It is pretty standard practice. For one, it helps people who read or review your work know who they are dealing with. For another, it helps the general public understand who scientists are. Part of the mission is to make sure that the next generation carries the work on, and by emphasizing the human aspect of the science, young people can actually imagine themselves getting to that point some day.

I have spent the last 12 years trying to convince my wife that I am not trying to trick her. I really do think she is that beautiful.

Imprint fossils preserve feathers and other soft tissues. No ears.

An existential crisis is an important part of growing up.

Private school, Mississippi.

I was a YEC before going to university. I studied geology. After two years, I accepted that evolution happened. After four years, I was an atheist. I went on to get a doctorate, and I have published quite a few papers about rocks that are >2 billion years old.

As a kid, there were literally 0 authority figures in my life that accepted that evolution happened. It was taken as a given that it was ridiculous. My biology teacher skipped the chapter on evolution, saying, “this is controversial.”

Patience, love, and making critical information available gives kids like I was a chance.

I just think it’s funny that it goes from “terrible heads,” “fierce looking,” “beast head,” “dog teeth,” “two dog-like teeth,” to… “With breasts.” Really a dramatically different category.

Footprints.

https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/animals/a10933/tyrannosaurus-trackways-reveal-a-dinosaurs-walk-17016027/

Depends strongly on the community. Every sub discipline has its own standards of respectability. Publishing outside of those constraints can cause articles to be ignored.

I wasn’t sure if this was true or a weird misunderstanding or conspiracy type thing. Seems to be true. Here is an accessible writeup: https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20231127-brazils-mysterious-tunnels-made-by-giant-sloths

Apparently Trump’s vp pick has a book where he discussed sex with furniture.

So many N words for him to choose from…

Yes. In the heirarchy of science, it ranks just below literature.

My wife made this joke during a presentation that was part of a job interview. Nobody laughed. Clear sign of a toxic environment.

Depends on the program you are in. The view from being a doctoral student to being a postdoc to being research/lecturing staff is very different. Not all advisors expose their students to the realities of higher levels of academia. And when a woman or minority is being mentored by a white man, they may not be aware of biases that can affect the student’s later career.

Chess is free. No DLC. I have never stopped playing.

If that doesn’t work, restart it and then try.