David Bapst
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dwbapst.bsky.social
David Bapst
@dwbapst.bsky.social
2.6K followers 5.8K following 1.3K posts
Paleontologist, Graptolite Geek, R Programmer, creator of paleotree, Tabletop Roleplaying Game Nerd, Catcher of Pokémon, faculty senator. All comments are my trash opinion alone.
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dwbapst.bsky.social
Forget the AI part, but this article seems to think college education is about memorizing information, and needs to ‘pivot’ to independent critical thinking… which is what most educators have been doing all along or moving towards for decades
The lesson for educational leaders is clear: when your core offering becomes free, you don't fight the technology, you find higher ground. In education's case, that higher ground is teaching students not just what to think, but how to think wisely when the stakes are real. The future belongs not to those who can access information, but to those who can act responsibly on it. That's not just an educational imperative, it's a market opportunity worth hundreds of billions for institutions bold enough to seize it.
October 16, 2025 at 12:30 PM
dwbapst.bsky.social
You mean this from Neige et al., 2007, which was specifically on how cladistic work has under-served ammonites?

(I find it interesting that apparently I couldn't remember this image's origin so rather than put it in the file name, I added text to the image...)
Two bar charts from Neige et al., 2007, showing the amount of taxonomic work in the fossil record of a given invertebrate group, and the amount of cladistic/phylogenetic work, with the take-away being that cephalopods are relatively ignored for phylogenetics.
October 2, 2025 at 5:39 PM
dwbapst.bsky.social
I remember that plot line from Kipo
tad mulholland, mutant community of tardigrades, introducing himself to Kipo
September 17, 2025 at 7:57 PM
dwbapst.bsky.social
On Monday, the Faculty Senate at Texas A&M will be no more, and the university will not be better for it. It will mean more headaches and problems for my friends and coworkers. I spent the last three years learning why the Senate was useful, and now it will replaced by a much smaller advisory group.
Me wearing the shirt I got as a faculty senator
August 29, 2025 at 7:21 PM
dwbapst.bsky.social
“Regents also authorized the creation of new faculty senates across the system’s 12 campuses, effective Sept. 1. The law abolishes existing senates by that date. The new faculty advisory groups will be smaller, and university presidents will have greater control over their membership and leadership. For example, the flagship’s faculty senate currently has 122 members, but the law caps the body at 60.”
August 29, 2025 at 12:50 AM
dwbapst.bsky.social
Pff, you should see my unruly back yard. A true jungle mostly seeded by birds, overrun with geckos, anoles and even bigger wolf spiders. I have a four foot tall marsh fleabane!
The native Marsh Fleabane, a sweet smelling plant traditionally used to make a tea for relieving pain. Bizarrely, typical of salt marshes, not backyards, but whatever.
July 7, 2025 at 6:15 PM
dwbapst.bsky.social
Hamilton: (Sputtering.) But— Madison: That's how separation of powers works now. Understandably, after almost 250 years, the legislature is tired of being a coequal branch of government and wants to take a nap. The judiciary will be doing something similar. Hamilton: I hope not. Madison: (Shrugs.) That's just the brilliance of the system we've designed. It will work for hundreds of years, but as soon as people stop wanting it to work, it'll stop. Happy Fourth of July!
July 5, 2025 at 6:30 PM
dwbapst.bsky.social
I’m doomed
The judges and host of the 13th season of the Masked Singer (US)
June 12, 2025 at 5:33 AM
dwbapst.bsky.social
Best Star Trek Crew, Wrong Answers Only.
The crew of Moyna from classic Farscape, more or less (Remember that the Scorpius-Mindchip was technically on the ship for a long time as John’s omnipresent invisible friend)
May 28, 2025 at 5:23 AM
dwbapst.bsky.social
Archaeologists are staring down a future that may offer limited or no federal funding for safeguarding museum holdings. Tribal leaders have expressed unease about the fate of human remains and objects of cultural patrimony stored in government facilities. "These collections are one of our most powerful tools for training young people to be interested in the world around us, and connect our present to the past and the future," Dr. Taylor said. In some national parks, leases on buildings that house archives and collections have already been allowed to lapse. Further disruption looms as the government moves to downsize or eliminate programs focused on D.E.I. Multiyear, leading-edge research projects are in jeopardy because their proposals included a single phrase or word that was anathema to the Trump administration. "Understanding the past, preserving it, sharing it with young people - doing basic research, education and outreach — it's one of the most important missions we have in science," Dr.Taylor said. "It's not woke and it should not be political." One attendee described the revised program guide as a "two-page blood bath of federal disengagement." American archaeologists face a diminished, uncertain future. Over the last few months, government support for archaeological research, preservation and museums has been largely scaled back. Archaeology and cultural heritage staff have been fired, federal agencies engaged in field and collections work have been gutted, and projects have been mothballed or canceled in all three major employment sectors: academic, private and government. Christopher D. Dore, president of the archaeology society, said the financial cost in lost potential and opportunities was incalculable. "It is ironic that on the eve of the 250th anniversary of the United States, we are choosing to sacrifice our history and the nonrenewable archaeological sites that provide that history," he said.
