An important statement from the desk of Robin Ince

This week's Cooperation Colloquium: Alex Mesoudi @alexmesoudi.com Experimental evidence that reputation-based partner choice facilitates information sharing in humans Date: December 5 Time: 15:00 UTC+1 (Vienna) / 9 am ET (NYC) Sign up: list.ku.dk/postorius/li...

I still like to think of myself as a behavioural ecologist. I think a training in behavioural ecology is hard to beat.

I used to enjoy impressing people by identifying birds from a faint call in a wood. Now, thanks to the phenomenal success of the Merlin app, many people are telling me about the birds they have heard. Interesting to read the story of the Merlin app here - www.birds.cornell.edu/home/the-mag...

Hands up those using ChatGPT to write lecture slides www.theguardian.com/education/20...

"Multiple men have remained in senior roles at Oxford for months or years after allegations of sexual misconduct emerged against them, Bloomberg found in a nine-month investigation based on interviews with almost 50 people as well as documents and other records."

Apply now for a NERC-funded PhD position with @andyradford.bsky.social & Patrick Kennedy at @bristolbiosci.bsky.social (with me as friendly 2nd supervisor down the road in @crab-exeter.bsky.social). Network cognition, cooperation, competition...what's not to like? www.findaphd.com/phds/project...

First exercise since being beaten up in Sept. Hoping to manage my first hour of research later...

In an increasingly divided world, how do strangers become friends? Parakeets might have something to teach us! New paper on formation of affiliative relationships, led by Dr. Claire O’Connell doi.org/10.1098/rsbl...

Good morning to all those people who wasted the last decade saying, "there's no point tackling climate change in the UK, because China." www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...

Just been watching the latest David Attenborough. Worth more than any number of Trumps.

"Regrettably, and despite the null hypothesis being simple, elegant and often underpinned by evidenced or reasoned convictions, conventional p-value analysis can only argue against the null hypothesis, never in favour of it."

Sir David Attenborough champions landmark Rothbury Appeal to raise £30m for nature and the nation (spot my beloved home, Simonside Cottage, in the background)

How long does a 'black eye' take to develop? (1) It's visible immediately (2) it may take a few days

Looking for a #PhD? Interested in #SocialBehaviour #BiologicalMarkets #Fieldwork? Want to be based in #Bristol? Check out this project with me, @ljnbrent.bsky.social & #PatrickKennedy: tinyurl.com/aja54nr6 For UK-domiciled Black-heritage applicants Get in touch for more information Please #share

Thank you Guardian for reporting on this magic www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Do we really keep score in our friendship? See what @athenaaktipis.bsky.social and I have to say about why this isn’t always the case theconversation.com/friendships-...

I was woken by a notification from the "Calm" app about hacks for better sleep. Couldn't get back to sleep after that. Really annoying 😜

The American Society of Naturalists is looking for a new Editor-In-Chief to begin Jan 2027. Info here: www.amnat.org/announcement...

Report on Australian Higher Education finds: 🔹️ Council members have no lived experience of universities 🔹️ Council members have COIs with consultancy firms 🔹️ Council meetings are closed affairs that lack transparency 🔹️ Leaders' exorbitant salaries could not be justified

Got my nose broken by a punch that came out of nowhere in the dark as I walked down the garden path then my face kicked in while I was lying on the ground. In shock so don't think I'll be going to bed tonight, especially as the psycho lives next door.

Cooperation Colloquium this week: Talbot M. Andrews @talbotmandrews.bsky.social (Cornell): Overcoming the social dilemma of climate change Friday, Sep 26, 15:00 UTC+2 Vienna / 9 am NYC Sign up: list.ku.dk/postorius/li...

What Makes a Good Reputation? | Psychology Today www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/ecol... #BehSci @psychologytoday.com

UK officially recognises Palestine as a state Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the UK - alongside Australia and Canada - was taking the step "in the face of growing horror" in the Middle East news.sky.com/story/uk-off...

Pink footed geese over the house this morning - it must be autumn

A wader-fest at E. Chevington, Northumberland for world shorebirds day. White-rumped and pectoral sandpipers, black tailed godwits, ruff, greenshank among the highlights. (Bit distant for my camera though!)

Wondrous

Physical copies of this 71-chapter tome now exist. Do encourage your library to buy a copy…also doubles as excellent door stop! Co-edited with Jamie Tehrani and @rachkendal.bsky.social. @oxunipress.bsky.social @durhamanthropology.bsky.social

My review of Sex is a Spectrum, by Agustín Fuentes 🧪 #BioAnth blog.edhagen.net/posts/2025-0...

What is the average effectiveness of choice architecture ('nudge') interventions on behaviour? From Szaszi, B., Goldstein, D.G, @susanmichie.bsky.social & @dilipsoman.bsky.social #BehaviouralScience

I don't understand how anyone can think that firing on people trying to get food is in any way defensible. October 7 is not an excuse to commit atrocities, war crimes and genocide. #gaza #palestine #israel

At our demonstration today, I'm holding a placard stating "I support Palestine. Action must be taken." My aim is to highlight the absurdity of the government dictating what can and cannot be said by peace-seeking people

Dream PhD opportunity, doing important and pioneering work on how humans and other animals solve problems that require them to work together to sustain resources (like the planet!)! Creative, brilliant, and supportive mentor!

Brown hares can currently be shot all-year round , despite an estimated decline of 80% in the last 100 years . Please sign the petition now calling on the Govt to introduce a close season from Feb – Sept . Thank you !

Puffin therapy

Our latest superb starling work in @nature.com. We observe long-term reciprocal helping relationships, and suggest reciprocity is an underappreciated mechanism promoting the stability of cooperatively breeding societies. Led by Alexis Earl and @gerrycarter.bsky.social www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Revised preprint. Charles Efferson and Ernst Fehr claim that reciprocity does not work. In a Nature paper they falsely claim that between-group competition rescues cooperation. Here I show that a simple error in their model is responsible for their false claims www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

PhD Timeline xkcd.com/3081

Listening to PetShopBoys Suburbia (1986). Timeless, except perhaps for updating "where's a policeman when you need one to blame the colour TV" to "where's a politician when you need one to blame social media". www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VCq...

Puffin cam from Northumberland is back @ehbea2025.bsky.social www.youtube.com/live/aMaNSZU...

22 mins on autoredial app to be told surgery fully booked with people who somehow got through. Travel insurance want evidence but surgery says they are there to treat people not sign forms. Fever and coughing up blood so this is no surprise. Got appt in end but.. www.theguardian.com/society/2025...

Wonder how many other folks spent Easter with the @ehbea2025.bsky.social conference cold. At least it wasn't covid at this conference (as far as I know), which makes a change! 🤒

Two more weeks to apply! Spread the word and reach out with any questions.

Lots of souvenirs for those who liked the @ehbea2025.bsky.social theme - www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=1...

Another journalist murdered www.theguardian.com/world/2025/a...

This sounds great! Shame I don't think I count as early career!

✨️The EHBEA 2025 Starter Pack is Here! ✨️ - Follow #EHBEA2025 conference presenters & attendees! 👩‍🔬👨‍🔬 - Attending EHBEA?? Comment bellow or send us a message to be added! #CoolEvoScience #HumanBehaviour #SharingResearch @ehbea.bsky.social go.bsky.app/83e84Ca