Mal Shah
@compositiomality.bsky.social
Linguistics grad student (UMD). Ellipsis, quantifiers, degree constructions. Dissertating imminently in syntax/semantics/etc. Philosophy & Linguistics BA (Oxford).
College radio DJ, on/off runner, TTRPG fan, vegan
he/him, 25
https://malshah.com
College radio DJ, on/off runner, TTRPG fan, vegan
he/him, 25
https://malshah.com
Reposted by Mal Shah
‘Sure Ironman, your suit has always worked… before’—Metainducer, the main Phase 5 villain
September 23, 2026 at 12:45 PM
‘Sure Ironman, your suit has always worked… before’—Metainducer, the main Phase 5 villain
Reposted by Mal Shah
Reposted by Mal Shah
sometimes i give people feedback on job market materials, and thought it might be useful to do a thread of some common feedback i find myself giving. just one guy's opinion (and one thing that can be frustrating about producing and getting feedback on these documents is that informed people *will*
September 19, 2026 at 4:57 PM
sometimes i give people feedback on job market materials, and thought it might be useful to do a thread of some common feedback i find myself giving. just one guy's opinion (and one thing that can be frustrating about producing and getting feedback on these documents is that informed people *will*
Reposted by Mal Shah
Well done to the picture editor who captioned this delightful snap of a black pig swimming off the west coast of Greece “swine-dark sea” www.theguardian.com/environment/...
September 18, 2026 at 10:52 AM
Well done to the picture editor who captioned this delightful snap of a black pig swimming off the west coast of Greece “swine-dark sea” www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Word that’s like “yearning” but describes the relationship you have to a syllabus you write for a course you are unlikely to ever teach
September 17, 2026 at 9:28 PM
Word that’s like “yearning” but describes the relationship you have to a syllabus you write for a course you are unlikely to ever teach
Blog post: On "Scope"
I got curious about the history of the term in semantics/logic, and found some surprising things about talk of the scope of quantifiers vs. the scope of variables.
It's brief, and I'm no historian of logic, so if anyone knows more, please share!
www.malshah.com/blog/on-scope
I got curious about the history of the term in semantics/logic, and found some surprising things about talk of the scope of quantifiers vs. the scope of variables.
It's brief, and I'm no historian of logic, so if anyone knows more, please share!
www.malshah.com/blog/on-scope
September 8, 2026 at 11:23 PM
Blog post: On "Scope"
I got curious about the history of the term in semantics/logic, and found some surprising things about talk of the scope of quantifiers vs. the scope of variables.
It's brief, and I'm no historian of logic, so if anyone knows more, please share!
www.malshah.com/blog/on-scope
I got curious about the history of the term in semantics/logic, and found some surprising things about talk of the scope of quantifiers vs. the scope of variables.
It's brief, and I'm no historian of logic, so if anyone knows more, please share!
www.malshah.com/blog/on-scope
PJ Harvey
Pulp
Garbage
Sleater-Kinney
Slowdive
Mogwai
Keane
Heavenly
The Swirlies
The Killers
Pulp
Garbage
Sleater-Kinney
Slowdive
Mogwai
Keane
Heavenly
The Swirlies
The Killers
Introduce yourself with 10 acts or bands you've seen live.
1. Sex Pistols
2. Stray Cats
3. Hawkwind
4. Motörhead
5. Slayer
6. VoiVod
7. Faith No More
8. Monster Magnet
9. NoMeansNo
10. Ramones
1. Sex Pistols
2. Stray Cats
3. Hawkwind
4. Motörhead
5. Slayer
6. VoiVod
7. Faith No More
8. Monster Magnet
9. NoMeansNo
10. Ramones
August 30, 2026 at 12:04 PM
PJ Harvey
Pulp
Garbage
Sleater-Kinney
Slowdive
Mogwai
Keane
Heavenly
The Swirlies
The Killers
Pulp
Garbage
Sleater-Kinney
Slowdive
Mogwai
Keane
Heavenly
The Swirlies
The Killers
Reposted by Mal Shah
not dyslexic, but also every time Kayne is cited I think it's Kanye
August 19, 2026 at 8:52 PM
not dyslexic, but also every time Kayne is cited I think it's Kanye
Reposted by Mal Shah
nominative determinism is bullsh-
August 19, 2026 at 10:26 PM
nominative determinism is bullsh-
Reposted by Mal Shah
can confirm, as an academic I read* hella books** per year
*download
**PDFs
*download
**PDFs
August 18, 2026 at 10:43 PM
can confirm, as an academic I read* hella books** per year
*download
**PDFs
*download
**PDFs
Reposted by Mal Shah
Conceptual Form: The Hidden Structure of Commonsense Concepts is out @mitpress.bsky.social This is just great cognitive science! If you like concepts, words, AI, neuroscience (like me)...Sandeep has a nuanced theory. Finally I know what DOG is all about :-) Congrats
mitpress.mit.edu/978026205313...
mitpress.mit.edu/978026205313...
August 18, 2026 at 8:52 PM
Conceptual Form: The Hidden Structure of Commonsense Concepts is out @mitpress.bsky.social This is just great cognitive science! If you like concepts, words, AI, neuroscience (like me)...Sandeep has a nuanced theory. Finally I know what DOG is all about :-) Congrats
mitpress.mit.edu/978026205313...
mitpress.mit.edu/978026205313...