May 27, 2025 at 4:59 PM
dwbapst.bsky.social
If I could sum up most of today, it would be “the beatings will continue until morale improves.”

But let’s take a moment to think about some nice things. I watched a cool PhD defense at lunch time. And Magic the Gathering for Final Fantasy put out a card for my favorite airship, The Lunar Whale
A Magic: The Gathering card honoring the Lunar Whale, an ancient magitech spacefaring airship designed by the powerful sleeping aliens that live in the crystal moon in Final Fantasy 4 (FFIV)
May 23, 2025 at 3:45 AM
dwbapst.bsky.social
Yes
In 2023, the N.S.F. supported over half of all federally funded basic geosciences research in American universities. This year, the agency has fired workers at the Office of Polar Programs, which coordinates research in the Arctic and the Antarctic. The polar office has awarded 88 percent less money in grants this year. But the ocean sciences division has awarded more funding than typical this year, including a $39 million grant to establish an office that will manage a deep-sea drilling program and an $18 million grant to Columbia University to support a research vessel.
May 23, 2025 at 3:20 AM
dwbapst.bsky.social
😭 if only we had the power of Big Fossil to push the graptolite agenda
Pseudostreptograptus from Loydell and Maletz 2009. It has crazy moose antlers on its slit like apertures.
May 2, 2025 at 3:10 AM
dwbapst.bsky.social
Update: On the afternoon of 18 April, the NSF announced it would begin terminating active research grants. These grants contain language related to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) and had been flagged in an initial review ordered by the Trump administration. In an update to agency priorities, NSF Director Sethuraman Panchanathan wrote that efforts to broaden participation in research “should not preference some groups at the expense of others”.
April 18, 2025 at 9:48 PM
dwbapst.bsky.social
A Rhabdopleura normani photographed by Atsuko Sato
April 16, 2025 at 7:53 PM
dwbapst.bsky.social
Good grief
NIGHTMARE ON RESSER STREET-DEALING WITH RESSER'S TRILOBITE TAXONOMY FREDERICK A. SUNDBERG Show Low High School, 500 W. Old Linden Road, Show Low, Arizona, 85901, freds@show-low.k12.az.us ABSTRACT-Charles Elmer Resser (1889-1943) was an influential Cambrian paleontologist who worked at the Smithsonian Institute, first as an assistant to Charles Doolittle Walcott in 1914 and then in various curatorial positions from 1915 until his death. During his career, Resser discussed over 1400 Cambrian trilobite taxa, including over 900 new species and 100 new genera. He disliked using a suprageneric classification in his papers, and believed that more species needed description before a meaningful classification could be undertaken. Resser used any variation in diagnosing his new species, including that resulting from ontogeny, normal biological variation, preservation, and tectonic deformation. Compounding the problems generated by using any source of variation, Resser often provided poor descriptions and used poor or no photographs. He commonly used only one or two specimens or poorly preserved material. These practices were not typical of trilobite workers of this time. Most of Resser's species, and specifically his type species, need to be reevaluated to determine if they should continue to be recognized or be placed in nomina dubia. Resser was one of the most productive Cambrian workers of his time. Due to his taxonomic practices and influence on other workers, we presently have difficulties understanding the phylogeny and diversification history of Cambrian trilobites. Given the importance of trilobites in the Cambrian fauna, this further inhibits our understanding of the Cambrian explosion and the early modes of evolution. INTRODUCTION Charles Elmer Resser (Fig. 1) was an intriguing person. If you read Howell's (1944a) memorial to Resser, you would think that he was second in Cambrian studies to only Charles Doolittle Walcott and that he was as highly respected. However,…
April 15, 2025 at 11:09 PM
dwbapst.bsky.social
We just can’t test that stuff as easily in the fossil record so we use morphological similarity to argue for stratigraphic continuity of species and clades. The critters get damn tricky with repeated convergence though, like these graptolites from before and after the late Ord Mass Extinction
Bottom row is graptolite colonies form before the Late Ordovician mass extinction, the top are species from after the mass extinction, descended from an unrelated lineage, the Neograpta, that survived the extinction (from Mitchell 1990)
April 13, 2025 at 11:55 PM
dwbapst.bsky.social
