83. Rachel Bedder: Rumination, teaching without grades, and managing yourself as a PhD student

Rachel Bedder is a postdoc with Yael Niv at Princeton. In this conversation, we talk about her research on rumination and repetitive negative thinking (in the context of a partially observable Markov decision process), her work as a curator, why she enjoys teaching without grades, how to manage yourself as a PhD student, and much more.BJKS Podcast is a podcast about neuroscience, psychology, and anything vaguely related, hosted by Benjamin James Kuper-Smith.Support the show: https://geni.us/bjks-patreonTimestamps0:00:00: Teaching maths in prison0:06:40: Teaching without grades0:15:42: Working as a full-time research assistant (after BSc) and dealing with lots of rejections0:25:51: How Rachel ended up doing a postdoc with Yael Niv0:32:08: Discussing Rachel's conference proceedings 'Modelling Rumination as a State-Inference Process' (featuring partially observable Markov decision processes)0:56:49: Rachel's background in art and curation1:10:58: How to not turn hobbies into a stressful thing you need to get done1:14:46: A book or paper more people should read1:16:47: Something Rachel wishes she'd learnt sooner1:19:05: Advice for PhD students/postdocs, with a twist: 5 tips for managing yourself during a PhDPodcast linksWebsite: https://geni.us/bjks-podTwitter: https://geni.us/bjks-pod-twtRachel's linksWebsite: https://geni.us/bedder-webGoogle Scholar: https://geni.us/bedder-scholarTwitter: https://geni.us/bedder-twtBen's linksWebsite: https://geni.us/bjks-webGoogle Scholar: https://geni.us/bjks-scholarTwitter: https://geni.us/bjks-twtReferences and linksEpisodes with Matthias Stangl and Toby Wise about postdoc jobs & fellowships:https://geni.us/bjks-wise-postdochttps://geni.us/bjks-postdoc-stanglEpisode with Paul Smaldino on modelling social behaviour, and with Eiko Fried on theories in psychologyhttps://geni.us/bjks-smaldino_2https://geni.us/bjks-friedPOMDPs: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Partially_observable_Markov_decision_processDear World Project: https://engagement.fil.ion.ucl.ac.uk/projects/dear-world-project/5 tips for managing yourself during a PhD: https://www.rachelbedder.com/phdtipsScientific virtues (including stupidity): https://slimemoldtimemold.com/2022/02/10/the-scientific-virtues/Bedder, Pisupati & Niv (2023) Modelling Rumination as a State-Inference Process. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/tfjqnBurkeman (2021). Four thousand weeks: Time management for mortals.McCullers (1940). The Heart is a Lonely Hunter.Montague, Dolan, Friston & Dayan (2012). Computational psychiatry. Trends in cognitive sciences.