Reposted by Mal Shah
@arthurpr4t.bsky.social has a new preprint with important results on a famous psychophysical law (Weber's law). It isn't, in fact, a law, because it can be broken. A more fundamental principle (efficient coding) shows when and why Weber's law holds true.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Efficient coding makes and breaks Weber's law
Weber's law is a rare quantitative regularity in psychology, yet its origins remain debated. Here we provide causal evidence that it arises from the more fundamental principle of efficient coding. Thi...
www.biorxiv.org
August 18, 2026 at 12:28 PM
@arthurpr4t.bsky.social has a new preprint with important results on a famous psychophysical law (Weber's law). It isn't, in fact, a law, because it can be broken. A more fundamental principle (efficient coding) shows when and why Weber's law holds true.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Reposted by Mal Shah
What would it take for AI to decode animal communication?
In our new opinion piece, we argue that animal signals should not be understood only by how similar they sound, but by how the receiver perceives them.
🔗 doi.org/10.1016/j.cu...
In our new opinion piece, we argue that animal signals should not be understood only by how similar they sound, but by how the receiver perceives them.
🔗 doi.org/10.1016/j.cu...
August 18, 2026 at 9:59 AM
What would it take for AI to decode animal communication?
In our new opinion piece, we argue that animal signals should not be understood only by how similar they sound, but by how the receiver perceives them.
🔗 doi.org/10.1016/j.cu...
In our new opinion piece, we argue that animal signals should not be understood only by how similar they sound, but by how the receiver perceives them.
🔗 doi.org/10.1016/j.cu...
Reposted by Mal Shah
Philosopher friends, any good references on incommensurability per se?
Lots of stuff on incommensurability of goods (life as a clarinetist vs lawyer etc) and incommensurability of theories, but like what makes comparisons of two properties weird? (eg ! “Lee is richer than Bo is tall”)
Lots of stuff on incommensurability of goods (life as a clarinetist vs lawyer etc) and incommensurability of theories, but like what makes comparisons of two properties weird? (eg ! “Lee is richer than Bo is tall”)
August 11, 2026 at 11:45 PM
Philosopher friends, any good references on incommensurability per se?
Lots of stuff on incommensurability of goods (life as a clarinetist vs lawyer etc) and incommensurability of theories, but like what makes comparisons of two properties weird? (eg ! “Lee is richer than Bo is tall”)
Lots of stuff on incommensurability of goods (life as a clarinetist vs lawyer etc) and incommensurability of theories, but like what makes comparisons of two properties weird? (eg ! “Lee is richer than Bo is tall”)
Having friends in academia has you saying to yourself stuff like “I need to read that paper before we call to catch up tomorrow”
August 11, 2026 at 9:41 PM
Having friends in academia has you saying to yourself stuff like “I need to read that paper before we call to catch up tomorrow”
Reposted by Mal Shah
man, it’s crazy that someone who was probably lying about obviously implausible claims and faked data was able to succeed in the social sciences, really shows how unrigorous the field is, you’d never see something like that in physics or biology
August 8, 2026 at 2:27 AM
man, it’s crazy that someone who was probably lying about obviously implausible claims and faked data was able to succeed in the social sciences, really shows how unrigorous the field is, you’d never see something like that in physics or biology
Quantifiers could be associated with different algorithms/hyperintensions from person to person, even if they all agree on truth conditions. Are they, in fact, variant in that way? We find evidence for “no! Everyone represents them the same!”
Preprint here: ssrn.com/abstract=719...
Preprint here: ssrn.com/abstract=719...
Individual differences reveal underlying similarities in meaning: quantifier-dependent choices in verification procedure are consistent across individuals
Previous literature has investigated how quantificational sentences like 'Most of the dots are blue' are understood, using visual tasks which force pa
ssrn.com
July 29, 2026 at 8:26 PM
Quantifiers could be associated with different algorithms/hyperintensions from person to person, even if they all agree on truth conditions. Are they, in fact, variant in that way? We find evidence for “no! Everyone represents them the same!”
Preprint here: ssrn.com/abstract=719...
Preprint here: ssrn.com/abstract=719...
Doing my yearly check in to ask, “is this website funny yet”
Initial reports more promising than earlier tests
Initial reports more promising than earlier tests
July 29, 2026 at 8:18 PM
Doing my yearly check in to ask, “is this website funny yet”
Initial reports more promising than earlier tests
Initial reports more promising than earlier tests
Type Logical Semantics? Well, yeah, I like to think of myself as a logical type of semanticist
May 28, 2025 at 1:33 AM
Type Logical Semantics? Well, yeah, I like to think of myself as a logical type of semanticist
Reposted by Mal Shah
glad to be done with work and finally have some free time to work
May 25, 2025 at 8:03 PM
glad to be done with work and finally have some free time to work
I had a dream that I attended a lecture about linear logics that made me understand them but I woke up and now I'm back to not understanding
May 22, 2025 at 2:09 PM
I had a dream that I attended a lecture about linear logics that made me understand them but I woke up and now I'm back to not understanding
Is it bad or is it just funny to submit to a syntax conference citing nothing written after 2000
(I swear i'm not *that* out of touch)
(I swear i'm not *that* out of touch)
May 22, 2025 at 12:19 AM
Is it bad or is it just funny to submit to a syntax conference citing nothing written after 2000
(I swear i'm not *that* out of touch)
(I swear i'm not *that* out of touch)
does anyone know anything about the syntax of british english "do you want your car cleaning?"
i have some takes but couldn't find previous literature
i have some takes but couldn't find previous literature
May 20, 2025 at 3:21 PM
does anyone know anything about the syntax of british english "do you want your car cleaning?"
i have some takes but couldn't find previous literature
i have some takes but couldn't find previous literature
Reposted by Mal Shah
The cover of every OUP volume collecting Davidson's papers be like
May 19, 2025 at 7:23 PM
The cover of every OUP volume collecting Davidson's papers be like