Ben Miller
@extinctmonsters.bsky.social
Mostly posts about the art history of paleontology in museums. Exhibit developer at the Field Museum, opinions my own. he/him
Website: extinctmonsters.net
Website: extinctmonsters.net
Pinned
Ben Miller
@extinctmonsters.bsky.social
· Nov 19
I’m closing in on 2k followers (thanks!) so I think I should clarify what I mean in my profile when I say the fun dinosaur pictures I post are a form of art history (besides wanting to sound elitist or something). 🧵
So here’s a panda climbing a tree. He went up and down a few times.
February 14, 2026 at 10:34 PM
So here’s a panda climbing a tree. He went up and down a few times.
Reposted by Ben Miller
Top 3 animals that have ever existed
Due to foreshortening on pics of its skeleton in lateral view, the long and buff arms of simosuchus are almost never represented, even in depictions like those of Prehistoric Planet or Prehistoric Kingdom
Due to foreshortening on pics of its skeleton in lateral view, the long and buff arms of simosuchus are almost never represented, even in depictions like those of Prehistoric Planet or Prehistoric Kingdom
February 14, 2026 at 5:40 PM
Top 3 animals that have ever existed
Due to foreshortening on pics of its skeleton in lateral view, the long and buff arms of simosuchus are almost never represented, even in depictions like those of Prehistoric Planet or Prehistoric Kingdom
Due to foreshortening on pics of its skeleton in lateral view, the long and buff arms of simosuchus are almost never represented, even in depictions like those of Prehistoric Planet or Prehistoric Kingdom
Taking my nephew to see his first arapaima
February 14, 2026 at 5:37 PM
Taking my nephew to see his first arapaima
Reposted by Ben Miller
UCLA said no to Trump's abusive demands, went to court, and the govt is backing off.
Harvard said no to Trump's abusive demands, went to court, and the govt is left sputtering.
Columbia, Cornell, and Northwestern giving in was a big mistake. If only there were lessons against appeasing fascists.
Harvard said no to Trump's abusive demands, went to court, and the govt is left sputtering.
Columbia, Cornell, and Northwestern giving in was a big mistake. If only there were lessons against appeasing fascists.
This is a genuinely huge, sweeping victory today for the University of California—or rather, for us, its faculty, acting through our faculty associations, while the UC itself maintained a strict policy of deer-in-headlights silence.
The Trump admin has given up its appeal of a powerful injunction:
The Trump admin has given up its appeal of a powerful injunction:
Trump administration drops appeal of court order blocking $1.2-billion UCLA settlement
The Trump administration dropped its appeal of a major higher education case in which a federal judge blocked its $1.2-billion settlement proposal to UCLA over alleged civil rights violations. It will...
www.latimes.com
February 14, 2026 at 4:30 PM
UCLA said no to Trump's abusive demands, went to court, and the govt is backing off.
Harvard said no to Trump's abusive demands, went to court, and the govt is left sputtering.
Columbia, Cornell, and Northwestern giving in was a big mistake. If only there were lessons against appeasing fascists.
Harvard said no to Trump's abusive demands, went to court, and the govt is left sputtering.
Columbia, Cornell, and Northwestern giving in was a big mistake. If only there were lessons against appeasing fascists.
My dad has gotten back into stamp collecting and gave me some cool vintage dinosaurs. These were issued by Fujairah (part of UAE) in the 60s and Somalia in 1999.
February 14, 2026 at 2:54 PM
My dad has gotten back into stamp collecting and gave me some cool vintage dinosaurs. These were issued by Fujairah (part of UAE) in the 60s and Somalia in 1999.
Reposted by Ben Miller
🧪🏺 Authors assert:
"archaeologists must evaluate these implications to proactively shape the foundations of our engagement with [gen- #AI]"
My take?
We should we should boycott & call out its use in #scicomm as something which *by its nature* diminishes accuracy, nuance & educational benefit.
"archaeologists must evaluate these implications to proactively shape the foundations of our engagement with [gen- #AI]"
My take?
We should we should boycott & call out its use in #scicomm as something which *by its nature* diminishes accuracy, nuance & educational benefit.
🧪🏺 Update - authors have new paper showing how useless gen- #AI is for archaeological illustration.
All 400 images were multiply inaccurate (physically, socially, technologically, environmentally), even with improved prompts.
