Stephen Heard
@stephenbheard.bsky.social
Evolutionary ecologist & Boggle aficionado. Author: The Scientist's Guide to Writing; Charles Darwin's Barnacle and David Bowie's Spider. He/him.
Blog and book links: scientistseessquirrel.wordpress.com
Blog and book links: scientistseessquirrel.wordpress.com
Protip: if you're messing with your slides an hour before you talk, and you decide to take a slide out:
1. Make sure you take out the correct slide, not another random one.
2. Make sure you're taking it out of the correct Powerpoint file.
This message brought to you by a close call :-)
1. Make sure you take out the correct slide, not another random one.
2. Make sure you're taking it out of the correct Powerpoint file.
This message brought to you by a close call :-)
November 28, 2025 at 6:43 PM
Protip: if you're messing with your slides an hour before you talk, and you decide to take a slide out:
1. Make sure you take out the correct slide, not another random one.
2. Make sure you're taking it out of the correct Powerpoint file.
This message brought to you by a close call :-)
1. Make sure you take out the correct slide, not another random one.
2. Make sure you're taking it out of the correct Powerpoint file.
This message brought to you by a close call :-)
Reposted by Stephen Heard
I’m holding a new book proposal workshop on January 9th!
I’m donating 50% of all registration fees today to @trevorproject.bsky.social
There’s also a 25% discount for unfunded scholars
Save your spot today & write an outstanding book proposal in 2026!
courses.manuscriptworks.com/courses/outs...
I’m donating 50% of all registration fees today to @trevorproject.bsky.social
There’s also a 25% discount for unfunded scholars
Save your spot today & write an outstanding book proposal in 2026!
courses.manuscriptworks.com/courses/outs...
Workshop: Write an Outstanding Book Proposal
Join Laura Portwood-Stacer of Manuscript Works to learn her time-tested method for writing a book proposal that will grab the interest of scholarly publishers. Show up with a book project, leave with ...
courses.manuscriptworks.com
November 28, 2025 at 6:33 PM
I’m holding a new book proposal workshop on January 9th!
I’m donating 50% of all registration fees today to @trevorproject.bsky.social
There’s also a 25% discount for unfunded scholars
Save your spot today & write an outstanding book proposal in 2026!
courses.manuscriptworks.com/courses/outs...
I’m donating 50% of all registration fees today to @trevorproject.bsky.social
There’s also a 25% discount for unfunded scholars
Save your spot today & write an outstanding book proposal in 2026!
courses.manuscriptworks.com/courses/outs...
I know Brian and these will be great courses!
If you want to learn how to use stable isotope analysis for ecological research, my colleague has launched two online courses about this method. One is basic principles and one is R analysis of data.
www.atomicecology.com/courses?fbcl...
🧪🦑🌎
www.atomicecology.com/courses?fbcl...
🧪🦑🌎
Online Courses | Atomic Ecology
Online training in the application of stable isotopes to ecological and environmental research
www.atomicecology.com
November 28, 2025 at 1:27 PM
I know Brian and these will be great courses!
This seems like a really large number and I think I may decide to just not believe in it...
If I make my prior (that I am NOT turning 60 today) large enough, then even this evidence won't sway Bayes' Theorem, right?
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If I make my prior (that I am NOT turning 60 today) large enough, then even this evidence won't sway Bayes' Theorem, right?
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November 28, 2025 at 12:15 PM
This seems like a really large number and I think I may decide to just not believe in it...
If I make my prior (that I am NOT turning 60 today) large enough, then even this evidence won't sway Bayes' Theorem, right?
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If I make my prior (that I am NOT turning 60 today) large enough, then even this evidence won't sway Bayes' Theorem, right?
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Your periodic reminder: I keep a list of useful resources for scientific writers - book, blogs, software, etc - here:
Writing Resources
Writing is a huge part of any career in science, and for many writers – no, for most writers – it’s a daunting challenge. But it’s not a challenge that you have to tackle alone. That’s a lesson I w…
scientistseessquirrel.wordpress.com
November 27, 2025 at 11:52 AM
Your periodic reminder: I keep a list of useful resources for scientific writers - book, blogs, software, etc - here:
Reposted by Stephen Heard
How should you pick a PhD research topic? One thing is for sure: don't do it the way I did it! scientistseessquirre... 🧪🌎
How should you pick a PhD research topic?
