Category Archives: Science Culture

Adventures in empathy: allergies, mental health, & hard days in academia

Posted on June 6, 2016 by terry wheeler

Last week, in the midst of my 50s, I discovered the delightful horror of allergies. When I got the sore throat, I assumed it was a cold. And then my eyes caught fire. And then I got all the other … Continue reading →

Posted in Science Culture | Tagged , | 3 Comments

The last lecture: 6 things to keep for 5 years

Posted on April 19, 2016 by terry wheeler

I finished my final class for the year in Evolution & Phylogeny the other day. The students wrote their final exam yesterday. By today I figure some of the course content has already hit its half-life and it’s on its … Continue reading →

Posted in Science Culture | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Fading walls: Communication, conferences, and sharing science

Posted on August 15, 2015 by terry wheeler

The front walls of the convention center are mostly glass, but you’ll need your name badge to get beyond the lobby. I was at the 100th annual conference of the Ecological Society of America in Baltimore last week. I saw … Continue reading →

Posted in Science Culture | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

Learning to sharpen your scythe

Posted on August 8, 2015 by terry wheeler

My grandfather used a scythe to cut hay. Yes. A scythe: big blade, long curved handle, Grim Reaper scythe. I remember watching the mathematical, poetical way he’d arc the blade, pivoting from the waist, mowing down a strip, stepping forward … Continue reading →

Posted in Science Culture | Tagged | 3 Comments

Taxonomy matters. Here’s why.

Posted on March 19, 2015 by terry wheeler

March 19th is Taxonomist Appreciation Day. I don’t think any government has made official pronouncements on that. That’s OK, we’ve got something better — social media. Taxonomist Appreciation Day was the brainchild of Terry McGlynn, an ecologist who understands the … Continue reading →

Posted in Science Culture | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

20 Years in the Professor Game: things I did right and things I did wrong

Posted on January 1, 2015 by terry wheeler

In late December, 1994 I arrived in Montreal with several boxes of books and papers, most of my belongings, and absolutely no idea what I was getting into. I had a week to unpack, get groceries, become a professor, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Science Culture | Tagged , , | 27 Comments

Sometimes, a shirt is not just a shirt

Posted on November 12, 2014 by terry wheeler

In July 1969, I watched, with my family, as the Eagle lunar module touched down on the moon and Neil Armstrong took humanity’s first steps out there. I remember some of the details of that day with great clarity, others … Continue reading →

Posted in Science Culture | Tagged | 3 Comments

Why do I blog about what I blog about?

Posted on October 30, 2014 by terry wheeler

One of the good things about Twitter is that it’s like a big party where I can wander around and drop in on as many conversations as I want. Most of them are related, on some level, to science and … Continue reading →

Posted in Science Culture | Tagged , | 2 Comments

The phone, the program, and the big dark room: Twitter at a conference

Posted on August 21, 2014 by terry wheeler

I wrote a post a little while ago about my first 100 days of Twitter. Sort of a report card from a late adopter. I took another step on the social media stairway last week, when I attended the Ecological … Continue reading →

Posted in Science Culture | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

Remembrance of things past: footprints in a log

Posted on August 17, 2014 by terry wheeler

I spent last week at the annual Ecological Society of America conference in Sacramento, California. It’s a huge gathering of ecologists, and it’s amazingly diverse. Ecology is as big as the planet, and the range of presentations and conversations at … Continue reading →

Posted in Science Culture | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment