Bertrand Russell on why English academic life is creative for some but sterile for many. Advice given to Ved Mehta and retold in Mehta’s Fly and the Fly Bottle (1961, p. 45).

Thanks!

Ha! Where is this from?

I've always liked informational views of evolution, so when @arvidagren.bsky.social asked if I'd review Christoph Adami's new book, I was delighted. It's a great book, and I discuss connections to Maynard Smith and Lewontin's ideas, measurement, Fisher's fundamental theorem, and more.

John Krebs on the value of intellectual culture shocks.

** Postdoc opportunity — one week left to apply ** What do internal conflicts in biology and economics have in common? We are looking for someone with a background in philosophy/economics to explore this with us Full details: philjobs.org/job/show/26666 Please RT!

Mark Ridley on E.S. Goodrich (born 1968 and Oxford’s Linacre Professor of Zoology from 1921 until his death in 1946) as a ‘perfect fossil from Victorian zoology’. From his LRB review of Peter Medawar’s Pluto’s Republic.

I jumped down the Desmond Morris rabbit hole and was quickly rewarded. DM was elected chairman of Oxford United FC in 1978 (great piece of trivia on its own). He also re-designed the crest, introducing the (Minoan-style) ox-head, which is still in use (current version below).

The philosopher Michael Ruse once described 'selfish genes' as "the most audaciously successful biological metaphor since natural selection". What would be your candidate?

Today this goes out for review. Great collection of biologists + philosophers reflecting on what within-organism conflicts mean for: - adaptation and the levels of selection, - mechanisms of inheritance and development - practical issues in medicine, psychology, & conservation