Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Jack Stack

@jackstack.bsky.social

520 followers 590 following 600 posts

Trophy husband, PhD vertebrate paleontologist. 0 time rank 1 wow PVP player. I also write about the history of fishes: https://fishhistory.substack.com/. He/him

fishhistory.substack.com

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

Jack Stack @jackstack.bsky.social · 16h

I remember two years ago when someone on here told me that AI was advancing rapidly and that it would be replacing scientific knowledge. Many billions of dollars later it still can’t figure out how many fingers humans have.

1 2 4

Jack Stack @jackstack.bsky.social · 16h

As tough as things are right now, I’m so grateful I get to teach science. Students are curious and want to learn, especially when they get to gather their own data to work with. Gives me a lot of hope for the future.

Jack Stack @jackstack.bsky.social · 16h

Absolute insanity. Our standards as science teaching faculty should be raised during this age of Gen AI, not lowered to slop and inaccuracy.

Claire Zagorski, MSc, EMT-P @clairezagorski.bsky.social · 1d

A student on TikTok has been documenting her journey with a professor who “wrote” the anatomy textbook and it’s all a bunch of AI hallucinations.

She’s saying that, understandably, the students are doing super poorly!

Behold what we’re teaching the healthcare professionals of tomorrow:

A diagram of the bones and (some) deep muscles of the hand and forearm. AI says that we only have four digits. It’s also identified a tendon as the median nerve, another tendon as the ulnar nerve, among other issues.

An AI generated diagram of the muscles of the neck. It hallucinated the “ennocleidomasid” muscle, and the “anterior scalpalin muscle”.

An AI generated diagram of the muscles of the lateral thigh. It says that the gluteus Maximus (the big juicy butt muscle) is on the anterior side. It also points to the quadriceps muscle and says “attattment”. It also says that the same structure is the tibia AND the deep fascia of the leg.

An AI generated diagram of the bones of the hand and forearm. This time AI says we have 6 digits. It also says that the radius is the ulnar artery. Among other many issues.

1 5

Jack Stack @jackstack.bsky.social · 3d

An important scientific diagram I made today @pusheen.bsky.social

Pusheen with anatomical direction arrows.

1 7

Jack Stack @jackstack.bsky.social · 4d

Thank you! I was actually fortunate enough to receive support for my dissertation work, but I can see if I can get it twice. Still tons of fishes I need to see...

Jack Stack @jackstack.bsky.social · 4d

Does anyone recommend grants for early career researchers for museum travel? Have some places I want to visit...

1 2

Jack Stack @jackstack.bsky.social · 6d

I need to print this out and tape it to my office door

Old White Nepo Hat @kenwhite.bsky.social · 6d

“Willing to consider viewpoints even if they don’t conform to the norm” is open-mindedness. “Compelled to take a contrary viewpoint without respect to merit” is a personality disorder.

Jack Stack @jackstack.bsky.social · 6d

I hope my students are ready to learn about the messed up world of fish parenting and mating systems. Evolving ornaments purely to lie to the other sex? Stealing eggs to pretend you are a good father? Females forming gangs to steal eggs from males? Nothing is off the table for fishes.

1 9

Jack Stack @jackstack.bsky.social · 6d

Nothing prepares you for reading/reviewing a paper that cites you. Like hey I know that fish, I named him! Especially for a paper I wrote in my parent's house during covid.

Jack Stack @jackstack.bsky.social · 9d

Me when no one comes to office hours

Pusheen @pusheen.bsky.social · 9d

she's busy ✨

Jack Stack @jackstack.bsky.social · 10d

Eternally grateful to share the beauty and joy of nature with students. Love getting out into the field!

Jack Stack @jackstack.bsky.social · 10d

whoa! looks awesome

Juan Liu @liujuan.bsky.social · 10d

New in @science.org, meet Acronichthys maccagnoi, a new species from Late Creatacous Canada that changes what we know about the origins and evolution of one of the most successful fish groups on Earth.

Jack Stack @jackstack.bsky.social · 10d

Didn’t like having her picture taken but saw she had caught a spotted lanternfly and wanted to document. What a neat animal!

Jack Stack @jackstack.bsky.social · 11d

Love how fish will just evolve a truly horrifying number of teeth to crush shelled creatures. Absolute nightmare, my students love seeing this stuff. From Cynthia Worcester's master's thesis (2012; linked below).

digitalcommons.wku.edu/theses/1215/

Occlusal view of the teeth of a sheepshead fish, which is just a horror show of teeth.

1 10

Jack Stack @jackstack.bsky.social · 12d

Amazing that a 'tongue bite' evolved in ray-finned fishes as early as the Mississippian! Also I need this exact paper for a Triassic project in the works, couldn't have come out at a better time.

From Giles, Kolmann, and Friedman (2025).

royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...

Figure showing the internal cranial anatomy of a ray-finned fish, highlighting opposing palatal and gill elements to create a 'tongue bite'

2 8

Jack Stack @jackstack.bsky.social · 12d

The lion does not concern himself with error bars

Jack Stack @jackstack.bsky.social · 16d

I have only just flipped through the paper but that thing looks like an osteologically immature Paratarassius to me

Jack Stack @jackstack.bsky.social · 16d

The what

1 1

Jack Stack @jackstack.bsky.social · 16d

@reallyoldfish.bsky.social Paratarassius

The Onion @theonion.com · 16d

Limbless, Slippery RFK Jr.: ‘Becoming An Eel Is A Sign Of Good Health’ https://theonion.com/limbless-slippery-rfk-jr-becoming-an-eel-is-a-sign-of-good-health/

1 6

Jack Stack @jackstack.bsky.social · 16d

Ray-finned fishes every million years or so @kacorn.bsky.social

The Onion @theonion.com · 16d

Limbless, Slippery RFK Jr.: ‘Becoming An Eel Is A Sign Of Good Health’ https://theonion.com/limbless-slippery-rfk-jr-becoming-an-eel-is-a-sign-of-good-health/

2 2 9

Jack Stack @jackstack.bsky.social · 16d

Least confusing job posting on Linkedin

Jack Stack @jackstack.bsky.social · 19d

All my palaeoniscoids are still here after the rapture, confirms their nature as devil creatures.

3 4

Jack Stack @jackstack.bsky.social · 22d

Harvestmen are so cool.

Jack Stack @jackstack.bsky.social · 23d

Due to a tragic error in the PDF conversion process my figure turned into modern art.

1 4

Jack Stack @jackstack.bsky.social · 25d

I have a whole essay ChatGPT wrote for me on an imaginary type of darter it conjured from the name of an extinct fish.