Philippa Lang
@philippalang1.bsky.social
Fond of guinea pigs, likes to write (https://amzn.eu/d/fhv1F4L), obsessive about Tolkien and the Beatles. Spent a couple of decades as an academic classicist & those books are here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/stores/Philippa%20Lang/author/B00AZMPYTK/allbooks
A lucid thread from an actual expert:
Aylwyn Scally@aylwyn-scally.bsky.social · last wk.This is a thoughtful piece by @ent3c.bsky.social, articulating a view of hereditarianism that I think is shared by many in anthropology, psychology & elsewhere. It's also one that I, as a geneticist working on human evolution, fundamentally disagree with. ericturkheimer.substack.com/p/the-cofnas...
I think that the scrupulous author can do a lot to flag where accounts are not verified/verifiable and need to be taken with a pinch of salt, but unscrupulous ones just do what they want, and I'm not sure what proportion of readers are alert to the difference.
24th August 2022 There is just enough time for a walk at Wicken Fen before dusk cedes to darkness. Picture from my book 'Cambridge - Light & Shade'. Available at www.cambridgebooks.co.uk/cambridge-li... and all bookshops.
Hey, a species has come back from the brink of extinction. Let’s kill it!
First bluefin tunas caught off Yorkshire since 1960s ‘success story’ for marine conservation
Researchers laud return of giant tuna to North Sea after being fished almost to point of extinction
theguardian.com
A time ago, I wrote my entire doctoral thesis on the topic of "emergence" in condensed matter physics - where novel higher-level properties arise as the result of deep symmetries of the arrangements of their parts. As such, I read many discussions of LLM capability in a state of mild physical pain.
Church of St John the Baptist, Hatherleigh, Devon A section of the framework of the church spire, with a pegged joint. The spire was blown down in the storm of 25th January 1990. The church dates from the late 15th to early 16th Century & was restored in 1884. #Woodensday #WoodCarvingWednesday
Planted dill weeks ago to attract Black Swallowtail caterpillars and it worked! Well, today they exited their chrysalis 🥰🦋🦋🦋 #butterflies #gardening
Cornucopatrice (for Heart: the City Beneath) Spawned at the intersection of the Heart's desire to give you everything, and the Heart's instinct to fuck you up, the waddling cornucopatrice brims with a bubbling stew of acid and poison - but something you desperately need floats atop the fetid brew.
Spectacular day high in the Glyderau range of Eryri/Snowdonia today 🔥☀️ An extraordinary landscape of white rock, huge slabs & twisted outcrops. A favourite place 👌 📷 The famous cantilever 🤩
⚠️⚠️ Amber weather warning issued ⚠️⚠️ Extreme heat across eastern parts of England Thursday 0900 – 2359 Latest info 👉 bit.ly/WxWarning Stay #WeatherAware ⚠️
You can't predict the turns this sentence takes. Extreme heat is threatening Italy’s “cheese banks,” where hundreds of thousands of Parmigiano-Reggiano wheels are stored as loan collateral. fortune.com/2026/08/10/i...
Italy's $4.7 billion cheese economy is feeling the heat as climate change threatens its cheese banks that hold Parmigiano wheels as loan collateral | Fortune
Extreme heat is straining the vaults that hold Parmigiano wheels as loan collateral, and economists say the damage runs wider than the vault
fortune.com
For everyone who is too polite yo unfollow me, here is your solution! I don’t think I do anything BUT repost.
Bluesky@bsky.app · 4w agov1.130 is live! Want to follow someone for their posts but not their reposts? Now you can — turn on "Hide reposts in feeds" for any account you follow.
One of my favorite #Roman objects: World's oldest known "Swiss army knife", including a hinged knife, fork, spoon, spike, prick, sieve, spatula. Unfortunately, there is no provenance of this multi-tool, but it’s not a unique item: There are a few more examples, e.g. one was...🧵1/2 🏺 #archaeology
👀 Buckfastleigh, Devon A “Type N” or “Bantam” type of postbox, designed by Sir Kenneth Grange & introduced in the 1990s. There is a similarity with his aerodynamic Intercity 125 train design. (Bonus point for the road cone 😉) #PostboxSaturday
If anyone needs yet another review of Nolan’s THE ODYSSEY, this, by Oxford don and poet A. E. Stallings in today’s TLS is pretty good.
In case you thought you’d already heard academia’s worst thing this week: you were wrong.
Quite stupendous degree of nominative determinism at work here www.economist.com/science-and-... From The Economist
This is a seal, inside a wind turbine tower! They swim in and out of "water replenishment holes". The holes on this one were designed larger than usual, allowing them in and out. Credit: Jelle Pennekamp / Føn Energy Services / Vattenfall
The puffins may have left, but there's still plenty of action on the Farne Islands... Please enjoy these moths having a psychedelic midnight rave ✨️
ANYONE REMEMBER WHEN DINNER MEANT EVERYONE AT THE TABLE… NO PHONE ALLOWED, NO DISTRACTIONS, JUST TALKING ABOUT YOUR DAY WHILE SLOWLY, IMPERCEPTIBLY AT FIRST, MORPHING INTO WINNIE THE POOH CHARACTERS? ANYONE REMEMBER THAT??
Jesus Zoidberg: This is what a Cornfield Looks Like, Bryce@jesuszoidberg.bsky.social · last mo.Ok, this one might be my favorite, haven't stopped laughing
If you’ve ever been to Dunwich heath, or if you care about rare habitat, you can donate to the National Trust’s appeal here www.nationaltrust.org.uk/support-us/a...
Devastating fire sweeps Dunwich Heath
Support the Dunwich Heath Fire Appeal. Your donation will help restore damaged habitats, protect vulnerable wildlife, and aid long-term recovery efforts.
nationaltrust.org.uk
Dunwich Heath, Suffolk, this time last year. This is how I’d like to remember it. The pimple in the distance is Sizewell B nuclear power station.
