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Rafael Marcondes

@rafamarcondes.bsky.social

2K followers 1.1K following 390 posts

Lecturer at Barnard College. College teaching, birds, evolution, life in NYC, and pics of my cat, Rosalind Franklin. 🇧🇷 (The R in Rafael is pronounced like the h in "hat")

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Rafael Marcondes @rafamarcondes.bsky.social · 11d

New office decor Ive long fantasized about having!

Rafael Marcondes @rafamarcondes.bsky.social · 2h

Not as insane as it might sound. I live 6 blocks from Central Park and 1 block from Morningside Park. www.smithsonianmag.com/science-natu...

In a Milestone for Manhattan, a Pair of Coyotes Has Made Central Park Their Home

For six years, two photographers have carefully followed the canines and documented their secret lives

www.smithsonianmag.com

Rafael Marcondes @rafamarcondes.bsky.social · 2h

Pretty sure I'm hearing frikking coyote howls from my apartment in Harlem right now

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Rafael Marcondes @rafamarcondes.bsky.social · 8h

Yours truly aged 18 (from an old document i found today)

Rafael Marcondes @rafamarcondes.bsky.social · 9h

Do publishers realize that the ultimate factor in determining which textbook we'll adopt is how easy it is to request an instructor copy?

Rafael Marcondes @rafamarcondes.bsky.social · 1d

Plain bagel, lightly toasted, with plain cream cheese

Erin Biba @erinbiba.bsky.social · 1d

One of my favorite things about NYC is whenever anyone runs for office here they are required to disclose their bagel order.

Reposted by Rafael Marcondes

Jackson Roberts @jackson-roberts.bsky.social · Sep 1

Greetings! I am the Zoology Collections Manager at the Sternberg Museum! Here is a typical cold day in Kansas, flipping Great Plains Ratsnakes on a 32F day. Quick question: as a new(ish) PI that is new to BlueSky, what's one advice or musing for new users? Thanks, and come see us at the Sternberg!

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Rafael Marcondes @rafamarcondes.bsky.social · 1d

Dang. I’m hugging Roz a little closer tonight 😿

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Rafael Marcondes @rafamarcondes.bsky.social · 2d

It makes sense in my brain but not in my heart, if ya know what I mean

Rafael Marcondes @rafamarcondes.bsky.social · 2d

I need a physicist to explain how this can possibly be balanced

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Rafael Marcondes @rafamarcondes.bsky.social · 2d

Dang, I'm sorry to hear that. I'm thankful my experience at Rice and so far at Barnard has been very different

Reposted by Rafael Marcondes

Rafael Marcondes @rafamarcondes.bsky.social · 5d

I’m coming to realize i don’t know as much about Jane Goodall as i probably should. What book by her or about her should i read first to start fixing that?

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Reposted by Rafael Marcondes

Rafael Marcondes @rafamarcondes.bsky.social · 3d

Have people noticed a fast and sudden change in students’ stance on AI in the last 6-12 months? Like suddenly they’re way more pessimistic and healthily skeptical about it?

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Rafael Marcondes @rafamarcondes.bsky.social · 2d

Houston street in NYC.

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Rafael Marcondes @rafamarcondes.bsky.social · 3d

Have people noticed a fast and sudden change in students’ stance on AI in the last 6-12 months? Like suddenly they’re way more pessimistic and healthily skeptical about it?

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Reposted by Rafael Marcondes

Patrick Vallely @pjvphotography.bsky.social · Aug 28

"Pat, why do you carry that ridiculous 600mm lens on long hikes?"

Buddy, I can see mountains reflected in the eyes of a trailside pika.

Tighter crop of the same pika, focusing on its head.

An even tighter crop, focusing more on the pika's eye.

An extremely tight crop of the pika's eye, emphasizing their reflection of an early morning mountain scene.

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Rafael Marcondes @rafamarcondes.bsky.social · 3d

Say more!

Rafael Marcondes @rafamarcondes.bsky.social · 3d

You mean Gloger’s? Yup that’s definitely part of it!

Rafael Marcondes @rafamarcondes.bsky.social · 4d

Students asked for pics of Roz in every lecture. I'm nothing if not a servant of my students!

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Rafael Marcondes @rafamarcondes.bsky.social · 5d

Mentioned the premed thing in my lecture today, and that statistically there probably were a few ppl in the room that would join eventually Darwin in the ranks of failed premeds. It did not go well with the class. Frowns all around. 😭

Rafael Marcondes @rafamarcondes.bsky.social · 5d

I’m coming to realize i don’t know as much about Jane Goodall as i probably should. What book by her or about her should i read first to start fixing that?

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Rafael Marcondes @rafamarcondes.bsky.social · 5d

Melanistic Eastern grey squirrels are more resistant to cold, which probably explains why they’re more common as you go northwards. Have students test that hypothesis, maybe using inat? Also bring out grey and black specimens and measure their surface temp under a strong light?

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Rafael Marcondes @rafamarcondes.bsky.social · 5d

Sorry I’m late, my cat was being too cute

Rafael Marcondes @rafamarcondes.bsky.social · 6d

(I didn’t realize chipmunks were social, but there were at least 4 very active ones within a 10 m radius)

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Rafael Marcondes @rafamarcondes.bsky.social · 6d

There’s no such thing as a bad day when there’s a chipmunk in it 🥰

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Rafael Marcondes @rafamarcondes.bsky.social · 6d

Funnily enough, why the below is still true, im also coming to realize that Barnard students do better in understanding/application exam questions than on recall questions

Rafael Marcondes @rafamarcondes.bsky.social · 19d

I recently had a major realization: students are much more scared of “understanding” than of “memorizing”. What’s more, many don’t seem to even, eh, understand what “understanding” means. What’s more, even when they clearly understand something, they don’t necessarily realize that they understand it