Current Projects and Interests

This is my main line of inquiry. I devise, carry out and (ideally) publish studies of modern psychology that test theories about our ancient history and the evolutionary pressures that made us cultural. Typically, but not exclusively, I use the tools of Social Psychology, in which I'm receiving my training. More details are available on my lab's website.

My main focus at the moment is evolved biases in how we evaluate sources of cultural information. I'm testing the prediction that we're innately, genetically disposed to over-value information that comes from individuals who others are attending to, and that this happens automatically and unconsciously.

People are fascinating creatures, and the fact that I'm stuck in one of them makes them even more so. I originally studied anthropology where I got exposed to attempts to formalise (read: approach mathematically) the study of culture and people, which drew me to the psychology lab I'm currently in. Since starting in psychology I've found the discipline surprisingly informal, with many theories and arguments depending heavily on implicit North American folk assumptions about the mind. I'm working on mastering an exciting mathematical toolkit and using it to help formalise contemporary ideas and debates in social psychology.

My friend Kaitlin Duck Sherwood and I submitted maps of census data and stimulous spending distribution for a mashup competition.

It turns out that the controller chip in a keyboard is really a very, very simple device that works just by opening and closing switches. I've pulled one of these out and have been experimenting with interesting new ways of inputting data. My goal is to produce a one handed data-entry method that let's you do the full range of key-stroke combinations of a normal keyboard at almost the same rate and without any finger contortions. Progress is slow since my work related projects take up most of my time.

I've been brewing beer for a while but only recently from the raw grain rather than a malt extract. At the moment I'm averaging one batch every few months, on those rare beautiful weekends where there aren't a million other things to do.

I've long been a fan of bicycle touring, but have recently discovered the joy of Kayaks, especially around the gorgeous mountainous sea-side environs of British Columbia. I'm currently planning a decently long (circa 1 month) Kayaking tour next year or the one following.