John McBride
@john-mcbride.bsky.social
Scientist studying the evolution of proteins and music (so far, separately).
https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=PYTwBWIAAAAJ
https://github.com/jomimc
https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=PYTwBWIAAAAJ
https://github.com/jomimc
Pinned
John McBride
@john-mcbride.bsky.social
· Aug 26
1/5 Preprint alert – horn tootin time!
Proud to present two megaprojects: the end product of 6 years of work on melodies and scales. One comparison of theories of the evolution of scales using global scale data. One on cross-cultural constraints on melodies and scale size.
#musicscience#musicpsych
Proud to present two megaprojects: the end product of 6 years of work on melodies and scales. One comparison of theories of the evolution of scales using global scale data. One on cross-cultural constraints on melodies and scale size.
#musicscience#musicpsych
Reposted by John McBride
Heading now to Würzburg on the train. Good time to write up my talk on "Evolution and Ecology of Irish folk tunes".
#ICCCM26 #musicscience
1/3
#ICCCM26 #musicscience
1/3
September 20, 2026 at 10:37 AM
Heading now to Würzburg on the train. Good time to write up my talk on "Evolution and Ecology of Irish folk tunes".
#ICCCM26 #musicscience
1/3
#ICCCM26 #musicscience
1/3
Reposted by John McBride
I'm burnt out of discussing "AI". I don't care for the press releases from big companies. I hate having to comment immediately. I dislike "hot takes".
I'm worried we, as scientists, are losing touch with scientific values. We've become customers, salivating at ads marketed to investors. 1/15
I'm worried we, as scientists, are losing touch with scientific values. We've become customers, salivating at ads marketed to investors. 1/15
August 3, 2026 at 9:21 AM
I'm burnt out of discussing "AI". I don't care for the press releases from big companies. I hate having to comment immediately. I dislike "hot takes".
I'm worried we, as scientists, are losing touch with scientific values. We've become customers, salivating at ads marketed to investors. 1/15
I'm worried we, as scientists, are losing touch with scientific values. We've become customers, salivating at ads marketed to investors. 1/15
Reposted by John McBride
A group of 25 Fields Medalists, including myself, have made a joint declaration on Math and AI: mathandai.org . We welcome additional signatories. See also this article in the Economist announcing the declaration: www.economist.com/science-and-...
Declaration — Math and AI
Read the declaration and add your name.
mathandai.org
September 11, 2026 at 5:40 PM
A group of 25 Fields Medalists, including myself, have made a joint declaration on Math and AI: mathandai.org . We welcome additional signatories. See also this article in the Economist announcing the declaration: www.economist.com/science-and-...
Reposted by John McBride
(🧵|🚨) BREAKING: *Three years* ago PROOF ran a long, well-sourced report confirming that Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu *knew* from Middle Eastern “grand bargain” co-conspirators that the October 7 attack was coming before it came—and let Israelis die for political gain.
Now Haaretz has confirmed it.
Now Haaretz has confirmed it.
As Israel Reels From Mass Deaths and a Seeming Intel Failure, Evidence Mounts of Negligence By Netanyahu—Or Maybe Something More Sinister
Israel has the world’s very best intel services, yet allegedly failed to foresee a massive invasion months in the making. Now media outlets are beginning to point a finger at Netanyahu—as is the IDF.
sethabramson.substack.com
September 8, 2026 at 5:51 AM
(🧵|🚨) BREAKING: *Three years* ago PROOF ran a long, well-sourced report confirming that Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu *knew* from Middle Eastern “grand bargain” co-conspirators that the October 7 attack was coming before it came—and let Israelis die for political gain.
Now Haaretz has confirmed it.
Now Haaretz has confirmed it.
Reposted by John McBride
Are you interested in lexical competition, agent-based modelling, strong inference and Ukrainian? Then this paper, just published in @pnasnexus.org, is for you.
With @oliviermorin.bsky.social and @sobchuk.bsky.social, we asked a simple question: why do some words become more common than others?
With @oliviermorin.bsky.social and @sobchuk.bsky.social, we asked a simple question: why do some words become more common than others?
September 7, 2026 at 12:52 PM
Are you interested in lexical competition, agent-based modelling, strong inference and Ukrainian? Then this paper, just published in @pnasnexus.org, is for you.
With @oliviermorin.bsky.social and @sobchuk.bsky.social, we asked a simple question: why do some words become more common than others?
With @oliviermorin.bsky.social and @sobchuk.bsky.social, we asked a simple question: why do some words become more common than others?
Reposted by John McBride
Great to see a Leeds colleague receiving this prestigious Royal Society Award.
August 27, 2026 at 8:16 AM
Great to see a Leeds colleague receiving this prestigious Royal Society Award.
