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Jonathan Silvertown

@jwsilvertown.bsky.social

93 followers 82 following 12 posts

Biologist, author, Hon. Prof. University of Edinburgh. The full story at www.JonathanSilvertown.com

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Jonathan Silvertown @jwsilvertown.bsky.social · 28d

Artemia brine shrimp, Salinas de Aňana, Pais Vasco

Jonathan Silvertown @jwsilvertown.bsky.social · Jul 5

Hummingbird hawkmoth

Jonathan Silvertown @jwsilvertown.bsky.social · Apr 17

What does all this show? I would have thought that was obvious. Historians do not have a monopoly on talking out of the wrong end. Go on, prove it. #EndOf? @robinince.bsky.social #edscifest

Jonathan Silvertown @jwsilvertown.bsky.social · Apr 17

BOTANISTS2 There is no anterior or posterior to a plant. Branches have proximal & distal ends but come back later & the distal end will be someplace else. Likewise stems & roots never really end. Plants must grow or die, though midlife naps are allowed. #EndOf? #Botany

Jonathan Silvertown @jwsilvertown.bsky.social · Apr 17

BOTANISTS1 have a mania for naming things. There is not a gardener on God's green Earth who does not secretly want a labelling machine for Christmas. But plants don't have what you could accurately label an end. Not really. #EndOf? #Botany

Jonathan Silvertown @jwsilvertown.bsky.social · Apr 17

ZOOLOGISTS2 After the discovery that animals have 2 ends, it was proposed to better to talk out of one than the other. Choosing which one proved problematic & much time was wasted talking carp. Not till Darwin broke his polite silence did biology get the right way up. #EndOf? #Zoology

Jonathan Silvertown @jwsilvertown.bsky.social · Apr 17

ZOOLOGISTS1 are twice as confident as cosmologists about ends because early on they discovered that animals have 2. The front end is called the anterior & the back end is the posterior. Ideas developed sequentially from there. #EndOf? #Zoology

Jonathan Silvertown @jwsilvertown.bsky.social · Apr 17

COSMOLOGISTS have top billing for the end of the universe. Since the Big Bang knocked out the Steady State, we are assured that the existence of a beginning implies an end. But plenty of time for a few more rounds before the apocalypse. #EndOf? #Cosmology

Jonathan Silvertown @jwsilvertown.bsky.social · Apr 17

HISTORIAN Francis Fukuyama asked if the fall of the Soviet Union marked "The End of History?" The idea is now itself buried somewhere at Mar a Largo, but it set me thinking what other disciplines might have to say about The End. Here are some ideas. Add your own & repost. #EndOf? #History

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Reposted by Jonathan Silvertown

Ecological Continuity Trust (ECT) @ect-uk.bsky.social · Feb 14

A thread on the RainDrop #LongTermExperiment. This is an important #LTE because we helped it set up. The goal is to investigate how calcareous grassland will respond to #ClimateChange. As a key event in our history, you can read about it in @jwsilvertown.bsky.social's blog: bit.ly/415X2ji 🌎