Hi! I am a philosopher-scientist — like a physician-scientist, but specializing in rationality and well-being. This website hosts my blog, contact form, podcast, résumé, teaching materials, and more.
Background
I studied philosophy, quantitative cognitive science, and religion at Palm Beach Atlantic University, University of Colorado, and Florida State University. Then I started an Intelligence Community Postdoctoral Research Fellowship at Carnegie Mellon University that I completed at Stevens Institute of Technology while transitioning to a tenure-track position. After completing that appointment, I started a lab in the Department of Bioethics and Decision Sciences at Geisinger College of Health Sciences. In spare time, I have co-managed the Brains blog (with Dan Burnston), contributed to Psychology Today, edited Wikipedia, blogged, and posted about education and research on social media.
Research
One primary area of focus is reflective reasoning: stepping back from an initial impulse to think more carefully. Colleagues and I draw on the history of ideas and deploy quantitative scientific methods to answer questions like, “How is reflection different from mere rumination?”, “What decisions actually benefit from reflection?”, “When can reflection improve our well-being?”, and “How can technology support or suppress reflective thinking?”. More generally, we trace each step in people’s reasoning to identify the most efficient strategies to improve decisions at scale.
Numbers
As a principal investigator on projects supported by federal, philanthropic, and for-profit institutions, I have managed over $800,000 in funding, data from around 100,000 people, and collaborated with scientists on six continents. The resulting peer-reviewed research is among the top 5% in terms of online attention — and the free, educational posts and podcasts on this site have reached hundreds of thousands of people from 195 countries. Other aspects of our work have been shared in presentations on at least three continents or in articles, podcasts, videos, radio segments, press releases, virtual presentations, or mentions in venues like Nature, NPR, and Forbes. More information about what we’re up to — including free access to all publications (PDF and audio) — can be found on my resumé: byrdnick.com/cv.
Updates
For the latest, you can follow me on the social and academic platforms listed below. I am often sharing what I learn from colleagues as well as our teams’ contributions to research, teaching, and other projects.
Has anyone ever told you…?
Yes. I have been told that I look like Steve Kerr, Neil Patrick Harris, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. And no: it’s not annoying. I probably benefit from associations with well-liked, talented people. [Jump to top]