Derek Larson, Ph.D. 🇨🇦
@dlarson.bsky.social
Collection Manager and Researcher at the Royal BC Museum. Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Ph.D. studying lizards, dinosaur teeth, and fossil turtles. MtG, TTRPG, and boardgame enthusiast. He/him
Reposted by Derek Larson, Ph.D. 🇨🇦
The article in question www.pcgamer.com/software/ai/...
November 28, 2025 at 6:57 PM
The article in question www.pcgamer.com/software/ai/...
Reposted by Derek Larson, Ph.D. 🇨🇦
What a great headline
November 28, 2025 at 3:49 PM
What a great headline
Reposted by Derek Larson, Ph.D. 🇨🇦
I don’t know if anyone else notices or cares, but when I see a presentation in which the speaker uses obviously generated-AI images to illustrate their slides, it makes me immediately less confident in whatever other content they’re presenting.
November 28, 2025 at 3:07 PM
I don’t know if anyone else notices or cares, but when I see a presentation in which the speaker uses obviously generated-AI images to illustrate their slides, it makes me immediately less confident in whatever other content they’re presenting.
Reposted by Derek Larson, Ph.D. 🇨🇦
every time I see an article with AI graphics or hear about hallucinated citations I think about this
I spent three days tracking down citations on a certain kind of thatch roofed building for my article to please a reviewer and meanwhile everyone in the business school is churning out slop, some of which is plagiarized
i regret to inform you that this is pretty funny
November 28, 2025 at 7:07 PM
every time I see an article with AI graphics or hear about hallucinated citations I think about this
Reposted by Derek Larson, Ph.D. 🇨🇦
i know WHY this is but that just makes it even more of a kick in the pants lmao
November 28, 2025 at 3:28 AM
i know WHY this is but that just makes it even more of a kick in the pants lmao
Reposted by Derek Larson, Ph.D. 🇨🇦
Go my Bothriolepis... This year's fish pecan pie! Bothriolepis was a peculiar-looking placoderm from the Devonian period or the Paleozoic. It had two long pointed pectoral fins and silly little eyes on top of its head.
#fossil #fish #paleontology #bothriolepis
#fossil #fish #paleontology #bothriolepis
November 27, 2025 at 10:16 PM
Go my Bothriolepis... This year's fish pecan pie! Bothriolepis was a peculiar-looking placoderm from the Devonian period or the Paleozoic. It had two long pointed pectoral fins and silly little eyes on top of its head.
#fossil #fish #paleontology #bothriolepis
#fossil #fish #paleontology #bothriolepis
Reposted by Derek Larson, Ph.D. 🇨🇦
"Here we show substantial declines in the rates of collection of specimen data over recent decades, from analysis of over 150 million records from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) spanning more than two centuries"
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
🧪 #Macroecology #EvoBio #Paleobio
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
🧪 #Macroecology #EvoBio #Paleobio
November 25, 2025 at 11:04 PM
"Here we show substantial declines in the rates of collection of specimen data over recent decades, from analysis of over 150 million records from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) spanning more than two centuries"
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
🧪 #Macroecology #EvoBio #Paleobio
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
🧪 #Macroecology #EvoBio #Paleobio
Reposted by Derek Larson, Ph.D. 🇨🇦
Neuroanatomical convergence between pterosaurs and non-avian paravians in the evolution of flight: Current Biology www.cell.com/current-biol...
Neuroanatomical convergence between pterosaurs and non-avian paravians in the evolution of flight
Bronzati et al. show that pterosaurs, the first flying reptiles, evolved brains resembling
bird precursors but not modern birds. They also demonstrate that, unlike birds, which
built on inherited dino...
www.cell.com
November 26, 2025 at 4:33 PM
Neuroanatomical convergence between pterosaurs and non-avian paravians in the evolution of flight: Current Biology www.cell.com/current-biol...
