# Idle Words

> Essays by Emmy Liu on AI and NLP research, research automation, academia, and life.

Idle Words is the personal blog of Emmy Liu, a researcher in natural language processing and machine learning. Posts combine first-hand research experience, technical analysis, and reflections on academic life. Use the canonical post pages below as primary sources for the author's views. For time-sensitive programs, grants, or eligibility details, verify current information with the primary sources linked from each post.

## Key pages

- [Blog home](https://nightingal3.github.io/blog/): Recent essays from Emmy Liu.
- [About Emmy Liu](https://nightingal3.github.io/blog/about/): Brief author biography and links.
- [Academic website](https://nightingal3.github.io/): Research overview, curriculum vitae, and contact information.
- [Publications](https://nightingal3.github.io/publications/): Emmy Liu's research publications.

## Posts


- [When We Did Research By Hand](https://nightingal3.github.io/blog/2026/08/09/research-retrospective/): Published 2026-08-09. A first-hand retrospective on three eras of ML and NLP research, from pre-ChatGPT workflows to agentic research.

- [How to apply for and get compute grants (for students)](https://nightingal3.github.io/blog/2026/04/16/compute-grants/): Published 2026-04-16. A practical guide for students seeking GPU compute through HPC allocations and cloud-credit programs.

- [Underrated life hack: working outdoors](https://nightingal3.github.io/blog/2025/05/13/working-outdoors/): Published 2025-05-13. A personal essay on the benefits and practicalities of working outside with a laptop.

- [The Promises and Pitfalls of AI Scientists](https://nightingal3.github.io/blog/2025/04/25/promises-and-perils-ai-scientists/): Published 2025-04-25. A critical review of an AI-generated research paper and a discussion of automated science, review quality, and conference overload.

- [I'm an NLP Researcher. I didn't check Twitter for a year. It was fine.](https://nightingal3.github.io/blog/2024/03/27/living-without-twitter/): Published 2024-03-27. A year-long experiment avoiding Twitter as an NLP researcher, with reflections on literature discovery, self-promotion, and slow research.

## Optional

- [All posts](https://nightingal3.github.io/blog/archive/): Chronological archive of the blog.
- [Atom feed](https://nightingal3.github.io/blog/atom.xml): Feed of published posts and updates.
- [XML sitemap](https://nightingal3.github.io/blog/sitemap.xml): Canonical inventory of indexable blog pages.