Evolutionary ecologist & Boggle aficionado. Author: The Scientist's Guide to Writing; Charles Darwin's Barnacle. He/him. Also @StephenBHeard@fediscience.org

Fredericton, New Brunswick
Joined November 2014
Going forward, on this account you'll only see links to new blog posts and the like. For more (I'm a hoot, I swear) come find me in bluer skies. It's nice there.
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"Amor Triumphant Amidst Emblems of Art, Science, War" - Thomas Bosschaert and Paul de Vos, 1645-50. Nationalmuseum, Stockholm. According to the signage, this is an allegory of the triumph of Love over art, music, science, and war - all of which are "transient and worthless".
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Of course, Edwin Starr told us that war is "good for nothing at all", so that tracks. youtu.be/01-2pNCZiNk But I'm going to resist the notion that "art, music and science" are transient and worthless, thank you very much!
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I can teach Scientific Writing at your institution! I can offer a one-week intensive course for grad students and other early-career scientists. I'm (more than) fully booked for 2025, but have open slots in 2026. Contact me to discuss; more info here: scientistseessquirrel.wordpr…
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I can teach Scientific Writing at your institution! I can offer a one-week intensive course for grad students and other early-career scientists. I'm (more than) fully booked for 2025, but have open slots in 2026. Contact me to discuss; more info here: scientistseessquirrel.wordpr…
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Morning light on the Wolastoq (Saint John River). I live in a beautiful place on a beautiful river. ('Wolastoq' is a Maliseet word meaning 'beautiful river' and it's a much better name than 'Saint John')
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The major addition will be a chapter on "AI" writing tools: should you use them, and if you do, how can you use them to build your skills as a writer? But this offers an opportunity for updates/additions/edits throughout, so please use the post's comments to offer your ideas! 2/2
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I learned more from the (40 year old) book than from any book I've read in a long time. Absolutely fascinating history of paleontology, and accessible (if the writing style is sometimes a bit dry, the topic makes up for it). 1/2
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Makes you think differently about what it was like, without benefit of modern knowledge, to grapple with the problem of what the hell was up when you found what looked like a crab-shaped stone inside solid rock. Obvious to us now; not at all obvious in 1650 (say). 2/2
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