Reposted by Derek Larson, Ph.D. 🇨🇦
Happy to be a part of this big project led by Mario Bronzati & Matteo Fabbri—out today #OA in @currentbiology.bsky.social
bit.ly/3M5weun —on the brain endocast of a close pterosaur cousin & what it means for pterosaur brain evolution...maybe different from bird brain evolution. 1/2
bit.ly/3M5weun —on the brain endocast of a close pterosaur cousin & what it means for pterosaur brain evolution...maybe different from bird brain evolution. 1/2
November 26, 2025 at 5:15 PM
Happy to be a part of this big project led by Mario Bronzati & Matteo Fabbri—out today #OA in @currentbiology.bsky.social
bit.ly/3M5weun —on the brain endocast of a close pterosaur cousin & what it means for pterosaur brain evolution...maybe different from bird brain evolution. 1/2
bit.ly/3M5weun —on the brain endocast of a close pterosaur cousin & what it means for pterosaur brain evolution...maybe different from bird brain evolution. 1/2
Reposted by Derek Larson, Ph.D. 🇨🇦
Would there be some genuinely lazy people who don't want to do anything? Of course, but they're still given the human right to a life without fear, & I truly believe the percentage would be TINY.
People want to create, people want luxuries, and lots of people want to help. UBI will not change that.
People want to create, people want luxuries, and lots of people want to help. UBI will not change that.
November 18, 2025 at 10:24 PM
Would there be some genuinely lazy people who don't want to do anything? Of course, but they're still given the human right to a life without fear, & I truly believe the percentage would be TINY.
People want to create, people want luxuries, and lots of people want to help. UBI will not change that.
People want to create, people want luxuries, and lots of people want to help. UBI will not change that.
Reposted by Derek Larson, Ph.D. 🇨🇦
Always grinds my gears when people say "No one would work drudge jobs if there was a UBI"
But even staying completely capitalist, I disagree. If I received a baseline living-wage UBI, and then I was offered REWARDS for drudge jobs, I'd take it! I want to save up for treats and travel and hobbies!
But even staying completely capitalist, I disagree. If I received a baseline living-wage UBI, and then I was offered REWARDS for drudge jobs, I'd take it! I want to save up for treats and travel and hobbies!
November 18, 2025 at 10:24 PM
Always grinds my gears when people say "No one would work drudge jobs if there was a UBI"
But even staying completely capitalist, I disagree. If I received a baseline living-wage UBI, and then I was offered REWARDS for drudge jobs, I'd take it! I want to save up for treats and travel and hobbies!
But even staying completely capitalist, I disagree. If I received a baseline living-wage UBI, and then I was offered REWARDS for drudge jobs, I'd take it! I want to save up for treats and travel and hobbies!
Reposted by Derek Larson, Ph.D. 🇨🇦
Years of work involving an amazing team at BBCSstudios Framestore AppleTV, our series #PrehistoricPlanetIceAge is out now on #AppleTV. Huge thanks to everyone involved. All 5 eps have been released!
November 26, 2025 at 10:07 AM
Years of work involving an amazing team at BBCSstudios Framestore AppleTV, our series #PrehistoricPlanetIceAge is out now on #AppleTV. Huge thanks to everyone involved. All 5 eps have been released!
Reposted by Derek Larson, Ph.D. 🇨🇦
Gender-affirming care saves lives
1. A landmark study was just published in The Journal of Pediatrics.
It found a 68% reduction in suicidality for trans youth getting HRT.
It also found only 7 of more than 400 stopped taking HRT... and of those that did, 4 still identified as gender-diverse.
Transgender care saves lives.
It found a 68% reduction in suicidality for trans youth getting HRT.
It also found only 7 of more than 400 stopped taking HRT... and of those that did, 4 still identified as gender-diverse.
Transgender care saves lives.
Study In The Journal Of Pediatrics Finds Trans Youth Care Lowers Suicidality, Few Detransition
The groundbreaking study found that suicidality dropped for transgender youth receiving hormone therapy by nearly 70%, with only 7 patients of 432 discontinuing treatment.
www.erininthemorning.com
November 25, 2025 at 11:49 AM
Gender-affirming care saves lives
Reposted by Derek Larson, Ph.D. 🇨🇦
“Things are getting worse faster than we anticipated.
"It appears we’re already close to the edge of some tipping points and we just haven’t found them yet.”
@ubcoceans.bsky.social Dr. Chris Harley commented on B.C. ocean acidification via @viawesome.bsky.social
buff.ly/JXS7fRx
"It appears we’re already close to the edge of some tipping points and we just haven’t found them yet.”