38 years ago this fall (ouch!), I decided that I should pursue a PhD and I started thinking about where I’d do that, and what kind of research interested me. If you’re at that stage right now – or …
scientistseessquirrel.wordpress.com
November 25, 2025 at 1:15 PM
How should you pick a PhD research topic? One thing is for sure: don't do it the way I did it! scientistseessquirre... 🧪🌎
I've been arguing that "hallucination" is the wrong metaphor for when LLMs go astray. This essay is a pitch for an alternative one - well worth reading (and bonus points for the Twilight Zone reference!)
I wrote about something that’s been bugging me for a long time: “hallucination” is the wrong metaphor for LLM error.
Better to think about AI output, and its failure, as multiversal (because I know you love that stuff).
Better to think about AI output, and its failure, as multiversal (because I know you love that stuff).
Welcome to the Slopverse
Generative AI isn’t hallucinatory. It is multiversal.
www.theatlantic.com
November 26, 2025 at 2:48 PM
I've been arguing that "hallucination" is the wrong metaphor for when LLMs go astray. This essay is a pitch for an alternative one - well worth reading (and bonus points for the Twilight Zone reference!)
If I had just cited Ursula Le Guin's "A Wizard of Earthsea" in a scientific paper, and if I was quite proud of myself for doing so, would I be TOO proud of myself?
November 25, 2025 at 6:21 PM
If I had just cited Ursula Le Guin's "A Wizard of Earthsea" in a scientific paper, and if I was quite proud of myself for doing so, would I be TOO proud of myself?
This is really good. You have to make readers care, and that means connecting the science to something they know, or something they can relate to.
Pitching a story about obscure science requires a different approach than one about a more familiar subject. But it can be done, writes TON/@bwfund.bsky.social @willvh.bsky.social. Here, he shows you how. 🧪
Isotopes, Archaea, and Cold-Water Physics—How to Sell Obscure Science Stories to Editors and Readers - The Open Notebook
Getting a story about unfamiliar and obscure fields such as geology, organic chemistry, or quantum mechanics off the ground often means jumping over hurdles—for editors and readers alike—that might no...
www.theopennotebook.com
November 25, 2025 at 5:57 PM
This is really good. You have to make readers care, and that means connecting the science to something they know, or something they can relate to.
I keep having to update the web page for my/our new book "Teaching and Mentoring Writers in the Sciences". Was to have been published Nov 18; then Dec 18; then Dec 31; now "early January". The reason (we're told): paper shortages at the printers!
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November 25, 2025 at 4:20 PM
I keep having to update the web page for my/our new book "Teaching and Mentoring Writers in the Sciences". Was to have been published Nov 18; then Dec 18; then Dec 31; now "early January". The reason (we're told): paper shortages at the printers!
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How should you pick a PhD research topic? One thing is for sure: don't do it the way I did it! scientistseessquirre... 🧪🌎
How should you pick a PhD research topic?
38 years ago this fall (ouch!), I decided that I should pursue a PhD and I started thinking about where I’d do that, and what kind of research interested me. If you’re at that stage right now – or …
scientistseessquirrel.wordpress.com
November 25, 2025 at 1:15 PM
How should you pick a PhD research topic? One thing is for sure: don't do it the way I did it! scientistseessquirre... 🧪🌎
Yup, fully agree. There are use cases for LLMs. This is 110% not one of them.
ChatGPT fake citations in a 1.6M$ report! Absurdly unprofessional by Deloitte, NL gov't should sue for a full refund. I expect in a few years this too may be seen as 'normal'. www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
N.L. asks Deloitte to carry out review after 'incorrect' citations found in $1.6M provincial health plan | CBC News
The Newfoundland and Labrador government says it's been in contact with the private company responsible for a new report meant to guide the province into the future, which was found to contain fake ci...
www.cbc.ca
November 24, 2025 at 9:03 PM
Yup, fully agree. There are use cases for LLMs. This is 110% not one of them.
