Marshall Abrams
@marshall0i.bsky.social
Philosopher of science, occasional scientist. Phil of:
ev biol, probability, modeling, stat inference. Book: Evolution and the Machinery of Chance. Activity here as private citizen, not as rep of nor supported by employer. https://marshallalmostsurely.com
ev biol, probability, modeling, stat inference. Book: Evolution and the Machinery of Chance. Activity here as private citizen, not as rep of nor supported by employer. https://marshallalmostsurely.com
Pinned
Marshall Abrams
@marshall0i.bsky.social
· Jun 13
My book Evolution and the Machinery of Chance came out two years ago; I haven't posted a summary here 'til now. It's for philosophers of science and biologists interested in questions about the nature and role of #probability in evolutionary processes, esp. #naturalselection. 🐋🌱 #philsci #evobio 1/9
Reposted by Marshall Abrams
This is a "reindeer cyclone", a defensive behavior that has been observed in herds of reindeer, even in captivity.
The fawns and older animals are at the center, the strongest animal in the outer lanes.
The point is to confuse the brains of predators accustomed to stalking a single outlier.
The fawns and older animals are at the center, the strongest animal in the outer lanes.
The point is to confuse the brains of predators accustomed to stalking a single outlier.
February 24, 2025 at 11:47 PM
This is a "reindeer cyclone", a defensive behavior that has been observed in herds of reindeer, even in captivity.
The fawns and older animals are at the center, the strongest animal in the outer lanes.
The point is to confuse the brains of predators accustomed to stalking a single outlier.
The fawns and older animals are at the center, the strongest animal in the outer lanes.
The point is to confuse the brains of predators accustomed to stalking a single outlier.
Reposted by Marshall Abrams
Prashant Singh in the lab of Tina Iverson at Vanderbilt published this image of the bacterial 🦠flagellar motor, a detailed molecular model made possibly by CryoEM 🔬.
The similarity to mechanical motors are strong enough we can use terms like stator, rotor, rod & gearing to describe it.
The similarity to mechanical motors are strong enough we can use terms like stator, rotor, rod & gearing to describe it.
November 17, 2025 at 10:31 PM
Prashant Singh in the lab of Tina Iverson at Vanderbilt published this image of the bacterial 🦠flagellar motor, a detailed molecular model made possibly by CryoEM 🔬.
The similarity to mechanical motors are strong enough we can use terms like stator, rotor, rod & gearing to describe it.
The similarity to mechanical motors are strong enough we can use terms like stator, rotor, rod & gearing to describe it.
How is this possible?
This ant can lay eggs of two different species, birthed by the same mother
This ant can lay eggs of two different species, birthed by the same mother
November 19, 2025 at 5:57 AM
🗃 A new study brings together evolution, complexity, and life history theory, proposing that teleonomic complexity—measured through life history strategies—offers a way to understand how organisms evolve and adapt over time. bit.ly/4nIPV8F #EvoSky #AcademicSky @robsalgo.bsky.social
November 18, 2025 at 4:18 AM
TIL that if a post has been quote-posted, adding "/quotes" to the URL shows you all of the quote posts. (Doesn't work with mere reposts.) No idea whether this is common knowledge here.
November 18, 2025 at 4:16 AM
TIL that if a post has been quote-posted, adding "/quotes" to the URL shows you all of the quote posts. (Doesn't work with mere reposts.) No idea whether this is common knowledge here.
Monadic code is easier to understand with `do` than `>>=`.
(No one reading this will agree with me.)
(No one reading this will agree with me.)
Quote-post with your favourite bit of #HaskellDisinformation. We'll start: It is well-grounded in Category Theory, and you must learn it in order to program with the language.
i really wish people that don't actively use haskell understood haskell, like, at all
November 18, 2025 at 4:02 AM
Monadic code is easier to understand with `do` than `>>=`.
(No one reading this will agree with me.)
(No one reading this will agree with me.)
