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Miguel Ohnesorge

@miguelohn.bsky.social
2.1K followers 913 following 128 posts

History & Philosophy of Science @ University of Toronto mohnesorgehps.com

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Reposted by Miguel Ohnesorge
University of Cincinnati, Department of Philosophy @ucphilosophy.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
We’re hiring for two positions! One is TT in Ancient, the other an open-rank TT position in mind, science, or ethics. Please share widely! See more on PhilJobs: TT Ancient: philjobs.org/job/show/32273 Open-rank Mind, Science, or Ethics: philjobs.org/job/show/32265
philjobs.org
Assistant Professor, University of Cincinnati - PhilJobs:JFP Assistant Professor, University of Cincinnati
An international database of jobs for philosophers
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Alisa Bokulich @alisabokulich.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Congratulations to the newly minted Dr. Brewer @mattbrewer.bsky.social on a successful defense of his dissertation "Towards a Philosophy of Plate Tectonics: Pluralism in Explanation, Evidence, & Classification"🎉🎓& thanks to @wiserthanddt.bsky.social & @miguelohn.bsky.social for serving on committee
Matt in a khaki suit jacket seatesat a table giving presentaion "Why a Philosophy of Plate Tectonics?
Epistemic inaccessibility (Smith 2007)
Underdetermination (Miyake 2011)
"Tyranny of scales" (Bokulich 2021)
Historical traces (Turner 2007)
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Miguel Ohnesorge @miguelohn.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
I learned a lot from these awesome talks on the meaning and role of "equilibrium" in Ancient science, (post-)Newtonian mechanics, thermodynamics, general relativity, (quantum) statistical mechanics, biology, and economics #philsci #philsky #histsci
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Alisa Bokulich @alisabokulich.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
⏰ Deadline is fast approaching: September 1, 2026! Du Châtelet Prize in Philosophy of Physics. Topic Celebrating 300th anniversary of 3rd ed. Newton’s Principia. www.duchateletprize.org Winner will receive $1000, workshop & SHPS pub Open to grad students & w/in 5 yrs PhD #HPS ⚛️
Portrait of Emile Du Chatelet at desk with books, compass, armillary sphere (source: Wiki)Titlepage and frontispiece of the third edition Newton's Principia (source Wiki)
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Cristian Larroulet Philippi @cristianlarph.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
This is possibly the first time that (world-class) seismologists will join philosophers of science to discuss progress in seismology. Very proud of having co-organized this with @miguelohn.bsky.social and Teru Miyake #philsci #PSA26 #histci #seismology #earthquakes
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Eugene Y. S. Chua @eugenechua.bsky.social · 02/08/2026
The final highlight of this past week's phil sci bonanza: the 2nd iteration of the Foundations of Thermo workshop! The theme: a conceptual history of equilibrium. I learnt so much from the speakers and thank everyone for participating! Looking forward to the next one in 2027 😄
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Eugene Y. S. Chua @eugenechua.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
It's a wrap for the inaugural APSA conference at NTU! All this wouldn't be possible w/o the participants, keynotes, student helpers, reviewers, and esp. the LOC for ensuring everything fit together in what's surely a paradigmatic example of operational coherence. Thanks everyone! #philsci #philsky
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Matilde Carrera @matildecarrera.bsky.social · 06/07/2026
Today I defended my PhD! 🎓 I’m so grateful to Alisa, Miguel, and Adrian for their incredible support, and thoughtful feedback. My graduate school journey at BU has been truly formative, shaping my research and the person I am. Thank you for believing in me every step of the way!