Reposted by Stephen Heard
The Book Proposal Book ebook is 30% off right now at @princetonupress.bsky.social and so is Make Your Manuscript Work!
Use code PUP30 at checkout
Tell your friends & nemeses!
press.princeton.edu/our-authors/...
Use code PUP30 at checkout
Tell your friends & nemeses!
press.princeton.edu/our-authors/...
Portwood-Stacer, Laura
press.princeton.edu
November 24, 2025 at 2:18 PM
The Book Proposal Book ebook is 30% off right now at @princetonupress.bsky.social and so is Make Your Manuscript Work!
Use code PUP30 at checkout
Tell your friends & nemeses!
press.princeton.edu/our-authors/...
Use code PUP30 at checkout
Tell your friends & nemeses!
press.princeton.edu/our-authors/...
Since it's coming on what we might call "shopping season" - books are awesome, and supporting authors is awesomer. So I'll re-up this post: six easy ways to make an author happy. (Only one of them is "buy their book"!) scientistseessquirre...
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Six easy ways to make an author happy
I’ve written and published two books now – The Scientist’s Guide to Writing and Charles Darwin’s Barnacle and David Bowie’s Spider – and wow, have I learned a lot. I’ve learned about scientific wr…
scientistseessquirrel.wordpress.com
November 24, 2025 at 2:02 PM
Since it's coming on what we might call "shopping season" - books are awesome, and supporting authors is awesomer. So I'll re-up this post: six easy ways to make an author happy. (Only one of them is "buy their book"!) scientistseessquirre...
1/4
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This is interesting! (The HypeDetector analysis, I mean, not the data centre article).
HypeDetector: # Linguistic Analysis: Misleading Language and Rhetorical Techniques Based on my analysis of the TechCrunch article "Rising data center electricity use risks blackouts during winter sto poe.com/s/HUi70cMw69tE… (my bot for detecting misleading language) #AI #hype #NewsCoverage
November 21, 2025 at 3:24 PM
This is interesting! (The HypeDetector analysis, I mean, not the data centre article).
Just mentioned in a paper, for the second time, the myxobacterium "Myxococcus llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogochensis".
Yes, I used cut-and-paste. If the likelihood of my misspelling something could exceed 100%, this is one where it would.
Yes, I used cut-and-paste. If the likelihood of my misspelling something could exceed 100%, this is one where it would.
November 21, 2025 at 3:22 PM
Just mentioned in a paper, for the second time, the myxobacterium "Myxococcus llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogochensis".
Yes, I used cut-and-paste. If the likelihood of my misspelling something could exceed 100%, this is one where it would.
Yes, I used cut-and-paste. If the likelihood of my misspelling something could exceed 100%, this is one where it would.
Reposted by Stephen Heard
It’s terrible to think that we are nearly to the end of November and need to start Christmas shopping!
But, hey, that also means it is the perfect time to encourage you to buy copies of the beautifully illustrated Ghosts Behind Glass from your local or online bookstore to give away as gifts!
But, hey, that also means it is the perfect time to encourage you to buy copies of the beautifully illustrated Ghosts Behind Glass from your local or online bookstore to give away as gifts!
Ghosts Behind Glass
How museums display extinct species—and what these exhibits say about us. While it’s no longer possible to encounter a dodo in the wild, we can still come face-to-face with them in museums. The rema...
press.uchicago.edu
November 21, 2025 at 1:51 PM
It’s terrible to think that we are nearly to the end of November and need to start Christmas shopping!
But, hey, that also means it is the perfect time to encourage you to buy copies of the beautifully illustrated Ghosts Behind Glass from your local or online bookstore to give away as gifts!
But, hey, that also means it is the perfect time to encourage you to buy copies of the beautifully illustrated Ghosts Behind Glass from your local or online bookstore to give away as gifts!
Reposted by Stephen Heard
Beautiful pink Monotropa uniflora. I miss stumbling across these guys on my weekly nature walks . #plantsky #naturephotography
November 20, 2025 at 3:40 PM
Beautiful pink Monotropa uniflora. I miss stumbling across these guys on my weekly nature walks . #plantsky #naturephotography
Reposted by Stephen Heard
Big news: I’m writing a book!!