Reposted by John McBride
RE: freedom of speech, academic freedom, and race science. In this (long) thread, I’m going to 1) establish my bona fides on academic freedom and race science, 2) show why academic freedom and freedom of speech are different and… 1/34
August 25, 2026 at 6:31 PM
RE: freedom of speech, academic freedom, and race science. In this (long) thread, I’m going to 1) establish my bona fides on academic freedom and race science, 2) show why academic freedom and freedom of speech are different and… 1/34
Reposted by John McBride
New >100-author preprint led by @zixuanjia.bsky.social @yutoozaki.bsky.social and @danya-pav.bsky.social is IMO our most important yet. TLDR: music is not "useless" "auditory cheesecake" - across 901 participants speaking 30 languages, singing bonds us together >1.5x more than speaking.
osf.io/pv3m9
osf.io/pv3m9
![Figure 10. Site-level mean bonding score differences across three conditions. Each row represents one experimental site, ordered by the magnitude of the bonding score change in the Singing condition, with the smallest change at the bottom and the largest at the top. Points represent site-level mean bonding score differences (Post- minus Pre-intervention) for each condition. The dashed vertical line indicates zero change. Site labels in green indicate Indo-European languages; labels in black indicate non-Indo-European languages. Sites with multiple locations within the same language are labeled with the location in brackets (e.g., “English [Auckland]”). See Figures S7-8 for alternative visualisations using raw differences in social bonding scores or effect sizes.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:mm4ujzh5bqccjs7g2oerjemp/bafkreietd64iubkib4l45ifykmmolbonv5ebhm2pehrwlj7ollktipsrle)
August 25, 2026 at 11:40 PM
New >100-author preprint led by @zixuanjia.bsky.social @yutoozaki.bsky.social and @danya-pav.bsky.social is IMO our most important yet. TLDR: music is not "useless" "auditory cheesecake" - across 901 participants speaking 30 languages, singing bonds us together >1.5x more than speaking.
osf.io/pv3m9
osf.io/pv3m9
Reposted by John McBride
Call for papers for the next ICMPC (Int. Conference on Music Perception & Cognition) is now up (due end Oct): www.jyu.fi/en/events/ic...
I'm honoured to join the other fabulous keynote speakers (@tuomaseerola.bsky.social, Bahar Tunçgenç, and Robert Zatorre).
Can't wait to see everyone in Finland!
I'm honoured to join the other fabulous keynote speakers (@tuomaseerola.bsky.social, Bahar Tunçgenç, and Robert Zatorre).
Can't wait to see everyone in Finland!
August 25, 2026 at 1:13 AM
Call for papers for the next ICMPC (Int. Conference on Music Perception & Cognition) is now up (due end Oct): www.jyu.fi/en/events/ic...
I'm honoured to join the other fabulous keynote speakers (@tuomaseerola.bsky.social, Bahar Tunçgenç, and Robert Zatorre).
Can't wait to see everyone in Finland!
I'm honoured to join the other fabulous keynote speakers (@tuomaseerola.bsky.social, Bahar Tunçgenç, and Robert Zatorre).
Can't wait to see everyone in Finland!
Reposted by John McBride
As Maya Angelou said, when people show you who they are, believe them.
I'd rather have a klan member clearly articulating his views of how I should be eliminated than these garbage people dressing up their racism in intellectualism.
You can fuck all the way off.
I'd rather have a klan member clearly articulating his views of how I should be eliminated than these garbage people dressing up their racism in intellectualism.
You can fuck all the way off.
August 23, 2026 at 4:03 PM
As Maya Angelou said, when people show you who they are, believe them.
I'd rather have a klan member clearly articulating his views of how I should be eliminated than these garbage people dressing up their racism in intellectualism.
You can fuck all the way off.
I'd rather have a klan member clearly articulating his views of how I should be eliminated than these garbage people dressing up their racism in intellectualism.
You can fuck all the way off.
Reposted by John McBride
Lots of names on this list I don't recognize, but all the ones I do are like "Ah, OK".
As I understand it, there are clear violations of contract in Cofnas's actions. The question is more: why didn't the univ notice this sooner?
As I understand it, there are clear violations of contract in Cofnas's actions. The question is more: why didn't the univ notice this sooner?
August 23, 2026 at 4:26 PM
Lots of names on this list I don't recognize, but all the ones I do are like "Ah, OK".
As I understand it, there are clear violations of contract in Cofnas's actions. The question is more: why didn't the univ notice this sooner?
As I understand it, there are clear violations of contract in Cofnas's actions. The question is more: why didn't the univ notice this sooner?
Reposted by John McBride
here is the thing. if you tell me that you believe that race is a biological category and that it is a guide to the objective superiority and inferiority of groups of people, i am not calling you a racist to *insult* you, i am calling you a racist because it best describes your beliefs.
not only that, they are demanding that they not be called racist when they are observed to be signing up to support the racist
August 23, 2026 at 12:22 AM
here is the thing. if you tell me that you believe that race is a biological category and that it is a guide to the objective superiority and inferiority of groups of people, i am not calling you a racist to *insult* you, i am calling you a racist because it best describes your beliefs.
