Jackie Caplan-Auerbach
@geophysichick.bsky.social
Seismologist, volcanologist, professor, and hazards junkie. Soapbox stander. Opinions are my own but I'm happy to share. She/her.
Reposted by Jackie Caplan-Auerbach
Please find below a Physics teaching resource on misconceptions, by topic. It also includes diagnostic quizzes
#iTeachPhysics
#Science 🧪
docs.google.com/document/d/1...
#iTeachPhysics
#Science 🧪
docs.google.com/document/d/1...
December 29, 2025 at 9:35 PM
Please find below a Physics teaching resource on misconceptions, by topic. It also includes diagnostic quizzes
#iTeachPhysics
#Science 🧪
docs.google.com/document/d/1...
#iTeachPhysics
#Science 🧪
docs.google.com/document/d/1...
Reposted by Jackie Caplan-Auerbach
I can't believe those athletes wasted all that time lifting weights. There isn't a single barbell on the field during a game!
December 21, 2025 at 6:36 PM
I can't believe those athletes wasted all that time lifting weights. There isn't a single barbell on the field during a game!
Reposted by Jackie Caplan-Auerbach
Almost a year into this presidency, Trump voters have gotten nothing except the Big Beautiful Bill, which was usual Republican politics of giving tax cuts to the rich and slashing social spending for the poor. Housing remains unaffordable, cost of living is rising, and manufacturing jobs fell.
December 19, 2025 at 9:46 PM
Almost a year into this presidency, Trump voters have gotten nothing except the Big Beautiful Bill, which was usual Republican politics of giving tax cuts to the rich and slashing social spending for the poor. Housing remains unaffordable, cost of living is rising, and manufacturing jobs fell.
Not my discipline, but my university! And if you come here you get to work with the incomparable @irahyman.bsky.social , so get your applications ready!
📣
Faculty line in cognitive psychology in my department at Western Washington University.
We just, finally, received permission to search. Details will be posted in early January.
But hey, I just want to get this out so people will be watching.
Nice place and university. I’ve liked it.
Faculty line in cognitive psychology in my department at Western Washington University.
We just, finally, received permission to search. Details will be posted in early January.
But hey, I just want to get this out so people will be watching.
Nice place and university. I’ve liked it.
December 19, 2025 at 4:36 AM
Not my discipline, but my university! And if you come here you get to work with the incomparable @irahyman.bsky.social , so get your applications ready!
Reposted by Jackie Caplan-Auerbach
The name "Popular Science" doesn't mean we shift our coverage depending on public opinion. It means we cover relevant subjects that are rigorously researched, reliable, and grounded in reality.
And trans lives are grounded in reality.
We see y'all. No matter what.
www.popsci.com/science/tran...
And trans lives are grounded in reality.
We see y'all. No matter what.
www.popsci.com/science/tran...
First-of-a-kind study shows encouraging data for trans kids who socially transition
Ninety-four percent of participants in a new study stood firm in their trans identity after five years, and "detransitioning" is rare.
www.popsci.com
December 18, 2025 at 5:16 PM
The name "Popular Science" doesn't mean we shift our coverage depending on public opinion. It means we cover relevant subjects that are rigorously researched, reliable, and grounded in reality.
And trans lives are grounded in reality.
We see y'all. No matter what.
www.popsci.com/science/tran...
And trans lives are grounded in reality.
We see y'all. No matter what.
www.popsci.com/science/tran...
Reposted by Jackie Caplan-Auerbach
Rob Reiner either made your favorite movie, or made somebody you know’s favorite movie. If you’re a Californian, he’s also part of the reason you or your friends can get married. He has changed more lives for the better than this asshole commenting on him ever did.
December 15, 2025 at 7:36 PM
Rob Reiner either made your favorite movie, or made somebody you know’s favorite movie. If you’re a Californian, he’s also part of the reason you or your friends can get married. He has changed more lives for the better than this asshole commenting on him ever did.
Reposted by Jackie Caplan-Auerbach
Just want to share with my American friends how the Australians respond to a shooting tragedy. Action, rather than thoughts and prayers.
December 15, 2025 at 4:09 AM
Just want to share with my American friends how the Australians respond to a shooting tragedy. Action, rather than thoughts and prayers.
Students, don't do this.
A rant on letters of reference.
A rant on letters of reference.
December 13, 2025 at 3:47 AM
Students, don't do this.
A rant on letters of reference.
A rant on letters of reference.
Bennie Thompson is a national treasure.
GLASHEEN: Antifa is our primary concern right now. That's the most immediate violent threat we're facing
BENNIE THOMPSON: Where is antifa headquartered?
