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Alisa Bokulich

@alisabokulich.bsky.social
25K followers 4.2K following 7.3K posts

Professor @ Boston U, History & Philosophy of Science—esp Philosophy of Geosciences, Director Phi-Geo Research Group, Assoc @ Harvard U. Hist Sci, Radcliffe Fellow Alum. Settler, wife, & mother. 📸s my crappy phone. Webpage: bokulich.org

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Reposted by Alisa Bokulich
RUB History & Philosophy of Science @roto-rub.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
New paper on why we we are still so limited in predicting cancer risk. By @sergeishevchenko.bsky.social #hps #philsci #hpbio
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Will Thomas @williamthomas.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
In today's AIP History Weekly Edition, we look at a new volume on the long history of efforts to measure the effects of general relativity. It showcases extraordinary efforts to secure high-precision measurements and adds to our understanding of GR's acceptance, neglect, and renaissance. #HPS
aip.org
Book spotlight: Testing Einstein
AIP History Weekly Edition: October 2, 2026
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Jackie Sullivan @jackiesullivan.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
This paper, co-authored with Saher Panjwani, is part of the EJPS topical collection on The Pursuitworthiness of Experiments Across the Sciences edited by @ennofischer.bsky.social and @alejandrofabregastejeda.com. #philsci
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Euthyphro @euthyphro.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Do hard things. Go to the ocean. Repeat.
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Alisa Bokulich @alisabokulich.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
🎀 The Eiffel Tower lit up in pink to mark the launch of Pink October, the awareness month dedicated to the fight against breast cancer. 🎀
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Leeds Centre for the History and Philosophy of Science @hpsleeds.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
History & Philosophy of Science, Work-in-progress seminars, Autumn 2026-27 All these weekly informal seminars take place in Botany House Room 1.03, Tuesdays 12-1pm during term-time. There is also recurrent TEAMS link here for online/remote participation. Open to all, with an hour for socializing…
hpsleeds.wordpress.com
History & Philosophy of Science, Work-in-progress seminars, Autumn 2026-27
All these weekly informal seminars take place in Botany House Room 1.03, Tuesdays 12-1pm during term-time. There is also recurrent TEAMS link here for online/remote participation. Open to all, with an hour for socializing 1-2pm in the same venue - bring your own lunch along! SCHEDULE of seminars (NB may be revised during the term - check back here for updates)
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Alisa Bokulich @alisabokulich.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
🎀 October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month 🎀 About 1 in 8 women will develop breast cancer; it's 2nd leading cause of cancer death in women (www.cancer.org/cancer/types...). BC death rates have been decreasing steadily since 1989 due to increased awareness, earlier screening, & better treatments.
cancer.org
Key Statistics for Breast Cancer
Read the American Cancer Society’s latest statistics for breast cancer in women in the United States.
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Reposted by Alisa Bokulich
Euthyphro @euthyphro.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Me and my extremely dense breasts are heading out for a mammogram. Almost certainly I’ll be flagged for additional imaging but this year the goal is to not freak out. That’s just how these girlies are. Reminder to get your boobs checked!
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Alisa Bokulich @alisabokulich.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
History Dept @ University of Texas Austin invites applications for a TT assistant professor, specializing in modern history of science, technology, & medicine. Committee will consider applicants who specialize in any scientific practice in any part of the world since 1600. Deadline Nov 30 #HPS
networks.h-net.org
The University of Texas at Austin - Assistant Professor (TT) – History of Science, Technology, and Medicine | H-Net
Preferred qualifications include research and teaching records that will complement one or more of the department’s strengths including: African History, Asian History, British History, Digital Humanities, Latin American History, U.S. History, and related fields.
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H.K. Andersen @hkandersen.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Shout out to recent SFU grad Fengyuan Liu, whose work stemming from his MA pro paper was accepted for the UPSS session at #PSA2026! Really interesring case study about local knowledge, involving measurement, agriculture, and conflicting explanatory systems #sfu
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Robert "The Bobby Yaga" McNees @mcnees.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
"But I am very poorly today & very stupid & hate everybody & everything. One lives only to make blunders." Everyone struggles with impostor syndrome sometimes, including Charles Darwin who scrawled this in a letter to Charles Lyell #OTD in 1861. 🧪 www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter?docId...
