Brigitte Nerlich
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bnerlich.bsky.social
Brigitte Nerlich
@bnerlich.bsky.social
2.2K followers 490 following 7.8K posts

Metaphor hunter, linguist, social scientist, blogger

blog: https://makingsciencepublic.com/
also sorted into categories at https://wakelet.com/@bnerlich
ORCID: 0000-0001-6617-7827

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Psychology 23%
Communication & Media Studies 23%
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bnerlich.bsky.social
Brigitte Nerlich @bnerlich.bsky.social · Nov 17
So, I have created a starter pack for people interested in #metaphor. I bet I left a lot of people out. Please let me know if you want to be added. go.bsky.app/DvxejFX

Reposted by Brigitte Nerlich, Peter Thorne, Andrew Scott , and 4 more

bestforbritain.org
Best for Britain @bestforbritain.org · 10h
SUPERB and angrily unvarnished response, by former BBC chairman, Lord Patten.

"I don't think that we should allow ourselves to be bullied into thinking that the BBC is only any good, if it reflects the prejudice of the last person who shouted at it." ~AA

bnerlich.bsky.social
Brigitte Nerlich @bnerlich.bsky.social · 11h
The gods are on you side ;)

bnerlich.bsky.social
Brigitte Nerlich @bnerlich.bsky.social · 11h
Reminds me a bit nostalgically of a little toy paper we once wrote in 1991 on word-waves using some rather more primitive computational modelling psycnet.apa.org/record/1992-...
APA PsycNet
psycnet.apa.org

bnerlich.bsky.social
Brigitte Nerlich @bnerlich.bsky.social · 12h
same in UK

Reposted by Brigitte Nerlich

kenanmalik.bsky.social
Kenan Malik @kenanmalik.bsky.social · 13h
“Immigration status becomes significant when you’re a monster but not when you’re a hero.” My ‪@theobserveruk.bsky.social column: observer.co.uk/news/columni...
Violent crime is at a low, yet people’s experiences tell a different story | The Observer
observer.co.uk

Reposted by Brigitte Nerlich

originstorypodcast.bsky.social
Origin Story @originstorypodcast.bsky.social · 14h
Take a listen back to @iandunt.bsky.social and @dorianlynskey.bsky.social's epic story of the British Broadcasting Corporation — the BBC - play.megaphone.fm/s74mbfkfsnep...
#TheBBC #BBCNews #BritishBroadcastingCorporation #originstory
The BBC – Part one – Inform, educate, entertain
So far this season we’ve had to deal with Russell Brand and Benjamin Netanyahu, and we’ve got the Daily Mail coming up, so we all deserve a more uplifting tale. This week we commence the epic story…
play.megaphone.fm

Reposted by Martin McKee, Dorothy Bishop, Stephan Lewandowsky , and 9 more

jessicaelgot.bsky.social
Jessica Elgot @jessicaelgot.bsky.social · 17h
Maybe Keir should demand the heads of major US news networks any time they imply Britain is on the brink of civil war or that we live under sharia law. Or does it not work both ways?

Reposted by Brigitte Nerlich

dietram.bsky.social
Dietram A. Scheufele @dietram.bsky.social · 2d
Our 2017 @nationalacademies.org report on “Human Genome Editing: Science, Ethics, and Governance" (www.nationalacademies.org/our-work/hum...) was designed to prevent exactly this kind of rogue science. One of the many reasons why we need industry-independent regulatory frameworks for emerging tech …
Genetically Engineered Babies Are Banned. Tech Titans Are Trying to Make One Anyway.
Silicon Valley startups are pushing the boundaries of reproductive genetics, hoping to prevent diseases as well as improve chances for a high IQ and other traits.
www.wsj.com

bnerlich.bsky.social
Brigitte Nerlich @bnerlich.bsky.social · 2d
Snap
Blue-brown leaf with rain drops on green lawn with a little rust-coloured fir twig beside it

Reposted by Brigitte Nerlich

dreadships.bsky.social
Dreadnought Holiday @dreadships.bsky.social · 2d
Right, enough of James Watson - who's a senior academic you've met who's been an utter delight?