GLASHEEN: ... ... ... we are building out the infrastructure right now
THOMPSON: What does that mean?
BENNIE THOMPSON: Where is antifa headquartered?
GLASHEEN: ... ... ... we are building out the infrastructure right now
THOMPSON: What does that mean?
December 11, 2025 at 8:49 PM
Bennie Thompson is a national treasure.
It's 5 minutes before the final exam, and in a completely unexpected twist, the student who has missed 80% of classes and who had to take the midterm three days late because of illness has just emailed me to declare that she is sick again and cannot take the final.
Oy.
Oy.
December 8, 2025 at 11:39 PM
It's 5 minutes before the final exam, and in a completely unexpected twist, the student who has missed 80% of classes and who had to take the midterm three days late because of illness has just emailed me to declare that she is sick again and cannot take the final.
Oy.
Oy.
Just saw this video about my department and our awesome field camp. It tells a great story about our capstone experience!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Y_S...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Y_S...
"I'M HYPED!" Field Camp Sets WWU Geology Students Apart
YouTube video by Western Washington University
www.youtube.com
December 8, 2025 at 9:40 PM
Just saw this video about my department and our awesome field camp. It tells a great story about our capstone experience!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Y_S...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Y_S...
Reposted by Jackie Caplan-Auerbach
Big week for webcams getting wiped out by volcanoes.
*This* is what the people of Pompeii, and Herculaneum, and many other hapless souls saw—this is what a pyroclastic density current looks coming RIGHT at you.
Filmed from a CCTV camera during the Mount Semeru eruption on Java, Indonesia on 4 December 2022.
Video credit: PT United Tractors Tbk
Filmed from a CCTV camera during the Mount Semeru eruption on Java, Indonesia on 4 December 2022.
Video credit: PT United Tractors Tbk
December 7, 2025 at 8:48 PM
Big week for webcams getting wiped out by volcanoes.
Super cool--the role of (even very small) earthquakes in subsurface microbiology!
Up to 30% of life, by weight, is underground. Seismic activity may renew the energy supply for subterranean ecosystems by exposing new rock and changing flow paths of water, expanding options for chemolithotrophic bacteria. In PNAS Nexus: https://ow.ly/tp4i50XzuoQ
November 29, 2025 at 8:32 PM
Super cool--the role of (even very small) earthquakes in subsurface microbiology!
Brave act #3: grabbing a shark
Brave act #2: holding it while removing the hook
Brave act #1: willingly standing in the waters of the Ala Wai Canal
Brave act #2: holding it while removing the hook
Brave act #1: willingly standing in the waters of the Ala Wai Canal
A French postdoc at University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, Lauric Reynes, who works on kelp and seaweeds evolution, saved a baby hammerhead shark in the Ala Wai Canal in Honolulu by removing a hook from near its eyes. Foreigners make America great.
www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2025/11/29/b...
www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2025/11/29/b...
November 29, 2025 at 5:16 PM
Brave act #3: grabbing a shark
Brave act #2: holding it while removing the hook
Brave act #1: willingly standing in the waters of the Ala Wai Canal
Brave act #2: holding it while removing the hook
Brave act #1: willingly standing in the waters of the Ala Wai Canal
Introduce yourself with 5 animals you've seen in the wild:
Cuttlefish
Emperor penguin
Moose
Orca
Cirroteuthis
Cuttlefish
Emperor penguin
Moose
Orca
Cirroteuthis
Introduce yourself with 5 animals you've seen in the wild:
Caribou
Ravens
Seals
Kea
Turkeys
Caribou
Ravens
Seals
Kea
Turkeys
Introduce yourself with 5 animals you've seen in the wild:
Moose
Humpback whales
Giraffes
African Elephants
West African or Nile monitor lizard
Moose
Humpback whales
Giraffes
African Elephants
West African or Nile monitor lizard
November 28, 2025 at 4:44 PM
Introduce yourself with 5 animals you've seen in the wild:
Cuttlefish
Emperor penguin
Moose
Orca
Cirroteuthis
Cuttlefish
Emperor penguin
Moose
Orca
Cirroteuthis
Reposted by Jackie Caplan-Auerbach
No federal badge authorizes the unlawful arrest of or use of excessive force on American citizens.
When ICE crosses that line, they’re committing crimes under state law. Local law enforcement has a duty to intervene and protect the public, not rogue agents.
When ICE crosses that line, they’re committing crimes under state law. Local law enforcement has a duty to intervene and protect the public, not rogue agents.
November 23, 2025 at 4:14 PM
No federal badge authorizes the unlawful arrest of or use of excessive force on American citizens.