Reposted by Marshall Abrams
Next Monday, we welcome @cshambaugh.bsky.social from the University of Oregon in our ROTO Lecture Series who will talk about dialectical biology. Just register via the link and join the talk and discussion at 4pm (CET): rotorub.wordpress.com/roto-lecture...
#HPBio #PhilSci #HistSci
#HPBio #PhilSci #HistSci
November 17, 2025 at 2:43 PM
Next Monday, we welcome @cshambaugh.bsky.social from the University of Oregon in our ROTO Lecture Series who will talk about dialectical biology. Just register via the link and join the talk and discussion at 4pm (CET): rotorub.wordpress.com/roto-lecture...
#HPBio #PhilSci #HistSci
#HPBio #PhilSci #HistSci
We're hiring tenure-track Asst Prof Philosophy. Good people, great research and teaching. AOS applied ethics broadly construed. AOCs open. Teach bioethics, ethics of AI, undergrad, graduate certificate in Ethical Dimensions of AI, planned Masters Bioethics. philjobs.org/job/show/30245 #philsky
Assistant Professor of Philosophy, University of Alabama at Birmingham
- PhilJobs:JFP
Assistant Professor of Philosophy, University of Alabama at Birmingham
An international database of jobs for philosophers
philjobs.org
November 17, 2025 at 10:30 PM
We're hiring tenure-track Asst Prof Philosophy. Good people, great research and teaching. AOS applied ethics broadly construed. AOCs open. Teach bioethics, ethics of AI, undergrad, graduate certificate in Ethical Dimensions of AI, planned Masters Bioethics. philjobs.org/job/show/30245 #philsky
New from George Zhang: “Adaptive tracking with antagonistic pleiotropy” as an alternative to the Neutral Theory of Molecular Evolution. Yeast experiments show many mutations are beneficial but rarely fix because environments vary & fitness is highly context-dependent.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Adaptive tracking with antagonistic pleiotropy results in seemingly neutral molecular evolution - Nature Ecology & Evolution
Population genetics simulations and analysis of experimental datasets in yeast, Drosophila and E. coli show that beneficial mutations are abundant but transient, as they become deleterious after envir...
www.nature.com
November 15, 2025 at 6:25 AM
Many Long COVID trials have reported negative results in 2024 and 2025. In our Comment for @thelancetinfdis.bsky.social we argue that inadequate outcome measures might have played a role. (1/12)
November 11, 2025 at 4:50 AM
Reposted by Marshall Abrams
Have you registered for #AAHPSSS2025 yet? The conference will be held in hybrid format at the University of Queensland, 3–5 December 2025. It’s a small community, which makes it a great opportunity for really good feedback and collaboration.
#HPS #philsky #philsci
More: @aahpsss.bsky.social
#HPS #philsky #philsci
More: @aahpsss.bsky.social
2025 Conference
2025 AAHPSSS Conference The 2025 conference of the Australasian Association for the History, Philosophy and Social Studies of Science (AAHPSSS) will be held in a hybrid format at the Universit…
aahpsss.net.au
November 10, 2025 at 6:41 PM
Have you registered for #AAHPSSS2025 yet? The conference will be held in hybrid format at the University of Queensland, 3–5 December 2025. It’s a small community, which makes it a great opportunity for really good feedback and collaboration.
#HPS #philsky #philsci
More: @aahpsss.bsky.social
#HPS #philsky #philsci
More: @aahpsss.bsky.social
Reposted by Marshall Abrams
Some of you may know #philsci #philbio Subrena Smith, Prof of #philosophy at UNH. Her family in Jamaica lives in one of parishes hardest hit by Hurricane Melissa: Westmoreland. She & David are raising funds to support them w/ generators, supplies, truck water in to them, etc. Please donate if can!
November 8, 2025 at 7:18 PM
Some of you may know #philsci #philbio Subrena Smith, Prof of #philosophy at UNH. Her family in Jamaica lives in one of parishes hardest hit by Hurricane Melissa: Westmoreland. She & David are raising funds to support them w/ generators, supplies, truck water in to them, etc. Please donate if can!
