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wrightam.bsky.social
Statistical phylogenetics and the fossil record. Researcher, professor and mentor at a PUI. Mother, reader, runner. Congenital optimist. Minnesotan Virginian.
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Melissa Hortman, who was assassinated last night, was the Speaker of the Minnesota House in the 2023-2024 session, when Democrats ran the state government. That means she had a leading role in shepherding the many landmark reforms that Dems adopted in that period—an important legacy. Brief 🧵.

submitted 1 day ago • 53 comments

I wish I was home today. Minnesota is the best place in the universe, and she doesn’t deserve to hurt like this. Grateful for Gov. Walz’s leadership.

submitted 1 day ago • 1 comment

Walz announces that Rep. Melissa Hortman is dead as a result of a "politically motivated assassination"

submitted 1 day ago • 2256 comments

With immense annoyance I report that every urban legend that kept you up at night as a kid is still very, very popular

submitted 2 days ago • 1 comment

If you intend to attend, updating your registration would be greatly appreciated. It’s free and registration can be added via the meeting portal: www.evolutionmeetings.org/registration...

submitted 3 days ago • 0 comments

If you intend to attend, updating your registration would be greatly appreciated. It’s free and registration can be added via the meeting portal: www.evolutionmeetings.org/registration...

submitted 3 days ago • 0 comments

Is there a better feeling than the manuscript being back on your collab's desk?

submitted 4 days ago • 1 comment

"Somewhat paradoxically, this means that gains in scientific knowledge – as “unknown unknowns” become “known unknowns” and “known unknowns” are better understood and more accurately quantified – can sometimes lead to larger estimates of total uncertainty." philsci-archive.pitt.edu/25654/ #philsci 🧪

submitted 4 days ago • 1 comment

In preparation for #evol2025, we’ll highlight one of our five Early Career Travel Awardees each day this week! In each highlight, you can find out more information about our awesome students and postdocs, as well as talk information so you can catch their presentations at in-person #evol2025 🧵

submitted 6 days ago • 1 comment

Well, we leave for #evol2025 in a week. Guess that means it's time to wake up at 5 am, edit student posters, suggest radical reorgs and new figures, then panic at 8 am because I'm not ready for work. Livin' the dream.

submitted 5 days ago • 1 comment

Finally got a chance to do a bit of notebook shopping after being in want of a good one for months

submitted 6 days ago • 1 comment

There’s all this, and on top of it, few high school grads are prepared for a mathematically-intensive degree. Even fewer for critical thinking. And now genAI. It’s very hard to revert to blue book for programming-intensive classes. Our information sector is going to be hosed for years.

submitted 8 days ago • 1 comment

I’m not sure it’s more fun than doomscrolling, but my DMs are open for bug reports

submitted 9 days ago • 0 comments

Sun’s out, fun’s out

submitted 11 days ago • 0 comments

The visual storytelling here is 💯

submitted 11 days ago • 0 comments

Interview on anglerfishes for @npr.org featuring myself and undergrad Rose Faucher www.npr.org/2025/06/04/1... Anglerfish ancestors once roamed the seafloor. Here's how we know : Short Wave : NPR

submitted 11 days ago • 0 comments

Come be my colleague! Happy to answer questions about this role.

submitted 13 days ago • 0 comments

The worst thing about a waterpark birthday is that your kids can literally just swim away from you I am ready to leave this hell. They are not.

submitted 14 days ago • 1 comment

What are we using to visualize fbd trees lately?

submitted 17 days ago • 2 comments

Good talk; followed it up by outing myself as a Silmarrillion nerd

submitted 18 days ago • 2 comments

This is why you’re the dumbest motherfucker alive if you’re an academic who tries to ‘address their concerns’ these people don’t want to have a principled conversation about the appropriateness of diversity statements, professor, they want to destroy your job. You cannot meet them halfway.

submitted 18 days ago • 18 comments

Nervously writing down what room my talk is in and heading there a half hour early because I’m afraid I’ll get lost. See kids? Professors are just like you.

submitted 18 days ago • 0 comments

Since I've seen a certain amount of discussion in the past week about what conferences should or shouldn't do, one thing I can recommend is: get involved in a conference in your field. Find out what actually goes into it.

submitted 18 days ago • 1 comment

Interesting new paper on challenging synchronization of fossil & molecular clocks for angiosperms. My former PhD Katherine Valde now prof Loyola has been working on some philosophical dimensions of this, incl a paper on when disagreements in science are productive: philsci-archive.pitt.edu/23555/)

submitted 18 days ago • 0 comments

Apologies for the typos from having done this while multitasking earlier, but some general How To Conference stuff from a thread earlier today.

submitted 19 days ago • 1 comment

If you want more virtual content at conferences, the best way to get it is voting with your feet. See you Wednesday.

submitted 19 days ago • 0 comments

I’ve been on the conference committee for the Evolution Meetings for the past three years, and I pretty strongly agree with all of this. We’ve been very committed to a robust virtual meeting, and I think have succeeded reasonably well. Our societies bought in and out marquee events online. Great!

submitted 19 days ago • 1 comment

I just opened my messenger bag to get my wallet and it’s full of claw machine tokens. There is no exit from the House of Charles Entertainment Cheese.

submitted 19 days ago • 0 comments

I'M RIGHT FOR ONCE

submitted 20 days ago • 4 comments

I know it's a holiday and I should wrench myself off my computer ... but I think I've hit on the explanation for a very weird finding we've been struggling to explain

submitted 20 days ago • 1 comment

Original hierarchical take on the evolution with discussion and critique of many other hierarchical approaches (including of yours's truly😉) link.springer.com/book/10.1007... “a new evolutionary model called “Hierarchical Evolutionary-Developmental Theory” or “H-Evo-DevoTheory” 🧪 ⚒️ #Paleobio #EvoBio

submitted 21 days ago • 0 comments