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Dorsa Amir

Behavioral scientist

in mac, scientist

Who are you, and what do you do?

I'm Dorsa Amir, and I'm a postdoctoral researcher in the UC Berkeley Department of Psychology. My academic research is a blend of anthropology and developmental psychology. Briefly, I explore how children's behavior varies as a result of the culture that they live in, and I do fieldwork outside the US with populations like the Shuar in Amazonian Ecuador.

Outside of academic research, I try to do as much science outreach as I can on the radio, in public talks, and through organizations like TED-Ed.

What hardware do you use?

Like many other academics, I'm an Apple fan. I'm currently working on a 2021 MacBook Pro, which lives on my laptop stand as a secondary monitor. It's linked to my main monitor, a 27" LG 27UP600. I also use a Magic Mouse and Magic Keyboard in this setup, along with foot & wrist support (PSA: everyone should fine-tune their work station so it's ergonomically set up!). I also use an iPhone 13 Pro, an Apple Watch, and an iPad Air.

And what software?

I'm a bit obsessed with productivity software. The basics are easy: Google Drive for file storage, Microsoft Office, Google Docs for writing, RStudio for data analysis, Zotero for citation management, Slack for team communication, and Adobe Suite. But I also use lots of tiny, specialized apps. I really like Flow.app, which shuts down distractions so you can focus. I use BetterTouchTool for window organization (it's so nice to have custom keyboard shortcuts to split windows), CopyClip 2 to keep a record of what's been on my clipboard, and MailTab Pro for Gmail to see a little floating window of my inbox in my menu bar. I also love Vector Magic for auto-vectorizing images, and Procreate for iPad doodling.

What would be your dream setup?

I'm living the dream, folks, I wouldn't change much. I guess if I had to answer, I would want one of the shiny new Mac Studio Displays, but I can't quite justify the price tag.