Derek D. Turner
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wiserthanddt.bsky.social
Derek D. Turner
@wiserthanddt.bsky.social

Philosophy of the life, earth, historical, and environmental sciences; philpaleo; environmental aesthetics. Trying to balance faith in other people with pessimism about social systems and institutions.

Philosophy 34%
Environmental science 18%

Years ago I published a short review of an environmental ethics anthology.

Just jot a notice that my old book review has been cited in a paper in the journal *AI & Ethics.* So I looked up that paper. The authors clearly thought they were citing the book I was reviewing.

I'm guessing they used AI 😂

A few of us philosophers with hot takes on the news about "dire wolves." (I didn't come up with the "Game of Clones" title, but I kind of like it.)
Philosophers On The Science & Ethics of Resurrecting Extinct Species - Daily Nous
"The Return of the Dire Wolf" announced Time magazine---not quite correctly, it turns out---in its article on the creation of three creatures genetically engineered into existence by the firm Colossal...
dailynous.com

Am I the only one who still writes their own recommendation letters for students? Is everyone else using AI?

Congrats Dr. Perkins!!! It was an awesome defense! Hope you are celebrating this weekend!

Meta has apparently used 18 of my publications, without permission, to train its AI. This is theft of intellectual property.
Search LibGen, the Pirated-Books Database That Meta Used to Train AI
Millions of books and scientific papers are captured in the collection’s current iteration.
www.theatlantic.com

Recently I Zoomed in to participate in one of Adrian Currie's seminars at Exeter and one of the seminar participants followed up with some wonderful interview questions on aesthetics and science #HPS #Philsci

exeternotion.press/2025/03/14/5...
Provenance and the Natural World: An Interview with Derek Turner – Notion
exeternotion.press

Reposted by Derek Turner

Reposted by Derek Turner

Need something to watch today that *isn't* the U.S. presidential inauguration? Try these hidden YouTube gems! Featuring Alfred Wegener, J. Tuzo Wilson, Fred Vine, Stephen Jay Gould, Adolf Seilacher, and the Venus-was-once-a-comet guy, Immanuel Velikovsky
www.extinctblog.org/extinct/2025...
More Hidden Gems from YouTube — Extinct
In which Max compiles another set of YouTube videos for your enjoyment. Featuring Alfred Wegener, J. Tuzo Wilson, Immanuel Velikovsky, Adolf Seilacher, and more!
www.extinctblog.org

I've been on the lookout for interesting examples of challenging environmental art, and someone shared this one: "The Black Gold Tapestry," by Sandra Sawatzky. And it's got dinosaurs! www.theblackgoldtapestry.com
The Black Gold Tapestry
Sandra Sawatzky's contemporary work of art dramatizing the saga of oil through 220 feet of hand embroidery.
www.theblackgoldtapestry.com

Another book recommendation for #HPS ers: I learned some new stuff from Caroline Winterer's fantastic book, "How the New World Became Old." Anyone who likes to geek out on 19th century geology will love this & It's got beautiful images and plates.

press.princeton.edu/books/hardco...
How the New World Became Old
How the idea of deep time transformed how Americans see their country and themselves
press.princeton.edu

Book Recommendation: Lulu Miller's "Why Fish Don't Exist." It's got interesting history of science, some philosophy of biology, some memoir, and some murder mystery, all woven together. HPS folks might enjoy it!

www.simonandschuster.com/books/Why-Fi...
Why Fish Don't Exist
A Best Book of 2020: The Washington Post * NPR * Chicago Tribune * Smithsonian A “remarkable” (Los Angeles Times), “seductive” (The Wall Street Jou...
www.simonandschuster.com

Reposted by Derek Turner

In case you missed it: here is Kelle Dhein's wonderful discussion of George Gaylord Simpson's posthumously published sci-fi/time travel/dinosaur novella, The Dechronization of Sam Magruder. Or: the umwelt of a paleontologist...
www.extinctblog.org/extinct/2024...
From the Archive: Rugged Individualism in the Cretaceous — Extinct
Once more to the archive: in which Kelle Dhein analyzes George Simpson’s sci-fi novella, The Dechronization of Sam Magruder
www.extinctblog.org