Oops…“Principal components (PC) axes
identified by a PCA are not necessarily the most informative biologically. Nevertheless, paleoanthropologists frequently interpret proximity in PC space as indicative of morphological and thus evolutionary affinity or relatedness”
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
identified by a PCA are not necessarily the most informative biologically. Nevertheless, paleoanthropologists frequently interpret proximity in PC space as indicative of morphological and thus evolutionary affinity or relatedness”
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Principal Components Analysis fails to recover phylogenetic structure in hominins
Objectives Paleoanthropologists often utilize geometric morphometrics and principal components analysis (PCA) to interpret shape variation within the hominin fossil record. It is common practice to in...
www.biorxiv.org
November 8, 2025 at 10:18 PM
We're hiring in history of science at UW Madison! TT Assistant Professorship with a focus on water. Joint appointment between the History and Integrated Liberal Studies depts, and part of a university-wide hiring cluster on earth/sustainability science. jobs.wisc.edu/jobs/profess... #STS #HSMT
Professor of History - Madison, Wisconsin, United States
Current Employees: If you are currently employed at any of the Universities of Wisconsin, log in to Workday to apply through the internal application process.Job Category:FacultyEmployment Type:Regula...
jobs.wisc.edu
November 8, 2025 at 6:03 AM
Reposted by Marshall Abrams
Join us for "How Science is Changing," a free interdisciplinary panel discussion! Scholars from across North America discuss the evolving nature of science.
🗓️ Nov 20th, 6 PM
📍 @cincymuseum.bsky.social w/ @philsci.bsky.social
Free, open to all, parking included! RSVP:
🔗 forms.gle/3Ei7GM91LTmy...
🗓️ Nov 20th, 6 PM
📍 @cincymuseum.bsky.social w/ @philsci.bsky.social
Free, open to all, parking included! RSVP:
🔗 forms.gle/3Ei7GM91LTmy...
November 8, 2025 at 5:29 AM
Join us for "How Science is Changing," a free interdisciplinary panel discussion! Scholars from across North America discuss the evolving nature of science.
🗓️ Nov 20th, 6 PM
📍 @cincymuseum.bsky.social w/ @philsci.bsky.social
Free, open to all, parking included! RSVP:
🔗 forms.gle/3Ei7GM91LTmy...
🗓️ Nov 20th, 6 PM
📍 @cincymuseum.bsky.social w/ @philsci.bsky.social
Free, open to all, parking included! RSVP:
🔗 forms.gle/3Ei7GM91LTmy...
Thinking only of Rosalind Franklin today, and what was stolen from her (and so many other female scientists alongside her).
Rosalind Franklin and the damage of gender harassment
Spurred by a recent report on sexual harassment in academia, our columnist revisits a historical case and reflects on what has changed—and what hasn’t
www.science.org
November 7, 2025 at 8:21 PM
Reposted by Marshall Abrams
Reposted by Marshall Abrams
I'm so grateful to receive this gracious & thoughtful review of my book that I want to quote the whole thing, but I'll content myself w/ a screenshot and point you to the rest at doi.org/10.1558/jsrn...
There is nothing better than hearing that you achieved the goals you set out to achieve. 🌱🐋 🌎 📗
There is nothing better than hearing that you achieved the goals you set out to achieve. 🌱🐋 🌎 📗
November 6, 2025 at 7:15 PM
I'm so grateful to receive this gracious & thoughtful review of my book that I want to quote the whole thing, but I'll content myself w/ a screenshot and point you to the rest at doi.org/10.1558/jsrn...
There is nothing better than hearing that you achieved the goals you set out to achieve. 🌱🐋 🌎 📗
There is nothing better than hearing that you achieved the goals you set out to achieve. 🌱🐋 🌎 📗
Reposted by Marshall Abrams
If you know an undergrad that would like to spend the summer doing research in my philosophy of biology lab, encourage them to apply to the U’s SPUR program. Includes a $5,000 stipend and subsidized housing to work in my lab.
