New episode, first of 2026!! 🎉🎙️ A deep dive into metaphor with @sflusberg.bsky.social! Metaphors delight, provoke, captivate, shock, and galvanize us. What does it say about the human mind that we simply can't escape them—and frankly don't want to? Listen: disi.org/the-aura-of-...

Wonderful Ice Age art! Some 40,000 years ago, this tiny head of a cave lion was skilfully sculpted from mammoth ivory. It is one of the oldest known works of figurative art! 📷 by me #Archaeology

Sunset run on the sea. I'll be kayaking this same route in two months. Helsinki can be really nice at times.

Music Ink and coffee

Torille! 🇫🇮

About a year ago I spent an ~hour learning to tie my shoelace knots optimally with the Ian knot. That'll save me approximately 5 seconds a day. This means that in about a year I'll break even in my time investment. www.youtube.com/watch?v=_O-x...

One of my khipus-in-progress now hanging in my office. It's definitely been fun to learn the ins and outs of the system. Honestly, more intuitive than expected (except for the nuances where scholars disagree).

"Yksittäisellä yliopistolla on kannustin keventää tutkintoja sisällöllisesti niin, että tutkintoja valmistuu aikaisempaa enemmän ja nopeammin sen sijaan, että huomio olisi inhimillisen pääoman lisäämisessä eli koulutuksen laadullisissa kysymyksissä." suomenkuvalehti.fi/mielipide/sa...

The frozen sea in Helsinki. Ten day forecast looks like we might be able to walk to the islands this February. Been a few years since the last time that was possible.

Mute swan #photography #birds

As a Finn, I oppose this proposition, as the Mercator projection makes Finland look Great Again. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER.

'The renowned Academy of Fine Arts Vienna today unexpectedly offered Donald Trump a place to study painting [...] In the past, the university didn't always give some promising intellectuals the chance they deserved, thus unnecessarily driving them into politics. "That should never happen again."'

Finally got my hands on a rare 1931 book I've been looking for that contains some very relevant data. Only problem is the book is a serious misprint that has a duplicate section ca. 100 pages long and completely omits the section I was interested in. Fantastic.

It's not an aggressive hand gesture sent from the distant past, but rather a comb with broken-off teeth from the eponymous Ertebølle shell midden. Neergaard (1900) found the object itself to be 'probably the most charming of all the [Ertebølle] combs', but he is super underwhelmed by its decoration

The Nobel Peace Prize becoming so prestigious that wars are fought over a head of state coveting it is some real monkey paw stuff for Alfred Nobel.

Rabbit, Sweden, 15th century

Been shouting to the wind since 2016 that Trump is not the disease, he is a symptom. A country that can elect someone like him even once is deeply ill and unserious.

We should be co-operating on unforeseen scales to solve some of the most pressing, difficult, existential challenges ever faced by our species. And yet we are... here. On perhaps the dumbest timeline imaginable. Surely any honest assessment of the situation concludes "this is the collapse path."

Been said a million times, but Idiocracy can't hold a candle to this show.

mad king moment from the PBS Newshour correspondent

The hitherto toughest test to Nordic solidarity is beginning. Last time the Nordics failed to stick together, Norway and Denmark got occupied by nazi Germany and Finland invaded by the Soviet Union.

This isn’t an original observation but every time I read the news it’s ridiculous how much dumber the world is becoming. Parodies like Idiocracy or The Dictator are not as dumb as the reality we’re living in today.

For what it's worth, in my mind the US is more or less where Russia was ca. 2017. As in, I want just about nothing to do with the country. Just a gut feeling, make of that what you wish.

Dating from around 1865, this hooded parka from the Aleutian Islands in southern Alaska is made from seal intestines, a naturally waterproof & windproof material. Both robust & decorative, these seal gut parkas would have been used daily to keep warm & dry in this harsh environment. bit.ly/4oRZuCC

I read a lot of obscure books for my research. Such as this 1955 PhD thesis, which looks like it hasn't been opened in decades (ever?): it still had the invitation card for the post-defense reception inside. "RECEPTIE NA AFLOOP VAN DE PROMOTIE IN HET UNIVERSITEITSGEBOUW"

A new academic term is ramping up. Have you considered putting our episodes on your syllabi? Conversations offer an accessible and engaging format—your students will thank you! We have 100+ episodes to choose from, covering many forms of mind from all disciplinary angles. disi.org/manyminds/

There's a commonsense view of human names—of where they come from and what they're for—that's guiding our search for names in animals. Could it be leading us astray? Discussed in our latest episode, an essay from @kensycoop.bsky.social! Listen: disi.org/in-search-of...

