Brandon Keim

The Dreams of a Bumblebee in Autumn The Dreams of a Bumblebee in Autumn: Yes, bees dream. We can even imagine what.

What a beautiful essay by @brandonkeim.bsky.social in @nautil.us on dreaming bumblebees and asters. It is a balm for the heavy heart. The perfect autumn read. (And such masterful writing!) nautil.us/the-dreams-o...

COVID Revisionism Has Gone Too Far If the center and left succumb to the view that “nothing worked,” no one will remain to defend sensible public-health measures the next time a pandemic comes around.

And this is a good critical review: www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...

Yup. In the one I received, I would just be offering a token of appreciation; enough to cover the coffee they drank while reading my book 🤨

For sure. But making it to 60 minutes tied still earns a point. It counts for something.

I don’t call it a loser point; it’s a regulation tie point.

Our society is so hellbent on having winners and losers … I like that hockey still respects the hard-fought draw.

Obituary: Farewell to robots.txt (1994-2025) The voluntary compliance protocol that civilized the internet has departed, bids Henning Fries farewell.

"The protocol taught us that technology can be based on human values like ethics and morality. It showed that voluntary compliance works when all parties benefit."

On robots.txt.

www.heise.de/en/backgroun...

I don't understand why Samtani thinks it's such a big deal. Sounds like a garden-variety alumni mag or vanity publication, except for the financial class.

Also, is it really any different from Forbes, Fast Company, Entrepreneur, etc.? Except with longform sensibilities.

Please join me at the Vine Virtual Book Club to discuss my book, 2025: The Year of Topsy, on Sunday, October 26, at Noon (LA) or 3 pm (NY) or 7 pm (London). Please register to confirm your attendance and receive a free PDF of my book. vinesanctuary.org/vine-book-cl...

YouTube video by Charlie Chaplin Charlie Chaplin - Final Speech from The Great Dictator

Worth hearing again. Or for the first time:

YouTube video by Charlie Chaplin Charlie Chaplin - Final Speech from The Great Dictator

Worth hearing again. Or for the first time:

Opinion | Can Trump End This Impossibly Cruel Practice?

In which I look at animal research for The New York Times and find some surprising answers.

Recent interview on Knowing Animals w @joshmilburn.bsky.social. We discuss my new paper on children's moral circles, coauthored w @juliamarshall.bsky.social @karrineldner.bsky.social @luciuscaviola.bsky.social

Podcast: knowinganimals.libsyn.com/episode-240-...
Paper: www.nature.com/articles/s41...

"I stopped eating meat some 50 years ago," wrote Jane Goodall, "when I looked at the pork chop on my plate and thought: this represents fear, pain, death."

Best as I can tell, not one obituary or article on her passing mentions this fact. It's worth knowing. news.janegoodall.org/2017/04/28/w...

The paradox of AI accelerationism and the promise of public interest AI Over the past 3 years, the idea that artificial intelligence (AI) development should be accelerated without restraint to drive radical societal change—a phenomenon known as AI accelerationism—has gain...

"By focusing on abstract, far-future scenarios, [proponents of AI accelerationism] ignore tangible harms caused by technology in the present, including algorithmic bias, worker exploitation, and systemic discrimination." www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

"I stopped eating meat some 50 years ago," wrote Jane Goodall, "when I looked at the pork chop on my plate and thought: this represents fear, pain, death."

Best as I can tell, not one obituary or article on her passing mentions this fact. It's worth knowing. news.janegoodall.org/2017/04/28/w...

My very favorite, though, is this one! (This link is to a synopsis; reference at bottom): sharkresearch.earth.miami.edu/evidence-for...

Social interactions shape the timing of spawning migrations in an anadromous fish Mass migrations are found throughout the animal kingdom and are often undertaken by coordinated social groups. However, surprisingly little is known a…

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

"AI is the asbestos we are shoveling into the walls of our society and our descendants will be digging it out for generations"

Should you let AI train your dog? The lawless world of AI and animals Artificial intelligence could transform our relationships with animals, but more must be done to make sure AI works for the interests of other species.

#AI is transforming the lives of animals at speed, but these huge impacts are going unchecked.

Isabella Logothetis, Spencer Jury @birchlse.bsky.social @lsephilosophy.bsky.social argue more must be done to make sure AI works for, not against the interests of other species @lseeuroppblog.bsky.social.

Protecting animal cultures as World Heritage - Nature Sustainability It is becoming increasingly clear that animal cultures have intrinsic, irreplaceable value, and yet they are not adequately protected by preserving habitat. The time has come for UNESCO to explicitly protect non-human cultural heritage alongside human heritage.

Here we propose adding an 11th criterion to UNESCO’s framework to protect animal cultures—habitat protection alone isn’t enough. Excited to collaborate with philosophers @merikatariina.bsky.social & @birchlse.bsky.social on this!

Message me for access ;-)
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Hi! Will it be recorded?

A fun study on territorial, often-solitary wall lizards becoming more gregarious and easygoing in the cities where they thrive. Social tolerance begets success 🦎✌🏽

By @averymaune.bsky.social et al. in @royalsocietypublishing.org: royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...

Do Reptiles Have Moods, Too?

People who know reptiles well say they don't only experience fleeting pains and pleasures, but also lasting emotional states: happiness & sadness, or at least good & bad moods.

But how do you show this in a scientific way?

My latest for @nytimes.com on a clever @coldbloodedcog.bsky.social study:

I do have a story in the works for @baynature.org on what it's like to be an arboreal salamander ;)

Do Reptiles Have Moods, Too?

People who know reptiles well say they don't only experience fleeting pains and pleasures, but also lasting emotional states: happiness & sadness, or at least good & bad moods.

But how do you show this in a scientific way?

My latest for @nytimes.com on a clever @coldbloodedcog.bsky.social study:

Inspiring text about how seeing others with wonder invites us to understand them more deeply and treat them with greater care.

Our paper on 🌱🦧ANIMAL MEDICINE🐜🍄 has been accepted for publication in Philosophy of Science!

You can find the accepted version here, open access: www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

I wish publications would have dedicated Nature sections rather than lumping the entire living world under Science or maybe Environment. IMHO this would be fabulously successful.