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Alisa Bokulich @alisabokulich.bsky.social · 06/07/2026
Congrats to the newly minted ✨Dr. Carrera✨ (@matildecarrera.bsky.social) who successfully defended her brilliant dissertation "Turning Data Into Evidence in Human Origins Research" today with flying colors!! Woo-hoo 🙌 🎉🎉🎓 #PhDone Thanks to @adrian-currie.bsky.social for serving as external #philsci
Alisa, Matilde, & Miguel in person & Adrian on a large TV screen post defense in seminar room. TURNING DATA INTO EVIDENCE
IN HUMAN ORIGINS RESEARCH
Matilde Carrera
PhD Dissertation Defensel
Advisor: Alisa N. Bokulich, Ph.D.
Overview
Increasing central role of genomic data (ancient and modern) in human origin research
Practice-based philosophical approaches to research on human evolutionary history
How are genomic data turned into evidence for claims about past human populations?
Overview
How are genomic data turned into evidence for claims about past human populations?
Ch. 2
Data
Authenticity
Ch. 3
Underdetermination
in Demographic Inferences
Under what conditions paleogenomic data can be used as evidence?
What are the constraints for model-based demographic inferences?
Ch. 4
Evidential
Assessment and Ethical
Science
What are the criteria that guide evidential assessment?
How do ethical responsibilities in human origins research bear on the process of evaluating evidence?
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Alisa Bokulich @alisabokulich.bsky.social · 03/07/2026
Looking fwd to this workshop @ Caltech just before #PSA26 bringing together scholars from seismology & from history & philosophy of science to address relation between theory, observation, instrumentation, & progress in seismology. Free registration here: forms.office.com/pages/respon... #philsci ⚒️
Caltech workshop poster with text: "Observation, Theory, and Progress in Seismology
RSVP HERE
ABOUT
A workshop bringing together scholars from seismology and from history and philosophy of science to address the relation between theory, observation, instrumentation, and progress in seismology
SPEAKERS AND PANELISTS
• Zhongwen Zhan (Caltech)
• Hiroo Kanamori (Caltech)
• Teru Miyake (NTU)
• Susan Hough (USGS)
• Miguel Onesorge (University of Toronto)
• Lucy Jones (Caltech)
• Tom Heaton (Caltech)
• Alisa Bokulich (Boston Uni)
• Jamee Elder (Tufts)
TUESDAY
NOV.17.2026
CALTECH CAMPUS
1200 E CALIFORNIA BLVD, PASADENA, CA, 91125
EXACT TIME AND LOCATION TBA
QUESTIONS? CONTACT AMERICA DE LA CRUZ
© 626-395-6952
•
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Reposted by Miguel Ohnesorge
UCU Commons @ucucommons.org · 26/06/2026
PETITION: www.change.org/p/stop-redun...
change.org
Sign the Petition
Stop Redundancies at the University of Exeter
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Eugene Y. S. Chua @eugenechua.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
As program committee chair, it's my pleasure to announce the program for the Asian Philosophy of Science Association's inaugural conference. We have a great selection of papers, and I'm very excited to see everyone in Singapore come July! Details: www.ntu.edu.sg/soh/news-eve... #philsky #philsci
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Cristian Larroulet Philippi @cristianlarph.bsky.social · 07/06/2026
I'll be presenting this work at PSA (San Diego, Nov 2026). The question is how to think about "formative" (aggregate) constructs and their empirical measurements in the social sciences (e.g., socio-economic status). The standard view (e.g., Borsboom 2005) requires constructs to be causes of...
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Lucia C. Neco (Luba) @luciacneco.bsky.social · 21/04/2026
"Mulheres também sabem filosofia" 🇧🇷👩‍🎓 Iniciativa incrível de um banco de dados de filosofas brasileiras. Por favor, compartilhem! Já mandei meu cadastro! #phil #philsky #philsci #HPS #philbio
mtsf.com.br
Mulheres Também Sabem Filosofia
Projeto acadêmico focado em dar visibilidade a pesquisadoras na área da filosofia. Conheça projetos, entrevistas e a produção filosófica de mulheres.