I'll go first: Jocelyn Bell Burnell

bnerlich.bsky.social
Brigitte Nerlich @bnerlich.bsky.social · 2d
Really nice article!

bnerlich.bsky.social
Brigitte Nerlich @bnerlich.bsky.social · 2d
For weekend readers, my reflections of the ending of the BBC World Service programme 'Science in action' and the impact this has on #scicomm makingsciencepublic.com/2025/11/07/s...
‘Science in Action’ is ending. Here is why that matters
The year is coming to an end and with it a radio programme that was a staple of science communication around the world: the BBC World Service’s ‘Science in Action’. This is rather symbolic, as scie…
makingsciencepublic.com

Reposted by Brigitte Nerlich

carlzimmer.com
Carl Zimmer @carlzimmer.com · 3d
On the event of James Watson's death, I highly recommend this 2023 commentary from @matthewcobb.bsky.social and Nathaniel Comfort with crucial new insights into the discovery of the double helix. (And also check out Cobb's brand new biography of Francis Crick) www.nature.com/articles/d41...
What Rosalind Franklin truly contributed to the discovery of DNA’s structure
Franklin was no victim in how the DNA double helix was solved. An overlooked letter and an unpublished news article, both written in 1953, reveal that she was an equal player.
www.nature.com

bnerlich.bsky.social
Brigitte Nerlich @bnerlich.bsky.social · 3d
Done. But please add Bluesky as a sharing option, not X

Reposted by Brigitte Nerlich

vir-innominatum.bsky.social
the nigh omniscient padishah innominate one @vir-innominatum.bsky.social · 3d
James Watson has died.

James Watson, who helped unravel genetic blueprint for life, dies at 97

www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2...

Reposted by Brigitte Nerlich

matthewcobb.bsky.social
Matthew Cobb @matthewcobb.bsky.social · 3d
Very sad to hear about Jim Watson’s death. If you think he was always a racist you are wrong. He refused to support genes/IQ research in the 70s. He boycotted Greece because of the military coup in 1967 and he called for a boycott of meetings in Chicago after the police riot of 1968. 1/2

Reposted by Rebecca Williams

bnerlich.bsky.social
Brigitte Nerlich @bnerlich.bsky.social · 3d
Here is my obituary, so to speak makingsciencepublic.com/2025/11/07/s...
‘Science in Action’ is ending. Here is why that matters
The year is coming to an end and with it a radio programme that was a staple of science communication around the world: the BBC World Service’s ‘Science in Action’. This is rather symbolic, as scie…
makingsciencepublic.com

Reposted by Brigitte Nerlich

peteraldhous.com
Peter Aldhous @peteraldhous.com · 3d
Utterly grim
www.cbsnews.com/news/dolphin...
Hundreds of dolphins found dead in Amazon lake were in water hotter than a jacuzzi, study finds
"You couldn't put your finger in the water," said the lead author of the study, which spotlights the impacts of planetary warming on aquatic ecosystems.
www.cbsnews.com

bnerlich.bsky.social
Brigitte Nerlich @bnerlich.bsky.social · 3d
Visited Port Sunlight yesterday - the original source of much of my academic funding from @leverhulme.ac.uk It was so impressive to see the workers' houses, hear about all the good stuff the Levers did and to visit the Lady Lever Art Gallery - on the day that Musk got $1 trillion....
Sign in Lady Lever Art Gallery saying: Art has always been to me a stimulating influence; it has always taught me without upbraiding me; elevated me without humbling me; and appealed to me because of the fact that only the best and truest in art survives... Art can be to everyone an inspiration. It is within the reach of all of us...' Lever at the opening of the Lady Lever Art Gallery 16 December 1922

bnerlich.bsky.social
Brigitte Nerlich @bnerlich.bsky.social · 3d
This weeks post is a sort of obituary for the BBC World Service Programme 'Science in Action' (@peaseroland.bsky.social) #scicomm makingsciencepublic.com/2025/11/07/s...
‘Science in Action’ is ending. Here is why that matters
The year is coming to an end and with it a radio programme that was a staple of science communication around the world: the BBC World Service’s ‘Science in Action’. This is rather symbolic, as scie…
makingsciencepublic.com

Reposted by Stephan Lewandowsky, Brigitte Nerlich, Alison Phipps , and 2 more

georgemonbiot.bsky.social
George Monbiot @georgemonbiot.bsky.social · 3d
1. This is a thread on freedom, and how easy it is to lose.

