Re: Extinct under new management
I thought I should take this opportunity to introduce myself. My name is Max Dresow (Dray-zo, if you're curious), and I'll be helming the de-extinction of Extinct. I'm currently a postdoc at the Minnesota Center for Philosophy of Science, and I work on historical and philosophical issues in paleontology and the earth sciences. If you want a better idea of what exactly I’m interested in, please check out my website.
This is my first time writing for Extinct, but I have a little history with the site. Back in 2017, when I was casting about for a dissertation topic, my advisor recommended that I check out “the Extinct blog.” Shamefully, I don't remember what I read (maybe this?). But I remember what it felt like to learn that a group of people was working on philosophical problems in my favorite science. It took me a while to figure out what the dissertation was going to be about, but I knew that, somehow, it was going to be about paleontology. It's a decision I've never regretted—in fact, I feel happier about it all the time.
Let me say a few words about Extinct moving forward. As Adrian noted in his last post, the "Core Four" is going to be stepping back from regular writing responsibilities. In their absence, I'm going to keep the guest posts rolling in and continue the Extinct tradition of highlighting a diversity of viewpoints, especially from young scholars. You can expect posts every month, and maybe more than once a month, depending on how things shake out. I've already got some great things lined up, so there's plenty to look forward to!
For my part, I'm going to be contributing a series of longer-form essays on a grab bag of historical and philosophical topics. I'm going to do something potentially obnoxious too, and give this series a name. I'm calling it "Problematica." As many of you will know, this is a collective name for those taxa that resist robust taxonomic placement. My favorite essays also tend to resist taxonomic placement: hence the name. ("Problematica" also sounds a bit like “Marginalia," which was the name of G.E. Hutchinson's long-running column in American Scientist. Pretentious enough for ya? Great! Let's move on.)
Actually, that's all for now. Many thanks to Adrian, Derek, Joyce, and Leonard for entrusting me with this wonderful thing they've built. I'm excited to get going! Look out for Problematica #1 on Monday…
Me (reclining) with friend Janella Baxter of Sam Houston State University at the Mount Stephen trilobite beds in British Columbia