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Eugene Y. S. Chua @eugenechua.bsky.social · 15/06/2026
Together w/ @miguelohn.bsky.social, I present the 2nd Foundations of Thermodynamics Workshop! We'll trace equilibrium reasoning from Archimedes, (post-)Newton, classical thermo, early QM, GR, to quantum thermo, bio, & econs. Abstracts: www.eugenechua.com/ftg2026-find... #philsky #philphys #philsci
eugenechua.com
Eugene Y. S. Chua - FTG2026: Finding Balance
2026 Foundations of Thermodynamics Workshop: Finding Balance Nanyang Technological University Singapore 27-28 July 2026 Venue: NTU School of Humanities, Seminar Room 9 Organizers: Eugene Y. S. Chua (N...
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Aeon Magazine @aeon.co · 08/06/2026
In 1852, the astronomer Nils Haqvin Selander travelled past the Arctic to complete a massively time consuming and difficult project – measuring the shape of the Earth. But why was this so important? And why does measurement matter to science at all? Read the Essay by Miguel Ohnesorge to find out
buff.ly
Why did measuring Earth’s true shape matter for science? | Aeon Essays
The extraordinary challenge of determining the true shape of Earth reveals the deep value of measurement to scientific progress
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Digressionsimpressions @nescio13.bsky.social · 21/04/2026
Huygens' Debate with Newton over universal gravity; Imperial secrecy, and map-making open.substack.com/pub/digressi...
open.substack.com
Huygens' Debate with Newton over universal gravity; Imperial secrecy, and map-making
Damon Linker has a very interesting new piece (here) on what he calls “American Caesarism” (largely behind a paywall, alas). I mention it not because it generously mentions (and really gets) one of my...
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Michael Clemens @mclem.org · 07/04/2026
The man who coined the term genocide, Raphael Lemkin, defined it as a greater atrocity than mass murder explicitly because it involves the intentional killing of a civilization.
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Alisa Bokulich @alisabokulich.bsky.social · 12/03/2026
Submissions (< 10,000 words) invited for 2026 Du Châtelet Prize in Philosophy of Physics. Topic Celebrating 300th anniversary of 3rd ed. Newton’s Principia. www.duchateletprize.org Winner will receive $1000, workshop & SHPS pub Open to grad students & w/in 5 yrs PhD Deadline September 1, 2026 #HPS
Portrait of Emile Du Chatelet at desk with books, compass, armillary sphere (source: Wiki)Titlepage and frontispiece of the third edition Newton's Principia (source Wiki)
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British Journal for the Philosophy of Science @thebjps.bsky.social · 09/03/2026
Referee of the Year 2025: Not all heroes wear capes (though ours are always masked) www.thebsps.org/auxhyp/refer... #philsci #philsky #hps
thebsps.org
Referee of the Year 2025 | Auxiliary Hypotheses | BJPS
The Editors are delighted to announce the BJPS Referee of the Year for 2025
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Miguel Ohnesorge @miguelohn.bsky.social · 07/03/2026
Now out: How did earthquakes come to have a (quantitative) size? How can we quantify without experimental control? @cristianlarph.bsky.social and I answer both questions and show their implications for human science measurement. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... #philsci #histsci #seismology
sciencedirect.com
Lessons for human science measurement from the quantification of earthquake size
It remains controversial whether the human sciences can quantify the phenomena they study. The feasibility of quantification is usually assessed by id…
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Eugene Y. S. Chua @eugenechua.bsky.social · 24/02/2026
My paper with @yichenluo.bsky.social has been accepted for publication at @thebjps.bsky.social! We argue that standard pictures of de-idealization are themselves idealized, and develop a practice-first account of de-idealization for validating idealized models. Preprint: philpapers.org/rec/LUODDB
philpapers.org
Yichen Luo & Eugene Y. S. Chua, De-Idealizing De-Idealization: Beyond Full Reversal - PhilPapers
There is a question of whether de-idealization is needed for justified use of -- for 'checking' -- idealizations. We argue that the standard philosophical account of de-idealization has become too ide...
