Happy to welcome Dr. Mason Majszak as visiting researcher to our Phi-Geo Research Group this term! He's currently working on a Swiss National Science Foundation/NYU project "Understanding risk perception & decision-making for climate change adaptation under uncertainty" www.masonmajszak.com #philsci

Writing is a big part of being a researcher, but grad students are rarely trained to do it well. Three researchers who double as writing instructors share their strategies for making the process more productive than painful: spklr.io/633238aIlD #AcademicSky #SciWri #AcademicWriting

New on the Archive: Bocchi, Federica and Currie, Adrian (2026) Ecologies of the Past. [Preprint] https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/27880/

Registration is open for this event 16-17 March @royalsociety.org with programme (titles and abstracts) available online: royalsociety.org/science-even.... In person and online.

Thanks to generous funding from the @sloanfoundation.bsky.social, John Basl and I are thrilled to be running the AI and Data Ethics summer school in 2026! ~12 graduate students, $10k stipend, 9 weeks to learn about scientific and ethical issues raised by AI. Please apply! aidesummer.org

We (Miles MacLeod, YJ Erden, @ccmmody.bsky.social and me w/ editorial contributions by Yagmur Ozturk) are putting on a special issue! In Studies in History & Philosophy of Science! Ab/ scientific @nanobubbles.bsky.social Deadline July 15 - spread the word! www.sciencedirect.com/special-issu...

In his forthcoming 📃 in @jrnlofphil.bsky.social, Grant Ramsey shows that a long-standing thesis held by philosophers of biology & evolutionary biologists—that fitness depends on population size, n—is based on conceptual & mathematical errors 👇 philsci-archive.pitt.edu/27701/ #philsky #HPBio #evosky

➡️New article out⬅️ The Fate of Behavioral Modernity by Andra Meneganzin @andrameneganzin.bsky.social Free reading link: rdcu.be/eUOUH

The next conference of the Society for the Study of Measurement will take place at Edinburgh on 22-25 June. Call for papers and symposia opens Nov 15 and closes Jan 15. Submissions via app.oxfordabstracts.com/auth?redirec...

Still time to sign up for the talk tomorrow! #philsky #philsci #STS #humangenetics #sciencesky #HPBio

I’m thrilled to share that I’ll be spending a few months as a visiting PhD at Egenis, the Centre for the Study of Life Sciences at the university of Exeter. I am joining prof. @celsoneto.bsky.social’s ERC-funded project HUGERA (Human Genomics Without Racism) hugera.org

New History & Philosophy of Physics network in Boston! Join us: open to locals and visitors. Check out the inaugural colloquium program & sign up to our mailing list and register for the inaugural lecture given by Peter Galison: www.bu.edu/cphs/boston-... #philsci #histsci #philsky

My paper "Models and Analogies in the Reconstruction of Extinct Life" is also out now in this volume dedicated to Hesse ⬇️ #HPS #PaleoSky #Philsky ⚒️ link.springer.com/chapter/10.1...

In Groningen for #EPSA25. I am extreamely happy of being part of the symposium on “Race in Genomics” organized by @celsoneto.bsky.social. Very engaging, detailed and thought provoking talks on the use and misuse of race and ancestry labels in genomics studies. #philsci

Congratulations to @matildecarrera.bsky.social on her superb defense today of a fantastic dissertation prospectus! She is now officially ABD! 🎉 #philsci #phigeo

Coming out of my dissertation project, I propose to distinguish population concepts according to the different stages of the modeling process and that this highlights epistemic and ethical challenges in inferring human ancestry and past demographic histories.

Coming *very* soon #philsci

Frequently, geneticists defend the objectivity of “ancestry” over the subjective and loaded notion of “race.” This framing of the opposition is very misleading, however. Below, collaborator @yashaddad.bsky.social explores how values and biases can shape ancestry. #popgen #evobio #STS #philsky

In the last two days, I had the opportunity to learn about science policy and advocacy and put it into practice visiting Capitol Hill as part of the @aaas.org Case Workshop. Working alongside the delegation of fellow PhD students from BU, UMass Amherst and MIT was truly inspiring. #MakingOurCase

Starter pack for @aaas.org Catalyzing Advocacy in Science and Engineering (CASE) Workshop, where #STEM students are learning tools for effective science communication and civic engagement. Just ask @hannaherf.bsky.social or comment to be added! #MakingOurCASE #DefendResearch go.bsky.app/GMNpSh3

Congrats to Phi-Geo grad Matilde Carrera @matildecarrera.bsky.social for being accepted to the competitive AI & Data Ethics Summer Institute at Northeastern this summer, as well as accepted to the upcoming AAAS Workshop: Catalyzing Advocacy in Science & Engineering, April 6-9 in D.C. 🙌 #philsci

New publication OA #philsci — where I discuss the epistemic nature of three possible varieties of ‘local knowledges’ and defend their importance for fulfilling human rights — from the right to participate in science to the right to food and right to clean water www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

Applying to grad school can be challenging, especially for first-gen and minority students. BU Minority&Philosophy chapter organized a workshop w/ faculty members and current grad students to help our junior&seniors students navigating the process! Good turnout and productive conversations!