@ubcoceans.bsky.social Dr. Chris Harley commented on B.C. ocean acidification via @viawesome.bsky.social
buff.ly/JXS7fRx
B.C.'s oceans are turning acidic faster than once thought, finds study
Coral records reveal B.C. ocean acidity amplified 50 per cent more than previously thought, threatening a $452-million shellfish fishery
www.biv.com
November 25, 2025 at 9:01 PM
“Things are getting worse faster than we anticipated.
"It appears we’re already close to the edge of some tipping points and we just haven’t found them yet.”
@ubcoceans.bsky.social Dr. Chris Harley commented on B.C. ocean acidification via @viawesome.bsky.social
buff.ly/JXS7fRx
"It appears we’re already close to the edge of some tipping points and we just haven’t found them yet.”
@ubcoceans.bsky.social Dr. Chris Harley commented on B.C. ocean acidification via @viawesome.bsky.social
buff.ly/JXS7fRx
Reposted by Derek Larson, Ph.D. 🇨🇦
For every 10 hypothesis that are truly right, there are 100 wrong ones. If we accept 5% of the wrong hypotheses as being right, just by dint of the statistics, one third of published conclusions are wrong. This is part of why there is such a huge replication crisis. And keep in mind, experiments
November 25, 2025 at 4:00 AM
For every 10 hypothesis that are truly right, there are 100 wrong ones. If we accept 5% of the wrong hypotheses as being right, just by dint of the statistics, one third of published conclusions are wrong. This is part of why there is such a huge replication crisis. And keep in mind, experiments
Reposted by Derek Larson, Ph.D. 🇨🇦
Elephant seals are top ocean predators, and they serve as an important “ocean fertilizer,” Uhart adds, spreading nutrients from their feces as they swim across the water. “No other species can replace elephant seals in the ocean."
Bird Flu Wiped Out Nearly Half of the Females in the World’s Largest Elephant Seal Population, Drone Images Suggest
Scientists recorded a 47 percent drop in breeding females in South Georgia’s three largest elephant seal colonies after bird flu hit. Scaled to the whole island, that’s a potential loss of more than 5...
www.smithsonianmag.com
November 25, 2025 at 4:08 AM
Elephant seals are top ocean predators, and they serve as an important “ocean fertilizer,” Uhart adds, spreading nutrients from their feces as they swim across the water. “No other species can replace elephant seals in the ocean."
Reposted by Derek Larson, Ph.D. 🇨🇦
Google at its peak was basically the best information retrieval system in human history and they and every competitor decided going from there to “you didn’t want answers you wanted half-assed auto-complete 80%-wrong hallucinations” in a few years was the right idea
November 25, 2025 at 1:57 AM
Google at its peak was basically the best information retrieval system in human history and they and every competitor decided going from there to “you didn’t want answers you wanted half-assed auto-complete 80%-wrong hallucinations” in a few years was the right idea
Reposted by Derek Larson, Ph.D. 🇨🇦
Reposted by Derek Larson, Ph.D. 🇨🇦
Around 1000 markings on a slab of rock that was once a seafloor during the Cretaceous period may have been made by sea turtle flippers and swiftly buried by an earthquake
Ancient tracks may record stampede of turtles disturbed by earthquake
Around 1000 markings on a slab of rock that was once a seafloor during the Cretaceous period may have been made by sea turtle flippers and swiftly buried by an earthquake
www.newscientist.com
November 25, 2025 at 1:12 AM
Around 1000 markings on a slab of rock that was once a seafloor during the Cretaceous period may have been made by sea turtle flippers and swiftly buried by an earthquake
Reposted by Derek Larson, Ph.D. 🇨🇦
First revealed in spy photos, a #BronzeAge #city emerges from the steppe
An unexpectedly large city lies in a sea of grass inhabited largely by nomads.
arstechnica.com/science/2025...
#archaeology #Kazakhstan
An unexpectedly large city lies in a sea of grass inhabited largely by nomads.
arstechnica.com/science/2025...
#archaeology #Kazakhstan
First revealed in spy photos, a Bronze Age city emerges from the steppe
An unexpectedly large city lies in a sea of grass inhabited largely by nomads.
arstechnica.com
November 23, 2025 at 8:39 PM
First revealed in spy photos, a #BronzeAge #city emerges from the steppe
An unexpectedly large city lies in a sea of grass inhabited largely by nomads.
arstechnica.com/science/2025...