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Alejandro Fábregas-Tejeda @alejandrofabregastejeda.com · 31/01/2026
Final days to submit an abstract to #PBCS2026! If you are an early-career scholar looking for a supportive environment to discuss your work & meet international peers, consider applying! Another plus this year: The workshop will be in Madrid! sites.google.com/view/xivpbcs... #HPbio #philsci #philsky
Promotional poster for the XIV Workshop on Philosophy of Biology and Cognitive Sciences. The poster features a dark green background with stylized yellow and red floral illustrations around the edges. Large yellow text announces the workshop title. The event will take place 18–19 June at UNED, Edificio de Humanidades, Paseo de la Senda del Rey 7, Madrid. The keynote speakers listed are Alejandro Fábregas-Tejeda (KU Leuven), Enara García (SDU), and José Antonio Pérez-Escobar (UNED). The poster highlights a Call for Abstracts (CfA) with an extended deadline of 1st February. Contact information is provided at xivpbcs@gmail.com
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Phil Lewis @phillewis.bsky.social · 19/01/2026
Dr. Gladys West, the pioneering mathematician whose work laid the foundation for modern GPS technology, has died. She was 95.
thezebra.org
Dr. Gladys West, Mathematician Whose Work Made GPS Possible, Dies at 95
ALEXANDRIA, VA — Dr. Gladys West, the pioneering mathematician whose work laid the foundation for modern GPS technology, has died. She passed away
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Alisa Bokulich @alisabokulich.bsky.social · 29/12/2025
CFP: Society for the Study of Measurement will be held at the University of Edinburgh June 22-25, 2026. Submit proposals for papers, symposia, & poster on any topics in the theory, history, philosophy, & application of measurement by January 15, 2026 app.oxfordabstracts.com/stages/80364... #HPS
Topics
Please see below for a non-exhaustive list of suggested topics; we particularly welcome contributions that make contact with this year's conference theme: Ground Truth and Validity.
While the notion of measurement validity is comparatively familiar, ground truth may need more of an introduction. The concept of ground truth has origins in remote sensing, where it is used to contrast the outcomes of a near or ground level measurement with outcomes of a remotely sensed measurement. From these origins, the concept has now moved to a wider use, particularly in machine learning contexts, where it denotes data assumed to be true, which can then be used to calibrate and validate machine learning data. The time seems ripe for a more careful investigation from a measurement perspective of the concept of ground truth-both in its original understanding and in its more metaphorical use.
Measurement and Simulation
• Connections between measuring and simulating
• Can simulation substitute for measurement?
Measurement and Data ScienceMeasurement and Data Science
• Measurement and data quality
• Measurement and data analysis
• Measurement and Al
Models in Measurement
• The role of models in measurement
• The role of models in justifying measurement results
• Models, intersubjectivity, objectivity, validation
Models of Measurement
• The general structure of the measurement process
• The structure of measurement in social and human sciences
• Transduction and calibration in measurement
• History of the conception of the structure of measurement
History, Philosophy and Sociology of MeasurementThe structure of measurement in social and human sciences
• Transduction and calibration in measurement
• History of the conception of the structure of measurement
History, Philosophy and Sociology of Measurement
• Exploration across sciences with diverse philosophical perspectives
• New quantification and measurement approaches
• Epistemological and metaphysical approaches to measurement
Measurement Applications and their conceptual foundations in any area of science
• Life & Health Sciences
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Eugene Y. S. Chua @eugenechua.bsky.social · 23/11/2025
There's about a month left to submit something to the Asian Philosophy of Science Association's inaugural conference! Consider submitting an abstract, and encouraging early-career scholars (especially those from or based in Asia) to submit an essay for the APSA Essay Prize.
ntu.edu.sg
Asian Philosophy of Science Association (APSA) Conference 2026
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Michela Massimi @michelamassimi.bsky.social · 11/11/2025
The next conference of the Society for the Study of Measurement will take place at Edinburgh on 22-25 June. Call for papers and symposia opens Nov 15 and closes Jan 15. Submissions via app.oxfordabstracts.com/auth?redirec...