A scrawled bit of barely legible cursive handwriting that reads "But I am very poorly today & very stupid & hate everybody & everything."
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Gavin Schmidt @climateofgavin.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Not only are the flat earthers wrong, they are getting wronger by the day.
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Alisa Bokulich @alisabokulich.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
This afternoon's walk
A river with an arched brick footbridge, and green trees along the banks with leaves just beginning to turn to orange & gold are reflected in the still water.
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Paul L. Franco @loadofbunk.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Saw a large boulder the size of a large boulder on a hike yesterday.
A very large boulder set against some trees. A very large boulder set against the trees with Lundin Peak in the background.
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claudia-cristalli.bsky.social @claudia-cristalli.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
I’m going to try using BSky (also) to share some Peirce quotes out of context. Here is today’s: “Pure femininity can be conceived in a general way, but it cannot be realized even in consistent imagination. As for pure masculinity, it is an absurdity and nonsense, vox et praeterea nihil.”
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Adrian Currie @adrian-currie.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Max Dresow has done wonderful stuff with Extinct! His problematica series has been unfailingly fascinating, historically-informed and brilliantly written #philsci www.extinctblog.org/extinct/2026...
extinctblog.org
Problematica x50 — Extinct
In which Max has compiled all 50 of his “Problematica” essays for your long-reading enjoyment
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Phila M. Msimang @msimang.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
🧬 🧫 Looking forward to participating in the "Harnessing African Genetic Diversity as a Global Resource for Public Health" meeting. I will be discussing the risks, benefits, and limitations of genomics for health in this context. More info here: www.icgeb.org/african-gene...
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Alisa Bokulich @alisabokulich.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Happy #InternationalCoffeeDay! ☕️ What are your favorite coffee roasters? (Bonus if they ship to Boston...)
A terracotta colored cup of cafe latte with a crema leaf pattern.
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Alisa Bokulich @alisabokulich.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Happy to see Drew Faust join as one of the new trustees of Boston University @bostonu.bsky.social
bu.edu
Boston University Trustees Elect Five New Members
Four accomplished alumni and a former Harvard president add to the board’s expertise
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Moby Dick @mobydickatsea.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
we know the sea to be an everlasting terra incognita
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Alisa Bokulich @alisabokulich.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Flash back to this past summer a twilight evening with a deep orange and indigo sky reflected in calm curving bay.
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Will Thomas @williamthomas.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
The video is now available from Fara Dabhoiwala's lecture at AIP last week—an account of a Jamaican prodigy, his failed nomination to the Royal Society, and the only known depiction of the first return of Halley's comet. A story almost lost to history recovered from clues hidden in a small painting!
youtube.com
“Black Genius: Race, Science, and the Extraordinary Portrait of Francis Williams”
YouTube video by AIP History
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Rudy Lerosey-Aubril @cambrianlife.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
503 million-year-old leanchoiliid arthropod (Alalcomenaeus sp.) from the Wheeler Formation in the House Range of Utah. Specimen collected by Valentin Jamart.
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Michael Wong @miquai.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
As an astrobiologist, I never thought I’d see my name on a cancer paper...but here we are 😮
academic.oup.com
Exploring tumorigenesis as a process of phenotypic state-space exploration and selective funneling
Abstract. Tumorigenesis is widely studied within evolutionary frameworks, yet integrating genetic, non-genetic, spatial, and collective tumor-level dynamic
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The Ramsey Lab @theramseylab.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Are you interested in the past, present & future of Artificial Life (ALife) as a scientific field? 🚨 We are hosting an interdisciplinary minisymposium this December, so send us your work & come along! Please share widely! 🔗 hiw.kuleuven.be/clps/events/... #philsci #academicsky #evobio #AI #HPS
Promotional graphic for a mini-symposium titled “Life As It Could Be: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Artificial Life,” taking place 7–8 December 2026 at Aula Symbiosis, BioScience Center, KU Leuven. The text appears over a blue-and-orange honeycomb-like cellular pattern.