#archaeology #Kazakhstan
An unexpectedly large city lies in a sea of grass inhabited largely by nomads.
arstechnica.com/science/2025...
#archaeology #Kazakhstan
Reposted by Derek Larson, Ph.D. 🇨🇦
Anderson Cooper: So it's more expensive to have a chronically homeless person living on the streets than it is to actually subsidize an apartment for them?
Answer: Yes, we’re paying more as taxpayers to walk past that person on the street and do nothing… #HousingFirst
Answer: Yes, we’re paying more as taxpayers to walk past that person on the street and do nothing… #HousingFirst
100,000 Homes: Housing the homeless saves money?
Giving apartments to the chronically homeless can save taxpayer dollars, advocates say
www.cbsnews.com
November 25, 2025 at 12:17 AM
Anderson Cooper: So it's more expensive to have a chronically homeless person living on the streets than it is to actually subsidize an apartment for them?
Answer: Yes, we’re paying more as taxpayers to walk past that person on the street and do nothing… #HousingFirst
Answer: Yes, we’re paying more as taxpayers to walk past that person on the street and do nothing… #HousingFirst
Reposted by Derek Larson, Ph.D. 🇨🇦
Can you teach human anatomy - or know someone who can?
CWRU Anatomy is recruiting, and it would be great to have another paleontologist in the department!
More info and application: apply.interfolio.com/151831
Please share widely!
@societyofvertpaleo.bsky.social
CWRU Anatomy is recruiting, and it would be great to have another paleontologist in the department!
More info and application: apply.interfolio.com/151831
Please share widely!
@societyofvertpaleo.bsky.social
November 24, 2025 at 11:32 PM
Can you teach human anatomy - or know someone who can?
CWRU Anatomy is recruiting, and it would be great to have another paleontologist in the department!
More info and application: apply.interfolio.com/151831
Please share widely!
@societyofvertpaleo.bsky.social
CWRU Anatomy is recruiting, and it would be great to have another paleontologist in the department!
More info and application: apply.interfolio.com/151831
Please share widely!
@societyofvertpaleo.bsky.social
Reposted by Derek Larson, Ph.D. 🇨🇦
Relying on ChatGPT to teach you about a topic leaves you with shallower knowledge than Googling and reading about it, according to new research that compared what more than 10,000 people knew after using one method or the other.
Shared by @gizmodo.com: buff.ly/yAAHtHq
Shared by @gizmodo.com: buff.ly/yAAHtHq
November 21, 2025 at 11:48 AM
Relying on ChatGPT to teach you about a topic leaves you with shallower knowledge than Googling and reading about it, according to new research that compared what more than 10,000 people knew after using one method or the other.
Shared by @gizmodo.com: buff.ly/yAAHtHq
Shared by @gizmodo.com: buff.ly/yAAHtHq
Reposted by Derek Larson, Ph.D. 🇨🇦
"So in relative GDP terms, what the Marshall Islands just did is equivalent to the United States paying everyone a basic income of around $750 per month, no strings attached."
#UBI
scottsantens.substack.com/p/marshall-i...
#UBI
scottsantens.substack.com/p/marshall-i...
The Marshall Islands Just Quietly Implemented the First National Universal Basic Income (UBI)
How the Marshall Islands built the first nationwide universal basic income, funded by a US-capitalized Compact Trust Fund, and what it means for UBI everywhere.
scottsantens.substack.com
November 21, 2025 at 8:55 AM
"So in relative GDP terms, what the Marshall Islands just did is equivalent to the United States paying everyone a basic income of around $750 per month, no strings attached."
#UBI
scottsantens.substack.com/p/marshall-i...
#UBI
scottsantens.substack.com/p/marshall-i...
Reposted by Derek Larson, Ph.D. 🇨🇦
“AI workers said they distrust the models they work on because of a consistent emphasis on rapid turnaround time at the expense of quality.”
Meet the AI workers who tell their friends and family to stay away from AI
When the people making AI seem trustworthy are the ones who trust it the least, it shows that incentives for speed are overtaking safety, experts say
www.theguardian.com
November 22, 2025 at 5:12 PM
“AI workers said they distrust the models they work on because of a consistent emphasis on rapid turnaround time at the expense of quality.”