measurementsociety.org
Events – The Society for the Study of Measurement
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Alisa Bokulich @alisabokulich.bsky.social · 19/09/2025
A fantastic kickoff tonight of the Boston Network for History & Philosophy of Physics, organized by @miguelohn.bsky.social & featuring talk by Peter Galison on his work with the Black Hole Initiative. #HPS ⚛️
Miguel introducing speaker at first Peter Galison giving a talk
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Miguel Ohnesorge @miguelohn.bsky.social · 03/09/2025
New History & Philosophy of Physics network in Boston! Join us: open to locals and visitors. Check out the inaugural colloquium program & sign up to our mailing list and register for the inaugural lecture given by Peter Galison: www.bu.edu/cphs/boston-... #philsci #histsci #philsky
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Miguel Ohnesorge @miguelohn.bsky.social · 31/08/2025
Now out as preprint in Philosophy of Science. l argue that two central desiderata for measures often conflict: quantitativeness and responsiveness to stakeholder values, forcing a choice between them. The conflict poses a challenge for recent work on "legitimate" measurement. doi.org/10.1017/psa....
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Thomas Spiteri @tespiteri.bsky.social · 14/08/2025
This week, Cristian Larroulet Philipi joins us to talk about measurement in the human sciences: why it can be more philosophically complex than in the physical sciences, and how it raises pressing questions about the role of numbers in psychology, social science, and policy #philsci #measurement
open.spotify.com
S5 E5 - Cristian Larroulet Philippi on Measurement in the Human Sciences
The HPS Podcast - Conversations from History, Philosophy and Social Studies of Science · Episode
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Eran Tal @erantal.bsky.social · 13/08/2025
My student, Sebastian Rodriguez Duque, has just successfully defended his dissertation on the role of ethical and social values in measurement. Next stop: two-year postdoc at Cambridge U supervised by @annaalexandrova.bsky.social . Congratulations, Dr. Rodriguez Duque! #philsky #philsci
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Katy Duncan 🍉 @katysduncan.bsky.social · 13/08/2025
@naomioreskes.bsky.social's brilliant @rigb.org lecture: how military secrecy delayed plate tectonic theory for 3 decades - a narrative that remains ever relevant to science today... ⚒️ 🧪 #histsci #skystorians #science #academicsky #STS #geoscience @miguelohn.bsky.social
youtu.be
Rethinking the origin of plate tectonics - with Naomi Oreskes
YouTube video by The Royal Institution
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Alisa Bokulich @alisabokulich.bsky.social · 25/07/2025
A lovely meal the other day in Porto with newlyweds 🎊 Miguel & Maria, where Maria introduced us to a few traditional Portuguese desserts such as "Bacon Pudding" & "Camel Drool" 😂 🐫🐪
A young couple smiling in a restaurant, where the woman is dividing the desserts for everyone to sample.
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Miguel Ohnesorge @miguelohn.bsky.social · 06/07/2025
Join us for this free online event to discuss the meaning, limits, and prospects of assigning numbers to the social and natural world. All online with free registration. #philsci #philsky #histsci #sts #histtech #sociology
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Alisa Bokulich @alisabokulich.bsky.social · 19/07/2025
Excited to be heading to the International Society for the History, Philosophy, & Social Studies of Biology (aka ISH) conference in Porto (my 1st!). Check out the great program & these talks by members of our #PhiGeo research group ⬇️ #HPS #ISHPSSB2025 ishpssb2025.icbas.up.pt/wp-content/u...