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Alisa Bokulich @alisabokulich.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Such a cool project and collaboration www.bu.edu/articles/202...
bu.edu
Fragile Manuscripts Hold Hundreds of Years of African and Islamic History
Boston University researchers have digitally preserved more than 52,000 pages of Arabic and Ajami West African literature
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Alondra Nelson @alondra.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
I'm honored to deliver the 2027 Gifford Lectures at Edinburgh. Across 6 lectures, On Science, Technology, and Social Values, I will work through the claim that what we build and how we put it to use carry commitments about who counts and what matters in collective life cahss.ed.ac.uk/news-events/...
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Anna Alexandrova @annaalexandrova.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
A writeup abt the special issue of Studies in HPS which @martinkusch.bsky.social and I edited based on a 2022 conference held @crasshlive.bsky.social & @kingscollege.bsky.social The standard of articles is high, my own submission got rejected! So I poured my heart into the introduction. Have a read
hps.cam.ac.uk
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British Journal for the Philosophy of Science @thebjps.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
If you missed this year's BSPS annual conference, fear not! By the power of technology, we bring you Eleanor Knox's keynote talk, 'The Scale (and Context) Relativity of Spacetime Structure' youtu.be/pAQVXHcZXiY #philsci #philsky
youtu.be
Eleanor Knox, 'The Scale (and Context) Relativity of Spacetime Structure'
Keynote address delivered in July 2026 at the annual conference of the British Society for the Philosophy of Science #philsci
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OUGS Social Media @ougeolsoc.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Thermohaline circulation drives oceanwater circulation - ocean currents. Salty water sinks, cold, fresh water floats. Inextricably linked to world climate. How many minerals can say that. Vote #halite in the #MinCup26 semifinal
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Peter Adamson @histphilosophy.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
My article "Women of the world: teaching women thinkers in pre-modern global philosophy" is available open access - it offers a syllabus on the topic with discussion of my thinking in putting it together. Hope it will prove useful! www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.... #philsky #philosophy
tandfonline.com
Women of the world: teaching women thinkers in pre-modern global philosophy
This paper reflects on experiences teaching courses on women thinkers from antiquity and the medieval period. The discussion is built around a proposed syllabus (similar to one used in teaching at ...
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Alisa Bokulich @alisabokulich.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
The gorgeous history-inspired, decorative-icing biscuits (cookies) from the super-talented @ellamchawk.bsky.social are back! 🤩 Look at that exquisite detail, and such a cool research project too... 🗃️ 🍜
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Anya Plutynski @plutynski.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
bsky.app/profile/ucph...
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Alisa Bokulich @alisabokulich.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
A beautiful fall photo from my son today
A small waterfall, stream, & fall foliage trees along the banks on a misty day.
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Alejandro Fábregas-Tejeda @alejandrofabregastejeda.com · 28/09/2026
This is the fifteenth contribution to the TC on the pursuitworthiness of experiments that @ennofischer.bsky.social & I have been editing for the EJPS. Find discussions of the geosciences, biology, physics, neuroscience & much more in the 📄s that have been published: link.springer.com/collections/...
link.springer.com
The Pursuitworthiness of Experiments Across the Sciences
The concept of pursuitworthiness has garnered considerable attention in the philosophy of science in recent years. However, philosophical reflections on the ...
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Alejandro Fábregas-Tejeda @alejandrofabregastejeda.com · 28/09/2026
In their 🆕📄, @alisabokulich.bsky.social & @mattbrewer.bsky.social argue that targeted observation practices in the #geosciences owe much to Peirce’s views on the economy of research, which are better understood as an account of the pursuitworthiness of #data 👇 link.springer.com/article/10.1... #HPS
First page of the EJPS article titled "Pursuitworthy data collection in the geosciences: from Peirce’s economy of research to targeted observation" by Alisa Bokulich & Matthew Brewer. 

Abstract 
In the geosciences, field measurements are key sources of data, alongside more traditional laboratory experiments. Regardless of the data’s source, pursuitworthiness is arguably not just a question of the intrinsic merit of the knowledge produced, but also the value of that knowledge in light of limited resources (e.g., time, money, and labor). There is a long tradition of research on this issue in the geosciences, going back to the work of the pragmatist philosopher Charles Sanders Peirce. Motivated by his work as a government-funded geoscientist, Peirce developed a highly original theory of the “economy of research.” In this paper, we argue that Peirce’s views have been largely misunderstood, and offer an alternative interpretation of Peirce’s economy of research as an account of the pursuitworthiness of data. We argue that Peirce’s account is a forerunner of a current sophisticated data collection program in the geosciences, called targeted observation (or adaptive sampling), which is used to evaluate the pursuitworthiness of various possible measurements, experiments, or observations. We conclude by applying Peirce’s philosophical insights to assess the promise and limitations of targeted-observation programs in the geosciences today.