JUST USE HUMAN EXPERTS & ARTISTS
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
All 400 images were multiply inaccurate (physically, socially, technologically, environmentally), even with improved prompts.
JUST USE HUMAN EXPERTS & ARTISTS
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
February 14, 2026 at 10:29 AM
My random hill to die on is that if you're talking about Darwin on the Beagle or Darwin writing Origin of Species, you need to use an age-appropriate picture. Both of those things happened long before he was an old guy with a huge beard.
February 12, 2026 at 5:24 PM
My random hill to die on is that if you're talking about Darwin on the Beagle or Darwin writing Origin of Species, you need to use an age-appropriate picture. Both of those things happened long before he was an old guy with a huge beard.
Reposted by Ben Miller
Reposted by Ben Miller
Finally got it hung up, looks great of over the stairwell.
February 12, 2026 at 1:20 AM
Finally got it hung up, looks great of over the stairwell.
Iris the alligator snapper says 😛
February 11, 2026 at 8:08 PM
Iris the alligator snapper says 😛
Orlando theme parks are definitely a subject where people on the internet with no actual information like to shout things authoritatively. But allegedly, the cast of Sue at Disney World is getting trashed, rather than sold or repurposed? blogmickey.com/2026/02/dino...
"Dino-Sue" Marked for Demolition as DAK DinoLand Demo Kicks Into High Gear
Walt Disney World appears to have marked Dino-Sue for demolition as DinoLand USA is transformed into a Tropical Americas land
blogmickey.com
February 11, 2026 at 12:04 AM
Orlando theme parks are definitely a subject where people on the internet with no actual information like to shout things authoritatively. But allegedly, the cast of Sue at Disney World is getting trashed, rather than sold or repurposed? blogmickey.com/2026/02/dino...
Boosting this write-up by co-curators Craig Howe and Lukas Rieppel of their upcoming exhibit, In and Out of Place. www.nativecairns.org/projects/lea...
In and Out of Place will be an educational art exhibit that focuses on Lakotan treaty lands and fossils in those lands. Artworks, songs and poems by contemporary Lakotan creatives will illustrate the four sections of the exhibit.
www.nativecairns.org
February 10, 2026 at 6:29 PM
Boosting this write-up by co-curators Craig Howe and Lukas Rieppel of their upcoming exhibit, In and Out of Place. www.nativecairns.org/projects/lea...
Rare example of a perfect ad placement 😂
February 10, 2026 at 1:47 PM
Rare example of a perfect ad placement 😂
I cannot abide this wanton cruelty to ceratopsians
February 10, 2026 at 4:30 AM
I cannot abide this wanton cruelty to ceratopsians
Reposted by Ben Miller
One of the most miserable things about living in this era is having to watch the stupidest & most arrogant people in the world have to relearn The Why of literally everything good that we collectively do the hard way.
The answer is always ‘Because a bunch of people died, fuckwit.’
The answer is always ‘Because a bunch of people died, fuckwit.’
Dr. Mehmet Oz is calling on Americans to get the measles vaccine as cases spread across the U.S.
Dr. Oz urges 'take the vaccine, please' amid measles outbreaks
Dr. Mehmet Oz is calling on Americans to get the measles vaccine as cases spread across the U.S.
bit.ly
February 10, 2026 at 1:30 AM
One of the most miserable things about living in this era is having to watch the stupidest & most arrogant people in the world have to relearn The Why of literally everything good that we collectively do the hard way.
The answer is always ‘Because a bunch of people died, fuckwit.’
The answer is always ‘Because a bunch of people died, fuckwit.’
Reposted by Ben Miller
Reposted by Ben Miller
I'm hearing PRI Museum of the Earth currently has an exhibit with LIVE Chittenango ovate amber snails, which are known only from the spray zone on the left side of a singular waterfall in New York State. I would go and visit if I was closer, but I figure some other people would be interested in this
February 8, 2026 at 7:59 PM
I'm hearing PRI Museum of the Earth currently has an exhibit with LIVE Chittenango ovate amber snails, which are known only from the spray zone on the left side of a singular waterfall in New York State. I would go and visit if I was closer, but I figure some other people would be interested in this
So it turns out this dude at NHM is *not* a Sternberg specimen, as I had assumed. The skull was collected by Gus Lindblad in '55 and the body by Wann Langston, Jr. in '58. Meaning the head and postcrania are not the same individual, as they have sometimes been listed.