Phi-Geo at ISH Porto
Matilde Carrera
Boston University, USA
Defining Ancestry: Conceptual Clarity to Minimize Harms [Virtual]
Organized: Conceptual Challenges in the Field of Human Evolution, 14:30-16:00 Monday, 21
July, 2025
Conceptual Challenges in the Field of Human Evolution Organized: Conceptual Challenges in the Field of Human Evolution, 14:30-16:00 Monday, 21 July, 2025
Federica Bocchi
University of Copenhagen, Denmark
Relationship-Building and the Limits of Participatory Science
Organized: Participation in Conservation in Postcolonial and Settler Colonial Contexts —
Session 1, 14:30-16:00 Monday, 21 July, 2025Organized: Participation in Conservation in Postcolonial and Settler Colonial Contexts — Session 2, 16:30-18:00 Monday, 21 July, 2025
Matthew Brewer
Boston University, USA
Classification, Uniqueness, and Analogical Reasoning: Lessons from Biology and Geology [Virtual]
Individual: Classification, 11:00-12:30 Tuesday, 22 July. 2025
Aja Watkins
University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA
Criteria for Soil Classification
Organized: How Does Dirt Become Soil? Categorizations of Soil in the Agricultural Sciences — Session 1. 14:30-16:00 Wednesday, 23 July, 2025Organized: How Does Dirt Become Soil?
Categorizations of Soil in the Agricultural Sciences — Session 2, 16:30-18:00 Wednesday, 23
July, 2025
Alisa Bokulich
Boston University, USA
Reconstructing, Extinct Life: Analogues, Homologues, & Biomechanical Models Organized: Evolutionary Reconstruction and Explanation, 16:30-18:00 Wednesday, 23 July.
2025
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Miguel Ohnesorge @miguelohn.bsky.social · 06/07/2025
Join us for this free online event to discuss the meaning, limits, and prospects of assigning numbers to the social and natural world. All online with free registration. #philsci #philsky #histsci #sts #histtech #sociology
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Jim Weatherall @jamesowenweatherall.com · 23/06/2025
Very excited for this summer school on my forthcoming book with Chris Smeenk, The Aims and Structure of Cosmological Theory!! The book is very nearly finished. Let us know if you'd like to give feedback on a draft. www.usi.ch/en/education...
usi.ch
Summer School: The Aim and Structure of Cosmological Theory
A number of challenging questions arise in contemporary cosmology, and philosophers can contribute constructively to answering them. Over the past century cosmologists have debated whether, for exampl...
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Alisa Bokulich @alisabokulich.bsky.social · 10/06/2025
📣 My latest coauthored paper with Wendy Parker "Understanding Data Uncertainty" is finally forthcoming in /Studies in History & Philosophy of Science/: philarchive.org/rec/BOKUDU #philsci #philsky 🧪 #Data
philarchive.org
Alisa Bokulich & Wendy Parker, Understanding Data Uncertainty - PhilArchive
Scientific data without uncertainty estimates are increasingly seen as incomplete. Recent discussions in the philosophy of data, however, have given little attention to the nature of uncertainty estim...
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Eugene Y. S. Chua @eugenechua.bsky.social · 03/06/2025
Co-organized with @wmyrvold.bsky.social, the 2025 Foundations of Thermodynamics workshop will be held in NTU from 16-18 July 2025. We have a great slate of participants and I am very much looking forward to it! Attendance is free and there will be a Zoom option. Details here: bit.ly/3SxvSNi
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Alisa Bokulich @alisabokulich.bsky.social · 01/06/2025
@miguelohn.bsky.social is staying with us for week, so today took him on hike to top of Great Blue Hill to see weather observatory where they've continuously used same historic instruments since #19thC, such as this Campbell-Stokes sunshine recorder. Then walked along @neponsetgreenway.bsky.social
View from top of GBH Observatory with crystal ball of the Campbell-Stokes sunshine recorder in foreground & trees& pond far below in distance. Miguel hiking up GBHView of downtown Boston in distance from GBHLower Mills section of Neponset River and old Bakers chocolate factory.