A call for CE papers from @vaclavhrncir.bsky.social and co-organisers for a session at the #EAA2026 conference in Athens on "Cross-cultural patterns in small-scale societies: Insights from comparative ethnology" Find out more at: www.e-a-a.org/EAA2026/EAA2...

Tired: Everything evolves to be a crab. Wired: Everything evolves to eat ants.

Here's an opportunity to lead research at Kilpisjärvi Biological Station (northern Finland, but close to the border with Norway and Sweden). An amazing place and job. Please forward to Arctic-focused folk. jobs.helsinki.fi/job/Helsinki...

This is what Russia is - disgusting.

For Christmas Day an early medieval gold foil cross found in Andelfingen, dating 7th c. AD. Gold foil crosses were purpose-made for burials, they were sewn on the veil that covered the deceased. They are regarded as one of the earliest Christian symbols in southwestern Germany. MERRY CHRISTMAS🎄🎅

Had fun with this one! In which I discuss: dolphins, elephants, marmosets, teknonymy, necronymy, reciprocal names in New Guinea, nominative determinism, the Bob-Kirk effect, the face-name-matching effect, name signs, toponyms, dog names, name uniqueness, alexinomia, toponyms, name taboos, etc.

New episode!! 🎉🎙️ An audio essay from @kensycoop.bsky.social about names in the natural world. The search for "name-like" symbols in animals is intensifying. But if the enterprise is to succeed, we first need to pause and ask ourselves: What even is a name? Listen: disi.org/in-search-of...

** CALL FOR PAPERS ** I am co-organizing a session for the #EAA2026 conference in Athens on "Cross-cultural patterns in small-scale societies: Insights from comparative ethnology" Submit through EAA website: www.e-a-a.org/EAA2026/EAA2... and please share with others who might be interested!

For the finale of season 7, we have a new audio essay out @manymindspod.bsky.social by @kensycoop.bsky.social! It's an exploration of names in the animal kingdom - what they are, who uses them, and why. In case you get hooked, we've put together a separate playlist of all our essays so far. Enjoy!

This is one of the worst ideas ever. #security #password

To survive and flourish, many animal species rely on ecological knowledge. But this knowledge is not always spread across the group—it's often held by certain "keystone individuals." Just one of the topics discussed in our latest episode, w/ @pbrakes.bsky.social! Listen: disi.org/the-value-of...

Just in time for Christmas!🎄My third PhD-paper is now online, looking into the role of children in the world of flint during the Northern European Final Palaeolithic, together with @felixthehauskat.bsky.social, @jesperborre.bsky.social & David Matzig🪨🚸 Read here: journals.ed.ac.uk/lithicstudie...

New paper: Three evolutionary radiations shaped the evolution of global religious diversity

Hyvää maanantaita keskiluokka!

UNINTERRUPTED CYCLING NETWORK. In most cities, cycling involves a constant cycle of stop-and-go. You hit a red light, you wait for a turning truck, you yield to pedestrians. It kills the momentum. Here in Oulu, the experience is completely different. Here’s why👇 1/3

Just a beautiful fold!! I hope even non-geologists can appreciate the beauty of what pressure can do to a rock. #FoldFriday #GeoscienceBluesky ⚒️🧪

Before the miracle today ☀️, we have had on average two minutes of sunshine per day in the entire December. Screw work, I'm going outside!

The sun is visible in parts of Finland today. So the national news has a live stream of the sun rising in Helsinki. Just to give you an idea what the start of this winter has been like. 😅

About 250 copies sold so far, which means I have a way to go to match "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Whatever", but I am relieved that my publisher got some return for the free editorial work he did (thank you, Ray). Not ordered your copy yet? Makes an ideal Xmas gift ...

I'm teaching Statistical Rethinking again starting Jan 2026. This time with live lectures, divided into Beginner and Experienced sections. Will be a lot more work for me, but I hope much better for students. I will record lectures & all will be found at this link: github.com/rmcelreath/s...

It asked me for my birthdate and accepted the nonsense 1915 date I used. If it gets more complex than that I’m leaving.

New episode!! 🎙️🎉 A chat w/ @pbrakes.bsky.social about animal cultures and animal conservation. Culture was once thought to be uniquely human. No longer. We now know culture is found throughout the natural world. How does this complicate conservation? Listen: disi.org/the-value-of...

I was kindly invited to talk about my research at @cudanlab.bsky.social, and here's a video of that talk. And no, it's not about Steve Jobs 😄, but about evolution of the arts – 🎸📚🎨