Details and how to apply here:
tinyurl.com/SPUR-PhilBio...
Details and how to apply here:
tinyurl.com/SPUR-PhilBio...
The Philosophy of Biology Lab: Entangled Lineages, Classification, and Individuality - Office of Undergraduate Research
tinyurl.com
November 6, 2025 at 8:13 PM
If you know an undergrad that would like to spend the summer doing research in my philosophy of biology lab, encourage them to apply to the U’s SPUR program. Includes a $5,000 stipend and subsidized housing to work in my lab.
Details and how to apply here:
tinyurl.com/SPUR-PhilBio...
Details and how to apply here:
tinyurl.com/SPUR-PhilBio...
🧪🦋Found this really old book in the @romtoronto.bsky.social entomology collection. Probably from the 1800s. Looks like the draft of an early Canadian entomology textbook. Trying to figure out the author & year. Any thoughts?🪰🐛 (E.M. Walker was the 1st curator @ROM, might be his?)
November 5, 2025 at 10:43 PM
An absolutely stunning #thylacine at @nhmwien.bsky.social, which hasn't been posed to convey the impression that #thylacines were dangerous or threatening in the way that so many other #taxidermy specimens do. That idea was central to the false claim that they threatened #Tasmania's sheep industry.
November 5, 2025 at 10:37 PM
Reposted by Marshall Abrams
HAHR author Rick A. López discusses his research on the history of botany in Mexico with the @newbooksnetwork.bsky.social podcast. newbooksnetwork.com/rooted-in-pl...
Rick A López, "Rooted in Place: Botany, Indigeneity, and Art in the Construction of Mexican Nature, 1570-1914" (U Arizona Press, 2025) - New Books Network
newbooksnetwork.com
November 3, 2025 at 2:30 PM
HAHR author Rick A. López discusses his research on the history of botany in Mexico with the @newbooksnetwork.bsky.social podcast. newbooksnetwork.com/rooted-in-pl...
Reposted by Marshall Abrams
New Element in the #PhilBio series—free to download until Nov 17! Is disease an objective biological fact or a value-laden construct? Peter Takacs argues for a hybrid view that unites both sides under an evolutionary notion of dysfunction👇 www.cambridge.org/core/element... #philsky #philsci #evosky
November 3, 2025 at 2:08 PM
New Element in the #PhilBio series—free to download until Nov 17! Is disease an objective biological fact or a value-laden construct? Peter Takacs argues for a hybrid view that unites both sides under an evolutionary notion of dysfunction👇 www.cambridge.org/core/element... #philsky #philsci #evosky
Reposted by Marshall Abrams
The thematic issue I co-edited with @javiersuarez.bsky.social "Complicating the Concept of Lineage" is online. Includes papers by Javier & @phieveigl.bsky.social, @lucielaplane.bsky.social, François Papale, Kate MacCord and me. See reply for links to articles:
doi.org/10.1007/s137...
doi.org/10.1007/s137...
Complicating the Concept of Lineage: A Topical Collection - Biological Theory
Biological Theory -
doi.org
November 3, 2025 at 7:35 PM
The thematic issue I co-edited with @javiersuarez.bsky.social "Complicating the Concept of Lineage" is online. Includes papers by Javier & @phieveigl.bsky.social, @lucielaplane.bsky.social, François Papale, Kate MacCord and me. See reply for links to articles:
doi.org/10.1007/s137...
doi.org/10.1007/s137...
For anyone interested, new paperback of The Riddle of Organismal Agency, eds. Fábregas-Tejeda, Baedke, Prieto, Radick, is $11 less at Routledge than at Amazon, bn.com, has free shipping, and looks like it will arrive sooner. Don't know about other Routledge books. #hpbio.
November 3, 2025 at 4:01 AM