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Enno Fischer @ennofischer.bsky.social · 19/05/2025
Apply to join a team of wonderful colleagues at Philosophy at TU Dresden. I am advertising a 3-year PhD position in philosophy of science/philosophy of physics as part of the DFG project 'Progress through Principles', deadline 28.06.2024. For details: tinyurl.com/3eb2f667 #philsci #philsky
Job ad for position in DFG project: "Progress through Principles: An Epistemology of Foundational Assumptions Guiding Contemporary Physics"
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Katy Duncan 🍉 @katysduncan.bsky.social · 14/05/2025
The only possible way to round off the @ri-science.bsky.social Geophysics conference was to stick the attendees in Faraday’s lab 🤷🏻‍♀️ Thank you all so much for coming! @miguelohn.bsky.social @alisabokulich.bsky.social
7 people behind the glass wall of Faraday’s original laboratory, surrounded by his apparatus
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Gabriel Tarziu @gabrieltarziu.bsky.social · 13/05/2025
Had a fantastic time yesterday at Ri as part of the "Decoding our Planet" workshop beautifully organised by @katysduncan.bsky.social and @miguelohn.bsky.social More info here: www.aip.org/history/deco...
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David Pyle @davidmpyle.bsky.social · 13/05/2025
Thank you @katysduncan.bsky.social and @miguelohn.bsky.social for convening such a wonderful discussion meeting on #histsci and #geophysics at @ri-science.bsky.social, and a great keynote from @naomioreskes.bsky.social
Photo of workshop convenors Miguel Ohnesorge and Katy Duncan in the Royal Institution lecture theatreNaomi Oreskes starting her keynote talk, ‘Re-thinking the origins of plate tectonics’ at the Royal Institution
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Alisa Bokulich @alisabokulich.bsky.social · 12/05/2025
A wonderful talk tonight by @naomioreskes.bsky.social at the @ri-science.bsky.social on how Navy secrecy of oceanographic data impeded rise of plate tectonics.
Naomi giving talk at historic Royal Institution lecture hall: Slide text:
• 1920s, Vening Meinesz had pioneered precision measurement of gravity at sea.
• Dutch "East Indies"
• Large band of negative gravity anomaly, along the line of the Java trench.
• Coincided with zone of major earthquakes, & a parallel narrow zones of active volcanoes
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Rebekah Higgitt @rhiggitt.bsky.social · 09/05/2025
I'm glad to be one of the contributing museum professionals at this
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Will Thomas @williamthomas.bsky.social · 09/05/2025
On Monday, the Royal Institution is hosting a workshop on the #histsci of geophysics, with a livestreamed keynote by @naomioreskes.bsky.social on plate tectonics. Read @katysduncan.bsky.social on how she and @miguelohn.bsky.social put the event together, and see who's presenting here:
aip.org
May 9, 2025
Workshop Program: Decoding Our Planet: The Making of Geophysics
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Katy Duncan 🍉 @katysduncan.bsky.social · 30/04/2025
Think you know the history of plate tectonics? Think again 🌍 @naomioreskes.bsky.social explores why the US military shrouded this science in secrecy & what this reveals about scientific progress, politics and power… 📅 7pm 12th May @ri-science.bsky.social 🎟️ Tickets www.rigb.org/whats-on/ret...
rigb.org
Rethinking the origins of plate tectonics
Naomi Oreskes explores how our understanding of the planet has been shaped by money.
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Reposted by Miguel Ohnesorge
Alisa Bokulich @alisabokulich.bsky.social · 28/04/2025
Fantastic program now out for #HPS conference "Decoding Our Planet: The Making of Geophysics", bringing together scholars from history of science, #geophysics, & philosophy of science to explore how modern geophysics took shape in #19thC & 20thC, at the Royal Institution in London 12 May
Decoding Our Planet: The Making of Geophysics
How did we come to understand the origin and basic physical processes of our planet?