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Alisa Bokulich @alisabokulich.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Looks like not everyone's sailboat faired well in the Nor'easter (& not getting lifted at high tide either)😬⛵️
A blue sailboat beached on its side in the sand on a gray stormy day with lots of seaweed, flotsam on beach.
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Sabina Leonelli @sabinaleonelli.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Want to make data and AI systems more resilient, sustainable, responsible? Want to think about what “research commons” may mean today? Join us in person or online in London next Monday! ethicaldatainitiative.org/2026/08/11/b... @edinitiative.bsky.social @researchdataall.bsky.social #philsci
ethicaldatainitiative.org
Bringing Ethics to the Global Research Commons: The EDI Stakeholder Forum at the RDA P27 - The Ethical Data Initiative
As data-driven research reshapes global science, industry, and governance, a critical question remains: how do we ensure that the infrastructures we build are both technologically robust and socially ...
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Alisa Bokulich @alisabokulich.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Sunrise over the sea on September 28, 2021
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Karen Gregory @karengregory.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=...
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Alejandra Caraballo @esqueer.net · 27/09/2026
Google finally updated some of its satellite images of Gaza and my god, it's horrific. The entirety of Rafah has been demolished. The majority of Khan Younis is in ruins. Entire towns completely leveled and erased of the map.
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Lydia Moland @lydiamoland.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
If you're in the Boston area, or want to join by Zoom, I'll be talking about Lydia Maria Child and Jane Addams on pacifism Monday 9/28 12:00 EST at Harvard--really looking forward to it! #philsky #womeninphilosophy cswr.hds.harvard.edu/research-pro...
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Alisa Bokulich @alisabokulich.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
The Nor'easter here in Boston is winding down finally, but looks like our sailboat Tango will need her boom repaired. At least she is floating & hasn't broken free from her mooring! 😅 💨 🌊⛵️
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Alisa Bokulich @alisabokulich.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Congratulations Peter on HoPWAG episode 500 🥳🍾🙌 and filling in a gap with an episode on Sappho! #philsky 🏺 #AncientBluesky
A well-known portrait of Sappho from Pompeii, Insula Occidentalis.
55-79 AD from the National Archaeological Museum of Naples (photo by me).
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Alisa Bokulich @alisabokulich.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
"Lamarck contributed a subtle yet crucial change of emphasis: these mountains weren’t just made from the remains of marine organisms...[they] were made by living things. The original source of the mountains was not dead organisms, but the incessant activity of living ones." -Jessica Riskin #HPS 🧪 🦑
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Princeton University Press @princetonupress.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Wonderful to see that Helen De Cruz has won the International Society for Science & Religion's General Readership Book Prize for her work, Wonderstruck! This illuminating book reveals how wonder and awe are catalysts that can help us reclaim what makes life worth living. Learn more: buff.ly/IYNfe0Q
Wonderstruck: How Wonder and Awe Shape the Way We Think by Helen De CruzHelen De Cruz
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Wayne Myrvold @wmyrvold.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Tree leaves and branches silhouetted by a hazy orange-yellow moon
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Greg Priest @gregpriest.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring was published OTD in 1962. “[W]e have now acquired a fateful power to alter and destroy nature. But man is a part of nature, and his war against nature is inevitably a war against himself.” 🌱🐋 # HistSTM 🧪🌎 #philsci #philsky #WomeninSTEM
Caricature of Rachel Carson by David Levine for the New York Review of Books.
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Alisa Bokulich @alisabokulich.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Eldest just sent me this lovely pic of Lake Champlain where his team is racing this weekend. ⛵️
Burlington Bay Lake Champlain view of harbor lighthouse with green & white sailboat and mountains in shades of hazy blue & gray across  lake on a cloudy day. Photo by J
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Adrian Currie @adrian-currie.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
press.ucalgary.ca/books/978177...
Ummm hard to describe: a creepily colour-inverted Ichthyosaur wearing spectacles crawls through a cave to discover a copy of Currie’s “The Science of Lost Worlds”
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