery fire and well-trained assault groups made decisive breakthroughs possible again, ending the dominance of trench warfare.
Lee argues that a similar evolution of technologies and tactics is currently underway, which could restore maneuver warfare to the battlefield. He expects that if the front is properly “opened,” Ukrainian armored units will be able to advance rapidly 5–10 kilometers deep, leading to the collapse of Russian positions.
The analyst anticipates successful armored breakthroughs based on these principles as early as this year.

This assessment is noteworthy as it suggests that the prolonged positional warfare may soon give way to more dynamic operations. If Ukraine manages to combine effective drone and artillery strikes with coordinated mechanized assaults, it could create the conditions for the first major armored breakthroughs since the early stages of the war.

Video is generated by grok AI

[Soumitra Shukla @soumitrashukla9]

Very much agreed with @sndurlauf and resonates with my paper’s message as well.

Standardized test scores aren’t perfect and never will be, but compared to existing alternatives they are currently superior in predicting university performance and as such should be embraced by admissions committees rather than shunned.

[Mark McNeilly @markmcneilly]

@anecdotal @lindakinstler @heavyredaction It's also exacerbated by the cost cutting from the System and people are conflating that as being caused by AI.

[Mark McNeilly @markmcneilly]

@anecdotal @lindakinstler @heavyredaction Having worked in corporations, academia, and the military and having led one university's AI efforts, I think what's happening is the normal challenges on sees with big org. change mgmt efforts. It's exacerbated by how fast AI changes but it's easy to criticize from the outside.

[Rolf Degen @DegenRolf]

Research on microaggressions has made a mountain out of a molehill.
We critically evaluate common claims about microaggressions. Despite 50 years of scholarship on microaggressions, the main claims about them have not been empirically demonstrated. Most studies address perceptions of microaggressions, not microaggressions per se. Much is known about subjective self-reported experiences as measured by dubious questionnaires of unknown validity that may or may not assess perceptions of “microaggressions,” and the correlates of these measures. The research has failed to demonstrate that behaviors claimed to microaggressions are frequently experienced.
Moreover, despite claims to the contrary, research has not established that racism causes microaggressions nor that microaggressions adversely affect the well-being of those who perceive the . The research has failed to demonstrate that experiencing microaggressions has negative causal effects on the well-being of those who perceive them. Correlations do not demonstrate “impact.” No studies have attempted to assess whether racism causes the specific behaviors labeled as microaggressions by “experts” and advocates.
Accordingly, after 50 years of scholarship on microaggressions, the central claims of proponents remain unsubstantiated. Whereas helping clients cope with experiences of bigotry is appropriate for therapy, leading clients to interpret ambiguous situations as manifestations of bigotry risks doing more harm than good. Rather than facilitating constructive social interactions, it is likely to induce anger and resentment.
Microaggression scholarship often is framed as anti-racist. In this perspective, opposing anti-racism is racist, so that criticizing microaggression research is racist. Thus, microaggression scholarship has a peculiar form of insulation against refutation. Critiques of the theory, being “racist,” count as further support for the phenomenon.

[Steve Stewart-Williams @SteveStuWill]

“A synthesis of more than 50 meta-analyses found that conscientiousness is the standout personality predictor of academic performance, but that openness and agreeableness also play a role.”

https://t.co/j50llNOuX3

[Heterodox Academy @HdxAcademy]

🎓New surveys at three universities show that faculty are still self-censoring. And it's getting worse.

Here's what the surveys showed:

[Jay Yang @Jayyanginspires]

High intelligence + Low agency = High misery

[Robby Starbuck @robbystarbuck]

Harvard professor Arthur Brooks explains how data shows that the unhappiest and most mentally ill people are mostly on the political left while the happiest are on the right.

Liberal women 18-30 have a 60% chance of being diagnosed mentally ill. Discuss.

[Jank'n Stank @CanesIncognito]

When Tom Dundon bought the Carolina Hurricanes, their head coach was Bill Peters, they had Ron Francis as a GM, they had missed the playoffs 9 years in a row and the average attendance was less than 14,000 per night.

What a change.

[Mark McNeilly @markmcneilly]

@AndrewJPerrin I agree breadth matters. Unfortunately, that breadth is limited to only those allowed by the monolithic progressive ideology of academia. Conservative and moderate ideas are sanctioned if expressed.

[ESPN Insights @ESPNInsights]

The Hurricanes are the first team to enter the Stanley Cup Final with 1 or fewer losses in the playoffs since the NHL went to 4 best-of-7 series in 1987 😱