Rob Lanfear
@roblanfear.bsky.social
phylogenetics, molecular evolution, some genomes, kids, dogs, and eclectic hobbies none of which I am much good at but I think for me that's the point
Nice to be a philosopher.
November 11, 2025 at 12:08 AM
Nice to be a philosopher.
A lot of similarities to Oaks as far as I can tell so far. Possibly with more hybridisation and introgression. Also some really cool F1 hybrids like the Meelup mallee. As far as we know it's a single individual, thousands of years old, and infertile.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eucalyp...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eucalyp...
Eucalyptus × phylacis - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
November 11, 2025 at 12:08 AM
A lot of similarities to Oaks as far as I can tell so far. Possibly with more hybridisation and introgression. Also some really cool F1 hybrids like the Meelup mallee. As far as we know it's a single individual, thousands of years old, and infertile.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eucalyp...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eucalyp...
Had a read through. So interesting! I'm just starting to get into similar questions (though from a position of great ignorance...) in Eucalypts. I'd love to chat some time when i've had a chance to read a whole bunch more...
November 11, 2025 at 12:01 AM
Had a read through. So interesting! I'm just starting to get into similar questions (though from a position of great ignorance...) in Eucalypts. I'd love to chat some time when i've had a chance to read a whole bunch more...
What a great lecture! Such a broad overview of the entire system. Wonderful to see the breadth all tied together like that!
November 10, 2025 at 11:46 PM
What a great lecture! Such a broad overview of the entire system. Wonderful to see the breadth all tied together like that!
I remember really enjoying this paper on individuality. Some time since I read it though, and I see there's a bunch of new stuff I haven't read yet...
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Plant individuality: a solution to the demographer’s dilemma - Biology & Philosophy
The problem of plant individuality is something which has vexed botanists throughout the ages, with fashion swinging back and forth from treating plants as communities of individuals (Darwin 1800; Bra...
link.springer.com
November 10, 2025 at 11:45 PM
I remember really enjoying this paper on individuality. Some time since I read it though, and I see there's a bunch of new stuff I haven't read yet...
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Cool! Do you happen to also have a recording of the Biology Dept seminar flagged at the beginning - on the nature of Oak species?
November 10, 2025 at 10:14 PM
Cool! Do you happen to also have a recording of the Biology Dept seminar flagged at the beginning - on the nature of Oak species?
What the actual fuck.
August 29, 2025 at 3:04 AM
What the actual fuck.
I remember reading the study this is based on somewhere (preprint, maybe), and worrying a lot that it was perhaps very overparameterised.
Honestly can't recall details, but would be interested to know others' thoughts. Will re-add the primary study to my reading list.
Honestly can't recall details, but would be interested to know others' thoughts. Will re-add the primary study to my reading list.
August 29, 2025 at 3:02 AM
I remember reading the study this is based on somewhere (preprint, maybe), and worrying a lot that it was perhaps very overparameterised.
Honestly can't recall details, but would be interested to know others' thoughts. Will re-add the primary study to my reading list.
Honestly can't recall details, but would be interested to know others' thoughts. Will re-add the primary study to my reading list.
It's so bad. Obviously impossible to know for sure, but one develops a decent radar after years of looking at undergrad work. And parts of the review are just so 'off' in that tricky to nail down way.
July 7, 2025 at 1:20 AM
It's so bad. Obviously impossible to know for sure, but one develops a decent radar after years of looking at undergrad work. And parts of the review are just so 'off' in that tricky to nail down way.
Same in Science. And the VC won't even be there. It's a joke.
July 2, 2025 at 1:45 AM
Same in Science. And the VC won't even be there. It's a joke.
Would be very interesting to work in the Perth office for a bit. Maybe you’d get hired to write a speech or two!
June 7, 2025 at 10:57 PM
Would be very interesting to work in the Perth office for a bit. Maybe you’d get hired to write a speech or two!
June 4, 2025 at 10:10 PM
Charge that right back to ANU. They should bear the cost, not you.
June 4, 2025 at 10:23 AM
Charge that right back to ANU. They should bear the cost, not you.
Love it! I still use "ham", "cheese", "egg" etc. because of a programming book I read maybe in the last century.
June 4, 2025 at 8:21 AM
Love it! I still use "ham", "cheese", "egg" etc. because of a programming book I read maybe in the last century.
I do hope you are working from the very nice and recently refurbished ANU office there!
June 4, 2025 at 12:26 AM
I do hope you are working from the very nice and recently refurbished ANU office there!
so much this. My experience of current grading is that even when the citations are real the information is often made up. One student acknowledged they didn’t read stuff, just got AI to (drastically incorrectly) summarise papers.
May 29, 2025 at 11:21 PM
so much this. My experience of current grading is that even when the citations are real the information is often made up. One student acknowledged they didn’t read stuff, just got AI to (drastically incorrectly) summarise papers.