* Max Dresow writes…
Much like the inveterate bargain-hunter, the life of the niche academic blogger is all about the chase. We are constantly hunting for our next quarry: in the present case, the obscure connection waiting to be revealed by tangential analysis. To the enthusiast, nothing compares to the almost cocaine-like high that hours of research on Internet Archive are bound to produce. Like, did you know that William James mentioned Lyellian geology in his book, Pragmatism? What the heck was that about?!
Still, even those of us who live for the chase must sometimes cast a backward eye. Last June, I recapped the first six months of the relaunched Extinct blog (here). Since then, another six months have elapsed. Unless you've really been paying attention, you’re bound to have missed something. So here is a second compilation of links for your web-browsing pleasure.
As you can see, we’ve kept busy in this small corner of academic webloggery. Probably this is the right time to say “thanks!” to anyone who has visited the site, shared our posts on social media, or mentioned one of our essays to a friend or colleague. You are the indispensable connective tissue of the philosophy-slash-paleontology blogosphere (or “phil-paleontologosphere”).
Also, let me give a heartfelt thanks to Yoshinari Yoshida for making me a picture like the other Extinct folks have. I assume no one visiting a boutique paleontology blog will need the joke explained to them, but if you’re here by accident, the picture shows me holding a bouquet of crinoids (colloquially known as sea lillies).
Okay. Here are those links I mentioned. First you will find the “Featured Essays,” then the newer entries in my “Problematica” series, and finally a few mini “news” essays. All essays are listed in order of appearance, beginning with the earliest.
Featured Essays
“Ripe Science, Hype Science, Meteor SideSwipe Science” (T.J. Perkins)
> In which T.J. Perkins examines the “ripening” of scientific research, and argues that cultural readiness is an important factor in understanding scientific discovery and progress
“The Weird EARLY HISTORY OF PALEONTOLOGY: ROBERT PLOT AND SCROTUM HUMANUM” (JAN FORSMAN)
> In which Jan Forsman dives into the weird history of paleontology, and tells the wonderful story of Scrotum humanum
“Science in a fishbowl? The case of glass-walled fossil preparation laboratories in museums” (CAITLYN WYLIE)
> In which Caitlin Wylie considers the display of scientific knowledge-making in glass-walled fossil preparation labs
“A history of resurrection Biology, Part 1: extinction, Redemption, and Nazi Cattle” (RISA SCHNEBLY)
> In which Risa Schnebly explores the history of “de-extinction” science and what it teaches us about how scientists conceptualize and value species (Part 1 of 2)
“A history of resurrection biology, part 2: Righting past Wrongs?” (RISA SCHNEBLY)
> In which Risa Schnebly brings the story of resurrection biology to the present, and face-to-face with “de-extinction” science (Part 2 of 2)
Problematica
“Paradox of stasis”
> In which Max examines why the development of punctuated equilibria did so little to upset Stephen Jay Gould’s early adaptationist and progressivist ideas about evolution—at least at first [This is Part 2 of a three-part essay; you can find Part 1 here)
“Ediacaran enigma: Uncertainty and underdetermination in Precambrian paleontology”
> In which Max considers the problems involved in interpreting the enigmatic fossils of the Ediacaran fauna, as well as some influential attempts to interpret them
“Re-thinking living fossils, again”
> In which Max re-examines a recent re-examination of living fossils, with the help of a new paper by Beckett Sterner
“Goddess in the details”
> In which Max explores the history of the Gaia hypothesis and wonders whether it needs to be “Darwinized”
“The first philosopher of paleontology— Er, ‘palaetiology’”
> In which Max considers the geological writings of William Whewell and his concept of “palaetiological science”
“Equilibrium, disrupted”
> In which Max finally completes his three-part essay on Stephen Jay Gould and punctuated equilibria, and asks why Gould changed his mind about key features of evolution around 1977
“DINOSAUR TIME”
> In which Max complains about how prevalent the language of political domination has become in popular writing about dinosaurs
News
“Jobs in Philosophy of the Historical Sciences” (October 4)
“Ships that Pass in the Night” (September 10)* If you’re going to read one of these, make it this one
“A Golden Spike for the Anthropocene” (July 12)
“A Very Problematic Problematic Fossil” (June 12)