When ICE crosses that line, they’re committing crimes under state law. Local law enforcement has a duty to intervene and protect the public, not rogue agents.
When ICE crosses that line, they’re committing crimes under state law. Local law enforcement has a duty to intervene and protect the public, not rogue agents.
Join me and my wonderful colleagues at WWU!
📣 WWU Geology is searching for an Assistant Prof in *Hydrogeology*! Application deadline Dec 15.
Please help us spread the word! It's a lovely nook of the world to call home, and a genuinely great department community.
App @ hr.wwu.edu/careers-facu...
Pic from my local field trip last week.
Please help us spread the word! It's a lovely nook of the world to call home, and a genuinely great department community.
App @ hr.wwu.edu/careers-facu...
Pic from my local field trip last week.
November 22, 2025 at 5:39 AM
Join me and my wonderful colleagues at WWU!
Reposted by Jackie Caplan-Auerbach
Trans Day of Remembrance. Pour one out for our trans siblings lost and keep *living* in their honor.
November 20, 2025 at 11:20 AM
Trans Day of Remembrance. Pour one out for our trans siblings lost and keep *living* in their honor.
Simple but excellent thread on why the CDC's new phrasing around vaccines and autism is just bad science.
The CDC website under RFK Jr. now argues that we “can’t say vaccines don’t cause autism” because studies haven’t ruled out every possible scenario.
It’s wild to see this misunderstanding of science on a federal health website, but it’s also an opportunity to explain how the scientific process works
It’s wild to see this misunderstanding of science on a federal health website, but it’s also an opportunity to explain how the scientific process works
November 20, 2025 at 3:43 PM
Simple but excellent thread on why the CDC's new phrasing around vaccines and autism is just bad science.
The USGS has a new post explaining that the electrical problem that caused this gross misinterpretation was icing over of an antenna.
www.facebook.com/share/p/1Lbe...
www.facebook.com/share/p/1Lbe...
November 19, 2025 at 10:03 PM
The USGS has a new post explaining that the electrical problem that caused this gross misinterpretation was icing over of an antenna.
www.facebook.com/share/p/1Lbe...
www.facebook.com/share/p/1Lbe...
Speaking of bad science in media (and I am using the term "media" pretty loosely here), allow me to use The Daily Mail as evidence of why you should get your science information from reputable agencies rather than crap websites. I'm not going to link the article, but it looks like this:
1/n
1/n
November 19, 2025 at 9:49 PM
Speaking of bad science in media (and I am using the term "media" pretty loosely here), allow me to use The Daily Mail as evidence of why you should get your science information from reputable agencies rather than crap websites. I'm not going to link the article, but it looks like this:
1/n
1/n
Fox News has interpreted Amelia Earhart's final transmission as her being "near 157 degrees east longitude and 337 degrees south latitude."
Join me, friends, at 337 degrees south where we will party with the Loch Ness monster, Sasquatch, and a variety of other things that do not exist.
Join me, friends, at 337 degrees south where we will party with the Loch Ness monster, Sasquatch, and a variety of other things that do not exist.
November 19, 2025 at 5:51 PM
Fox News has interpreted Amelia Earhart's final transmission as her being "near 157 degrees east longitude and 337 degrees south latitude."
Join me, friends, at 337 degrees south where we will party with the Loch Ness monster, Sasquatch, and a variety of other things that do not exist.
Join me, friends, at 337 degrees south where we will party with the Loch Ness monster, Sasquatch, and a variety of other things that do not exist.
Job opportunity! Please share!
Job alert!!! My department (Geology at @wwu.edu ) is searching for a hydrogeologist at the assistant professor level (tenure track). Fabulous colleagues and students (undergrad and master's level), spectacular setting. Ping me with questions.
hr.wwu.edu/careers-facu...
hr.wwu.edu/careers-facu...
November 13, 2025 at 9:01 PM
Job opportunity! Please share!
Job alert!!! My department (Geology at @wwu.edu ) is searching for a hydrogeologist at the assistant professor level (tenure track). Fabulous colleagues and students (undergrad and master's level), spectacular setting. Ping me with questions.
hr.wwu.edu/careers-facu...
hr.wwu.edu/careers-facu...
November 13, 2025 at 8:25 PM
Job alert!!! My department (Geology at @wwu.edu ) is searching for a hydrogeologist at the assistant professor level (tenure track). Fabulous colleagues and students (undergrad and master's level), spectacular setting. Ping me with questions.
hr.wwu.edu/careers-facu...
hr.wwu.edu/careers-facu...