Reposted by John McBride
Sorry chatbot lovers but the waning of Boolean operators in most search functions on websites has made my life actively worse. You can't find anything, you can only have things suggested to you.
August 22, 2026 at 3:03 AM
Sorry chatbot lovers but the waning of Boolean operators in most search functions on websites has made my life actively worse. You can't find anything, you can only have things suggested to you.
Reposted by John McBride
In the wake of Arday's death, Nathan Cofnas (who led the X mob against him) states his motivation. Beyond whistleblowing, he states that after a 'revolution' removes professors like Arday, it will open opportunities for him to become 'head of the department of eugenics and race science at Harvard'.
August 14, 2026 at 11:23 PM
In the wake of Arday's death, Nathan Cofnas (who led the X mob against him) states his motivation. Beyond whistleblowing, he states that after a 'revolution' removes professors like Arday, it will open opportunities for him to become 'head of the department of eugenics and race science at Harvard'.
Reposted by John McBride
oh nice to see this thread resurrected. dual (and more) life cycle organisms are so common. those of us who study vertebrates are studying some of the most boring animals ever to evolve on this earth
I want to tell you a story, and it begins with this VERY WEIRD animal: Meet Thetys vagina...
[a thread 🧵]
📸 m_patton bit.ly/2Mgw8Sf
🌿🧪🦑🐙🌊
[a thread 🧵]
📸 m_patton bit.ly/2Mgw8Sf
🌿🧪🦑🐙🌊
July 24, 2026 at 7:11 AM
oh nice to see this thread resurrected. dual (and more) life cycle organisms are so common. those of us who study vertebrates are studying some of the most boring animals ever to evolve on this earth
Has anyone noticed that data on Zenodo is downloaded at an absurdly high rate? I deposited data a few days ago. I haven't made any post about it. I can only assume that the 16 downloads are NOT humans trying replicate or extend the work.
Who is harvesting data from Zenodo??? Any blog posts on this?
Who is harvesting data from Zenodo??? Any blog posts on this?
July 22, 2026 at 9:29 AM
Has anyone noticed that data on Zenodo is downloaded at an absurdly high rate? I deposited data a few days ago. I haven't made any post about it. I can only assume that the 16 downloads are NOT humans trying replicate or extend the work.
Who is harvesting data from Zenodo??? Any blog posts on this?
Who is harvesting data from Zenodo??? Any blog posts on this?
Reposted by John McBride
My son just told me is favourite sentence is: “I didn’t say we should kill him” because if you emphasise each different word it changes the entire meaning
July 14, 2026 at 7:51 PM
My son just told me is favourite sentence is: “I didn’t say we should kill him” because if you emphasise each different word it changes the entire meaning
Reposted by John McBride
our new paper with @plechac.bsky.social puts thousands of poems across languages in one shared space of poetic form!
we use sequence alignment on rhyme schemes to investigate 'fixed forms' and all things between: not only 'sonnets', but 'sonnet-like' things.
doi.org/10.1371/jour...
we use sequence alignment on rhyme schemes to investigate 'fixed forms' and all things between: not only 'sonnets', but 'sonnet-like' things.
doi.org/10.1371/jour...
July 15, 2026 at 2:51 PM
our new paper with @plechac.bsky.social puts thousands of poems across languages in one shared space of poetic form!
we use sequence alignment on rhyme schemes to investigate 'fixed forms' and all things between: not only 'sonnets', but 'sonnet-like' things.
doi.org/10.1371/jour...
we use sequence alignment on rhyme schemes to investigate 'fixed forms' and all things between: not only 'sonnets', but 'sonnet-like' things.
doi.org/10.1371/jour...
Reposted by John McBride
Every time this goes around I’m stunned that there are still people who’ve never seen it, this performance is to drag what the Mona Lisa is to paintings, but maybe you’ve never seen the Mona Lisa, so today is the day you shall behold it
RIP Bonnie Tyler. And RIP Tandi Iman Dupree. This remains the best stage entrance by a drag queen of all time, even some 25 years later, and the best use of Tyler’s “Holding Out for a Hero” ever. youtu.be/IHQA5vqn6rw?...
July 10, 2026 at 6:17 PM
Every time this goes around I’m stunned that there are still people who’ve never seen it, this performance is to drag what the Mona Lisa is to paintings, but maybe you’ve never seen the Mona Lisa, so today is the day you shall behold it
Reposted by John McBride
The great thing about the World Cup if you are Irish, is that you get to passionately support a different team every couple of days.
July 12, 2026 at 8:09 AM
The great thing about the World Cup if you are Irish, is that you get to passionately support a different team every couple of days.