Over the past 2,000 years in Europe, there have been few periods and places of freedom. For much of the time we lived under highly oppressive tyrannies of various kinds, whether small or grand, local or imperial, secular or religious.🧵

Reposted by Brigitte Nerlich, Paul Nightingale

chrishavergal.bsky.social
Chris Havergal @chrishavergal.bsky.social · 4d
Nottingham to suspend music and modern foreign language degrees, warning international fee levy will wipe out income from domestic fee rise. Some nursing, theology, education, microbiology and agriculture degrees hit too www.timeshighereducation.com/news/notting... via @julietterowsell.bsky.social
Nottingham suspends music, language and nursing courses
University says financial uncertainties continue as government’s proposed student levy will ‘wipe out any benefits’ from rising tuition fees
www.timeshighereducation.com

Reposted by Brigitte Nerlich, Martin Paul Eve, Charlotte Taylor , and 4 more

jrkasstan.bsky.social
Jonathan Kasstan @jrkasstan.bsky.social · 4d
I am hearing that @uniofnottingham.bsky.social is suspending (i.e shutting down) *all modern language courses* in 2026-27. One of the largest departments in the UK. A shocking short sighted move that damages regional and national prospects @britishacademy.bsky.social @hetanshah.bsky.social

Reposted by Marc Lynch, Jan W. Mueller, Dorothy Bishop , and 27 more

iandunt.bsky.social
Ian Dunt @iandunt.bsky.social · 4d
Vital piece of investigative reporting from Sky. They've uncovered the X algorithm which feeds users extremist right wing material from the moment they join the site. It is a far-right radicalisation engine, by design.

news.sky.com/story/the-x-...
Elon Musk is boosting the British right - and this shows how
Elon Musk is boosting the British right - and this shows how
news.sky.com

bnerlich.bsky.social
Brigitte Nerlich @bnerlich.bsky.social · 4d
A good neighbourhood! (I think I was there once when I was young in the 80s and still researching history of linguistics at the Bibliothèque Nationale, before my metaphor days)

bnerlich.bsky.social
Brigitte Nerlich @bnerlich.bsky.social · 5d
This is a BIG topic. Some metaphors are so fundamental to biology that you might not see them, such as 'cell', 'encoding' or 'programme'. Some are more in your face like 'book or blueprint of life' ... all are important to some extent. This book might be of interest www.bsls.ac.uk/2024/05/andr...
Reynolds, Andrew S., Understanding Metaphors in the Life Sciences – The British Society for Literature and Science
www.bsls.ac.uk

bnerlich.bsky.social
Brigitte Nerlich @bnerlich.bsky.social · 5d
Thank you so much! And I love that photo of 'Métaphores'!

bnerlich.bsky.social
Brigitte Nerlich @bnerlich.bsky.social · 5d
As the Royal Society has published a new report (royalsociety.org/news/2025/11...) on geoengineering, I repost this post on #geoengineering #metaphors between the first report and now - I haven't looked at the metaphors used in the new report!
makingsciencepublic.com/2025/05/30/g...
Geoengineering and metaphors, 2009 to 2025: Continuity and change
Since around 2006, I have been interested in speculations about geoengineering, that is, attempts to deal with climate change by directly intervening in the planet’s atmosphere, oceans, or la…
makingsciencepublic.com

bnerlich.bsky.social
Brigitte Nerlich @bnerlich.bsky.social · 5d
Brave!

Reposted by Beatriz Gallardo Paúls

bnerlich.bsky.social
Brigitte Nerlich @bnerlich.bsky.social · 5d
This should interest people in #linguistics
quantamagazine.bsky.social Quanta Magazine @quantamagazine.bsky.social · 5d
Recently, Gašper Beguš and his team put several large language models through a litany of tests — including having them generalize the rules of a made-up language. Most failed to match human linguistic ability. But one LLM greatly exceeded expectations. www.quantamagazine.org/in-a-first-a...