On the ancestry and evolution of the extinct dire wolf View ORCID ProfileGregory Gedman, View ORCID ProfileKathleen Morrill Pirovich, Jonas Oppenheimer, View ORCID ProfileChaz Hyseni, Molly Cassatt-Johnstone, Nicolas Alexandre, View ORCID ProfileWill Troy, Chris Chao, Olivier Fedrigo, View ORCID ProfileSavannah J. Hoyt, View ORCID ProfilePatrick G.S. Grady, View ORCID ProfileSamuel Sacco, View ORCID ProfileWilliam Seligmann, View ORCID ProfileAyusman Dash, View ORCID ProfileMithil Chokshi, Laura Knecht, View ORCID ProfileJames B. Papizan, Tyler Miyawaki, Sven Bocklandt, James Kelher, Sara Ord, View ORCID ProfileAudrey T. Lin, View ORCID ProfileBrandon Peecook, Angela Perri, View ORCID ProfileMikkel-Holger S. Sinding, View ORCID ProfileGreger Larson, View ORCID ProfileJulie Meachen, View ORCID ProfileLove Dalén, View ORCID ProfileBridgett vonHoldt, View ORCID ProfileM Thomas P. Gilbert, View ORCID ProfileChristopher E. Mason, View ORCID ProfileRachel J O'Neill, View ORCID ProfileElinor Karlsson, View ORCID ProfileBrandi L. Cantarel, George R. R. Martin, View ORCID ProfileGeorge Church, Ben Lamm, Beth Shapiro doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.04.09.647074 Competing Interest Statement Authors affiliated with Colossal Biosciences and/or Form Bio may hold stock and/or stock options in these companies. E.K.K., C.E.M, B.vH., R.J.O., M.T.P.G, and L.D. are members of the scientific advisory board at Colossal Biosciences. M.S.S. is a consultant of Colossal Biosciences. G.R.R.M is an Investor and Cultural Advisor for Colossal Biosciences. G.C. is co-founder of Colossal Biosciences and others available at arep.med.harvard.edu/t
April 12, 2025 at 12:13 AM
dwbapst.bsky.social
Combining fossil taxa with and without morphological data improves dated phylogenetic analyses

Mark C. Nikolic, Rachel C. M. Warnock, Melanie J. Hopkins
Abstract: The fossilized birth-death (FBD) model has become an increasingly popular method for inferring dated phylogenies. This is because it is especially useful for incorporating fossil data into such analyses, integrating fossils along with their age information directly into the tree as tips or sampled ancestors. Two approaches are common for placing fossil taxa in trees: inference based on morphological character data or using taxonomic constraints to control their topological placement. These approaches have historically been treated as alternatives, though combining the two is theoretically possible. For phylogenetic inference of entirely extinct organisms, additional related fossil taxa other than those for which morphology is available are generally overlooked. Here, we implement a combined approach on an empirical dataset for a group of trilobites. We use a morphological matrix and ages for 56 taxa and age information for another 196 taxa from the Paleobiology Database. To evaluate the effects of a combined approach, we conducted FBD dated phylogenetic analyses using a combined approach with morphology and taxonomic constraints and compared them to analyses of taxa with morphology alone. We find that a combined approach yields topologies that are more stratigraphically congruent, substantially more precise parameter estimates (e.g., divergence times), and more informative tree distributions. These findings are a consequence of the substantial increase in stratigraphic age information and a more representative sample of their temporal distributions.
April 10, 2025 at 12:08 AM
dwbapst.bsky.social
Less said aloud is also a deep belief that people with too much education are responsible for COVID and many of the things that went wrong in recent history, and deserve punishment by having the things they value destroyed.
A plot showing that the Democratic Party recently became more college educated as a % than the Republican Party.
April 1, 2025 at 4:53 AM
dwbapst.bsky.social
The Flan Wars are ongoing and devastating
Fighting blue flan in FF6 Fighting the dreaded pink princess flan in FF4
March 22, 2025 at 3:27 PM
dwbapst.bsky.social
@walthickey.bsky.social's daily Numlock newsletter is a national treasure
Sphere I met a traveler from an antique land, who said — “A gigantic, immersive LED Sphere stands in the desert. Near it, by The Sands, wait, sorry, I guess it’s The Venetian now, there’s a concert venue that’s pretty dope, I think that its builder also owns the Knicks. It yet survives, but I see it less on Instagram, like the U2 show was cool but who’s in it now; And on the newswire, these words appear: Sphere Entertainment: “quarterly net loss of $126 million look on my RSN, ye Mighty, and despair! Nothing but Sphere remains. Round the decay of that colossal Wreck, MSG Networks, forbearance deadlines stretch not far away.” Kurt Badenhausen, Sportico
March 19, 2025 at 3:37 AM
dwbapst.bsky.social
From the text of TX SB37 itself, every tenure track position in a non-STEM dept would need to be individually approved by the regents at Texas universities

www.texastribune.org/2025/03/13/t...
Sec. 51.3523. ADDITIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES FOR MEMBERS OF GOVERNING BOARD. (a) The governing board of an institution of higher education shall approve or deny each of the following on an individual basis: (1) each recommendation made by a faculty council or senate at an institution of higher education under the board's control and management on a matter related to curriculum or academic standards or policies; and (2) each posting or other advertisement for a tenured faculty position in a field other than science, technology, engineering, or mathematics at each institution under the board's control and management.
March 14, 2025 at 1:25 AM
dwbapst.bsky.social
There’s gotta be so many of them in Pigeon Creek on San Salvador…
A view of Pigeon Creek, a tidal creek on San Salvador, in 2010. It is full of ghost shrimp burrow mounds to the horizon, almost.
March 7, 2025 at 11:10 PM
dwbapst.bsky.social
'Idiot's Guide to...' and '...for Dummies' were also popular series of how-to books in the US/UK in the late 1990s and early 2000s, mainly guides for using software, which means one needs to be older than 30 to get the reference these days
Cover to 'The Complete Idiot's Guide to Chess'
February 14, 2025 at 2:27 PM