I’ll be writing & illustrating a beginner’s guide to appreciating wildlife in cities/suburbs, & how all of us can make our neighborhoods better for those animals.
Thank you to my book agent @ericsmithrocks.bsky.social & the folks at Storey for believing in this book!
I’ll be writing & illustrating a beginner’s guide to appreciating wildlife in cities/suburbs, & how all of us can make our neighborhoods better for those animals.
Thank you to my book agent @ericsmithrocks.bsky.social & the folks at Storey for believing in this book!
November 20, 2025 at 2:26 PM
Big news: I’m writing a book!!
I’ll be writing & illustrating a beginner’s guide to appreciating wildlife in cities/suburbs, & how all of us can make our neighborhoods better for those animals.
Thank you to my book agent @ericsmithrocks.bsky.social & the folks at Storey for believing in this book!
I’ll be writing & illustrating a beginner’s guide to appreciating wildlife in cities/suburbs, & how all of us can make our neighborhoods better for those animals.
Thank you to my book agent @ericsmithrocks.bsky.social & the folks at Storey for believing in this book!
Reposted by Stephen Heard
When I posted about hyberbole in science communication, there was an interesting split in responses: scientists hate the idea, non-scientists are fine with it. So I dig into that a bit: scientistseessquirrel.wordpress.com/2025/11/18/t...
“This changes everything” redux: opinions about “pathological pedantry”
A few weeks ago, I wrote about “This changes everything” – a common rhetorical device that’s used to signal excitement and importance, but that is never fully and literally true. (I’d deployed “thi…
scientistseessquirrel.wordpress.com
November 18, 2025 at 1:11 PM
When I posted about hyberbole in science communication, there was an interesting split in responses: scientists hate the idea, non-scientists are fine with it. So I dig into that a bit: scientistseessquirrel.wordpress.com/2025/11/18/t...
Reposted by Stephen Heard
Apropos ... Let's not make public-facing scicomm sound more complicated and scarier than it is!
It typically requires a perspective larger than your last study. You unpack why your topic is interesting/important and community progress. It's not so hard to do well if you are thoughtful /1.
It typically requires a perspective larger than your last study. You unpack why your topic is interesting/important and community progress. It's not so hard to do well if you are thoughtful /1.
November 19, 2025 at 2:06 PM
Apropos ... Let's not make public-facing scicomm sound more complicated and scarier than it is!
It typically requires a perspective larger than your last study. You unpack why your topic is interesting/important and community progress. It's not so hard to do well if you are thoughtful /1.
It typically requires a perspective larger than your last study. You unpack why your topic is interesting/important and community progress. It's not so hard to do well if you are thoughtful /1.
If you're a book author looking to move from publishing with university presses to publishing with trade presses, I learned something today that seems important. Short thread.
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November 19, 2025 at 2:14 PM
If you're a book author looking to move from publishing with university presses to publishing with trade presses, I learned something today that seems important. Short thread.
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Reposted by Stephen Heard
I can't say enough good things about @cragcrest.bsky.social's Book Proposal Boot Camp! I've been trying to get a proposal done for years, and this helped me get up to speed and actually writing. christieaschwanden.com/the-book-pro...
The Book Proposal Boot Camp, Winter 2026
A workshop to help you do the work. This eight-week workshop takes place virtually, via Zoom. The workshop is aimed at people who either have a book idea that needs more development or who have a d…
christieaschwanden.com
November 17, 2025 at 3:48 PM
I can't say enough good things about @cragcrest.bsky.social's Book Proposal Boot Camp! I've been trying to get a proposal done for years, and this helped me get up to speed and actually writing. christieaschwanden.com/the-book-pro...
Occasional reminder that if you're interested in the history and practice of scientific writing, and folks who give advice about scientific writing, I made a starter pack: go.bsky.app/TwZVnjU
November 18, 2025 at 4:44 PM
Occasional reminder that if you're interested in the history and practice of scientific writing, and folks who give advice about scientific writing, I made a starter pack: go.bsky.app/TwZVnjU