Dec 24, 20237 minUnexpected 8: Be CauseEach year the second floor of the Institute for Evolutionary Sciences at the University of Montpellier (ISEM) organizes a Christmas...
Oct 31, 202321 minUnexpected 7: Barbershop SnippetsI didn’t expect to reflect on hair-cutting experiences until seeing the Colloquium by Barbara Thériault at the Wissenshaftskolleg zu...
Oct 11, 20231 minBeams in the DistanceThe card led to cobbles but the lead, the road was too, far, too off in the distance to start again, to mend, to the end. Yet he lay...
Jul 2, 202311 min25 years since the founding of Ecology LettersIt’s 25 years this month since the publication of the first issue of Ecology Letters. I remember this as the culmination of more than a...
Mar 17, 202321 minUnexpected 6: The Right FieldLife's trajectories are unpredictable. Sure, statistics can be used to predict life events, such as I am extremely likely to still live...
Jan 28, 202322 minUnexpected 5: The VisitorLife’s paths change from time to time. Some unexpected, apparently harmless forks turn out to have major ramifications. The prime...
Oct 10, 202216 minPeer ReviewThe main objectives of peer review are to improve manuscript quality and advise the editor regarding acceptance. But peer review’s two...
Aug 17, 202213 minUnexpected 4: DragonsAll of our lives have bifurcation points. Many of them. Choices in education. Choices in jobs. Choices in friends. We carefully navigate...
Jul 10, 202213 minUnexpected 3: Old man in treeI go along with the flow. I trust people, especially those (seemingly) with expertise. When I prepare for what’s to come, I know which...