A nice Phi-Geo group trip to @harvardmuseums.bsky.social to see exhibit Measuring Difference & hear a wonderful presentation by @chattyprofessor.bsky.social, artist Nancy Friedemann-Sánchez & #histmed Pablo Gómez, who spoke about roots of medical data about bodies in Atlantic slave trade. #philsci

I am thrilled to share that I was selected as one of four BU PhD students to attend the 2025 #CASEWorkshop organized by @aaas.org. Looking forward to contributing a #HPS & #philsci perspective to the discussions on #SciencePolicy. #MakingOurCASE @hps-aaas.bsky.social www.aaas.org/programs/cat...

Great lineup for this Spring's Boston Colloquium for Philosophy of Science on Decentering the Human in the Human Sciences on May 2-3. #philsci

Giving comments to a paper on plagiarism in generative AI systems at the #TexneCon Conference at #MIT this morning computing.mit.edu/cross-cuttin...

Chris Stringer & I have a paper in the Evolutionary Journal of the Linnean Society (the typeset version will be available soon!) It’s a perspective on species & speciation in paleoanthropology, with a particular focus on HS & Neanderthals. #Homosapiens #Neanderthals @chrisbstringer.bsky.social 🧪🏺

It was great having some of the Phi-Geo grads give short presentations of some relevant material from their research to my "Gender, Race, & Science" class today (Thank you @mattbrewer.bsky.social @matildecarrera.bsky.social & @leticiacastillo.bsky.social!!!)

A belated post of @matildecarrera.bsky.social great talk at #PSA24 on "When do data count as evidence? A taxonomy of evidential criteria in human evolution research"

The fantastic @michelamassimi.bsky.social beginning her PSA Presidential Address on "Local Knowledges & the Right to Participate in Science" #PSA24

Grateful for the incredible opportunity to present my work on evidence assessment in human evolution at #PSA24, the insightful feedback received and the so many amazing scholars I had the chance to talk to!

Thank you to everyone who attended the DEI caucus meeting at #PSA24! It is so exciting to see how diverse and vibrant our society has become!

Wonderful evening with so many great scholars and good friends! #PSA24

Some of the Boston University #PSA24 group out on Bourbon St.

The #PSA2024 Poster Forum is at 6.30pm in Acadia Ballroom. Come and explore fascinating topics. Very welcome to all grad students, some of whom are presenting for their first time. Among them the excellent Victoria Wang from @schoolofppls.bsky.social on research priorities in democratic societies.

Heading to NOLA for #PSA24!

You have to love it when a plan comes together. See you all soon at PSA2024! 🏙️

The Philosophy of Geosciences Research Group at BU, Φ-Geo, is dedicated to exploring topics in the philosophy of the geosciences (historical & current Earth sciences), broadly understood. We have a big group heading to #PSA24 ⚒️ next week--check out our upcoming talks bokulich.org/%cf%86-geo-g... 🧵 ⬇️

This is sure to be a fantastic talk for anyone interested in philosophy of #measurement, human sciences, & values in science. (A great series showcasing work by postdocs too!) #philsci #metasci

Some months ago @mattbrewer.bsky.social and I wrote a review for Suárez’s latest book “Inference and Representation. A Study in Modelling Science” and now it’s finally out on BJHS! www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

In Naples this week to attend the "Environment(s). Trajectories of a Concept" workshop www.resviva.it/2024/09/02/2....

I'll be speaking at a workshop at HPS Pittsburgh on pragmatism and measurement alongside Nancy Cartwright and Hasok Chang. Consider sending an abstract so we can hang out! Thanks to @sandradmitchell.bsky.social, Holly Andersen and Dana Matthiessen for organizing. #philsci 🧪

Post doc ad: Postdoctoral fellows will conduct research related to the retrieval and recognition of philosophical works by women and individuals from other marginalized groups in both the European and non-European traditions. newnarrativesinphilosophy.net

New chapter on Models and Measurement in the Routledge Handbook of Philosophy of Scientific Modeling - and it's open access! #philsci 🧪 www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/oa-...

Cover for the Oxford Handbook of Social Epistemology, edited by Jennifer Lackey and myself, which should be published around Spring 2025

Brilliant (and free) new book on "Abductive Reasoning in Science" by Finnur Dellsén Open Access: www.cambridge.org/core/element... #PhilSci

Great to see Mary Hesse being honored with this new lecture series! "In Praise of the Inexact, the Inelegant and the Unassuming" The First Annual Mary Hesse Lecture in the Philosophy & History of Science will be given by Professor Nancy Cartwright #philsci

Happy to share the preprint version of our forthcoming paper on anomalies and the method of residues in the geosciences!

One of my favorite former grad students just published with one of my favorite philosophers on science and values, to ask the most obvious and yet neglected question: what do we mean by “values” in “science and values”, and why does it matter? link.springer.com/article/10.1...