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David Stillwell

Deputy Director of The Psychometrics Centre, University of Cambridge

Dr David Stillwell is Deputy Director of The Psychometrics Centre at the University of Cambridge. He is also Lecturer in Big Data Analytics and Quantitative Social Science at the Cambridge Judge Business School. He obtained his BSc in Psychology at Nottingham in 2007 before progressing to an MSc in Research Methods in 2008. He earned his PhD in Decision Making from the School of Psychology at the University of Nottingham in December 2012.

David would describe himself as a computer nerd, but we perceive him rather as a Mark Zuckerberg of Psychometrics. In June 2007, between obtaining his first degree and embarking on his Masters, David began a personal side project designing applications for social networks. The result was the myPersonality Facebook application that allows users to take real psychometric tests and receive feedback on their results. Today myPersonality has collected data from more than 6 million people, and the resulting database has become a priceless academic resource used by numerous researchers all over the world.

Since these early successes, the influence of David's work has expanded considerably, so that today its impact ranges from targeted online advertising, psychometric adaptive test development, ipsative techniques in test design, the real-time analysis of online digital footprints, behavioural prediction and state-of-the-art school examinations. It is for very good reason that Pacific Standard Magazine has recently named him among their 'top 30 thinkers under 30', the young men and women they predict will have a serious impact on social, political and economic issues in the near future.

There really is a link between your Facebook posts and your personality

Nov 04, 2016 04:03 am UTC| Technology Life

Privacy campaigners this week applauded Facebooks decision to block big UK insurance firm Admiral from using young peoples social media data to help set their car insurance premiums. But this is just the start of a debate...

Economy

US Plans $1.6 Billion Investment in USA Rare Earth to Boost Domestic Critical Minerals Supply

The United States government is preparing to invest $1.6 billion in Oklahoma-based miner USA Rare Earth, securing a 10% ownership stake as part of a broader strategy to strengthen domestic production of critical minerals...

Japan Signals Readiness to Act as Yen Volatility Raises Intervention Concerns

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said on Sunday that the government is prepared to take necessary steps against speculative or abnormal market movements, following heightened volatility in the yen that has fueled...

Trump Threatens 100% Tariff on Canada Over China Trade Ties, Escalating U.S.-Canada Tensions

U.S.-Canada trade tensions have escalated after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to impose a 100% tariff on all Canadian goods if Canada proceeds with closer trade cooperation with China. In a series of posts on...

Russian Stocks Close Flat at Three-Month High as Commodities Rally and Ruble Strengthens

Russian stocks ended Saturdays trading session mostly lower, with declines outweighing gains across the Moscow Exchange, although the benchmark MOEX Russia Index managed to close unchanged and secure a fresh three-month...

Dollar Slides as NY Fed Rate Checks Spark Yen Intervention Speculation

The U.S. dollar weakened sharply against the Japanese yen on Friday after the New York Federal Reserve conducted rate checks on the dollar/yen currency pair, according to a source familiar with the matter cited by Reuters....

Politics

Fatal Immigration Enforcement Shootings Intensify Scrutiny of Trump Crackdown

The fatal shooting of a man in Minneapolis on Saturday has heightened national scrutiny of U.S. President Donald Trumps aggressive immigration enforcement strategy, as the death toll linked to federal immigration actions...

Melania Trump Film Gets Private White House Screening Ahead of Global Release

First Lady Melania Trump hosted a private White House screening of her new documentary film, Melania, on Saturday, offering an intimate look into her life during the 20 days leading up to President Donald Trumps second...

Myanmar Election 2026 Draws Criticism as Military-Backed Party Tightens Grip on Power

Polling stations across Myanmar opened on Sunday for the final phase of a controversial general election held amid ongoing civil war and political repression. The vote, widely criticised by the United Nations, Western...

WHO Expresses Regret Over U.S. Withdrawal and Urges Return to Global Health Cooperation

The World Health Organization (WHO) has expressed regret following the official withdrawal of the United States from the United Nations health agency, emphasizing its hope that Washington will resume active participation...

Syria Extends Ceasefire With Kurdish Forces Amid Rising Tensions

A fragile ceasefire between the Syrian government and Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) has been extended by 15 days, offering temporary relief amid escalating tensions in northern and eastern Syria. The original...

Science

NASA and SpaceX Target Crew-11 Undocking From ISS Amid Medical Concern

NASA has confirmed that the agency, in coordination with SpaceX, is targeting no earlier than 5 p.m. Eastern Time (2200 GMT) on Wednesday, January 14, for the undocking of the SpaceX Crew-11 mission from the International...

Neuralink Plans High-Volume Brain Implant Production and Fully Automated Surgery by 2026

Elon Musks brain-computer interface company Neuralink is preparing for a major expansion, announcing plans to begin high-volume production of its brain implant devices and transition to a fully automated surgical procedure...

Jared Isaacman Confirmed as NASA Administrator, Becomes 15th Leader of U.S. Space Agency

The U.S. Senate has officially confirmed billionaire private astronaut Jared Isaacman as the new NASA administrator, making him the 15th leader in the agencys history. The confirmation, which took place on Wednesday, marks...

Senate Sets December 8 Vote on Trump’s NASA Nominee Jared Isaacman

The U.S. Senate Commerce Committee announced it will vote on December 8 on President Donald Trumps renewed nomination of private astronaut and tech entrepreneur Jared Isaacman to lead NASA. Isaacman, known for his...

NASA Cuts Boeing Starliner Missions as SpaceX Pulls Ahead

NASA has significantly scaled back Boeings Starliner program after years of technical issues and delays, announcing that the next Starliner mission to the International Space Station (ISS) will fly without astronauts. The...

Technology

U.S. Lawmakers Demand Scrutiny of TikTok-ByteDance Deal Amid National Security Concerns

U.S. lawmakers are calling for closer congressional scrutiny of a new deal involving TikTok and its Chinese parent company ByteDance, raising fresh concerns about national security, data privacy, and potential Chinese...

Ericsson Plans SEK 25 Billion Shareholder Returns as Margins Improve Despite Flat Network Market

Swedens telecom equipment giant Ericsson announced plans to significantly boost shareholder returns after reporting a sharp rise in net cash and continued margin improvements, even as the global mobile network market...

Microsoft Restores Microsoft 365 Services After Widespread Outage

Microsoft confirmed on Friday that it has fully restored access to its Microsoft 365 productivity suite following a widespread service outage that disrupted users across multiple regions, particularly in North America. The...

Tesla Plans FSD Subscription Price Hikes as Autonomous Capabilities Advance

Teslas Full Self-Driving (FSD) software is set to become more expensive over time as its technology improves, according to CEO Elon Musk. The announcement comes as Tesla Inc. continues its transition away from a one-time...

ByteDance Finalizes Majority U.S.-Owned TikTok Joint Venture to Avert American Ban

TikToks Chinese parent company, ByteDance, has finalized a landmark agreement to establish a majority American-owned joint venture aimed at safeguarding U.S. user data and avoiding a nationwide ban on the popular...