Answering this question requires us to understand the origins of modern geophysics, the science investigating everything from gravity and magnetism to earthquakes, climate change, and plate tectonics. The best place to answer this question is at the Royal Institution, where most major geophysicists discoursed, debated, and corresponded. In this workshop, we bring together leading scholars from history of science, and geophysics, and philosophy of science to explore how modern geophysics took shape in the nineteenth and twentieth century.
This event is held in conjunction with Discover200 - a celebration of the Ri's 200 year history of its Discourse series, CHRISTMAS LECTURES, and the isolation of Benzene
We are incredibly grateful to the Freer Trust, the Department of History and Philosophy of Science (University of Cambridge), and individual attendees for their generosity in funding this event. Thank you!
All talks are in the Conversation Room (see attached floorplan) unless otherwise specified.
Talks are 25 minutes and 10 minutes Q&A.
Lightning talks are 5 minutes, with a group 10 minute Q&A.
Schedule
9:00 - 9:30am
Breakfast and Registration Tea, coffee and pastries
Mezzanine
9:30 - 9:40am
Welcome and Introduction
Conversation Room
9:40 - 10:50am
Session 1
Alisa Bokulich
Boston University
Pablo Lima
University of Seville
The Philosophical Culture of the U.S. Coast Survey & the Rise of Geophysics: 1816-1874
The Making of Oceanography: Natural Models and Cross-scalar Reasoning in the Mediterranean Sea
10:50 - 11:10am
Coffee Break
Tea, coffee and biscuits
Mezzanine11:10am - 12:20pm
Session 2
Katy Duncan
Royal Institution
Influence and Instrument: The Fair Weather Problem in
Atmospheric Electricity (1850-1930)
Gregory Good
West Virginia University
The Astronomical (and other) Backgrounds of Geophysics
12:20 - 12:55pm
Lightning Talks
Gabriel Târziu
LMU Munich
Rethinking the Importance of Model Hierarchies in Climate Science
David Pyle
University of Oxford
Sensing the Unquiet Earth - Frank Perret and the Monitoring of Restless Volcanoes
Nanina Föhr
LMU Munich
A Committee for the Ages: The Coordination of Geologic Time Measurement in the First Half of the zoth Century
James Ladyman
University of Bristol
Triangulation - Geophysics and the Scientific Method
Xiaoyue Hu
Peking University
The International Geophysical Year and the Development of Solar-Terrestrial Physics in China (19505-1980s)
10 minute Q&A
12:55 - 1:55pm
Lunch Break
Mezzanine

Selection of sandwiches, crisps, fruit, tea and coffee
1:55 - 3:05pm
Session 3
Teru Miyake
Nanyang Technological University
Untangling Seismology: The Göttingen Group 1907-1914
Miguel Ohnesorge
University of Cambridge
Quantification in Geophysics
3:05 - 3:15pm
Short Break (uncatered)3:15 - 3:50pm
Museum & Archive Lightning Presentations
Charlotte New Royal Institution
Joshua Nall Whipple Museum, Department of HPS, University of Cambridge
Anne Barrett Imperial College London
Rebekah Higgitt National Museums Scotland Alexandra Rose Science Museum London
10 minutes Q&A
3:50 - 4:10pm
4:10 - 5:20pm
Robert-Jan Wille
Utrecht University
Amelia Urry
University of Cambridge
5:20 - 5:40pm
5:40 - 6:45pm
Round-up and Close
Free Time
Meet in designated spot (TBC) before heading into theatre.
7:00pm
Keynote
Coffee Break
Tea, coffee and biscuits
Mezzanine
Session 4
The Geopolitics of Atmospheric Physics
'Deep Uncertainty' in the Cryosphere
Lecture Theatre
Naomi Oreskes
Harvard University
There will be a short book signing after the keynote
8:30pm
Speakers' Dinner
Rethinking the Origins of Plate Tectonics
Library
There will be an opt-in tour of the building and exhibitions on the 13* May - details to follow.
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