February 8, 2026 at 4:07 PM
So it turns out this dude at NHM is *not* a Sternberg specimen, as I had assumed. The skull was collected by Gus Lindblad in '55 and the body by Wann Langston, Jr. in '58. Meaning the head and postcrania are not the same individual, as they have sometimes been listed.
Last night I was challenged to name as many dinosaurs as I could in 10 minutes. I rested my case at 200 but I'm sure lots of you could do better. Rules:
- Mesozoic only
- Must be considered valid by somebody alive (no Thespesius, Antrodemus, or Scrotum)
- Mesozoic only
- Must be considered valid by somebody alive (no Thespesius, Antrodemus, or Scrotum)
February 8, 2026 at 3:06 PM
Last night I was challenged to name as many dinosaurs as I could in 10 minutes. I rested my case at 200 but I'm sure lots of you could do better. Rules:
- Mesozoic only
- Must be considered valid by somebody alive (no Thespesius, Antrodemus, or Scrotum)
- Mesozoic only
- Must be considered valid by somebody alive (no Thespesius, Antrodemus, or Scrotum)
Reposted by Ben Miller
Neat demonstration of how artificial so-called intelligence is taking us backwards.
"ChatGPT produced content most consistent with the 1960s and DALL-E 3 in the late 1980s and early '90s."
#AI - see @shannonvallor.bsky.social's work for important thinking on this
phys.org/news/2026-02...
"ChatGPT produced content most consistent with the 1960s and DALL-E 3 in the late 1980s and early '90s."
#AI - see @shannonvallor.bsky.social's work for important thinking on this
phys.org/news/2026-02...
New study uses Neanderthals to demonstrate gap between generative AI and scholarly knowledge
Technological advances over the past four decades have turned mobile devices and computers into the world's largest library, where information is just a tap away. Phones, laptops, tablets, smartwatche...
phys.org
February 7, 2026 at 8:59 AM
Neat demonstration of how artificial so-called intelligence is taking us backwards.
"ChatGPT produced content most consistent with the 1960s and DALL-E 3 in the late 1980s and early '90s."
#AI - see @shannonvallor.bsky.social's work for important thinking on this
phys.org/news/2026-02...
"ChatGPT produced content most consistent with the 1960s and DALL-E 3 in the late 1980s and early '90s."
#AI - see @shannonvallor.bsky.social's work for important thinking on this
phys.org/news/2026-02...
What would you say is the Cape buffalo of the Morrison?
February 7, 2026 at 7:18 PM
What would you say is the Cape buffalo of the Morrison?
Reposted by Ben Miller
I'm sorry the guy changing the rules on the fly is named what
I stand with County Executive Calvin Ball as he signs emergency legislation today prohibiting privately owned buildings from being used as ICE detention centers.
Howard County chose dignity, accountability, and its people. Tune into our event now:
bit.ly/4a2VtHw
Howard County chose dignity, accountability, and its people. Tune into our event now:
bit.ly/4a2VtHw
Redirecting...
bit.ly
February 7, 2026 at 2:34 PM
I'm sorry the guy changing the rules on the fly is named what
Gary Staab is making an alarmingly large bison family that will travel among a number of museums this March. Some stops are only 1 day, so mark your calendars. www.si.edu/newsdesk/rel...
February 7, 2026 at 3:08 PM
Gary Staab is making an alarmingly large bison family that will travel among a number of museums this March. Some stops are only 1 day, so mark your calendars. www.si.edu/newsdesk/rel...
You know how reptiles pair their legs like this when they walk but mammals pair their legs like this? What is that called? I remember there are two p-words for it…
February 6, 2026 at 5:20 PM
You know how reptiles pair their legs like this when they walk but mammals pair their legs like this? What is that called? I remember there are two p-words for it…
I’m antsy for the end of winter, so here’s a couple of Miocene frogs for #FossilFriday
Miopelodytes from Nevada and Pelophylax from Spain.
Miopelodytes from Nevada and Pelophylax from Spain.
February 6, 2026 at 3:24 PM
I’m antsy for the end of winter, so here’s a couple of Miocene frogs for #FossilFriday
Miopelodytes from Nevada and Pelophylax from Spain.
Miopelodytes from Nevada and Pelophylax from Spain.