Sign in

Derek D. Turner

@wiserthanddt.bsky.social
211 followers 146 following 18 posts

Philosophy of the life, earth, historical, and environmental sciences; philpaleo; environmental aesthetics. Trying to balance faith in other people with pessimism about social systems and institutions.

PostsRepliesMedia
Derek D. Turner @wiserthanddt.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
Excellent letter from the BSPS. Watching what's happening at Exeter with great concern for friends there.
0103
Derek D. Turner @wiserthanddt.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
Summer reading recommendation! This new book by Elana Shever is fantastic. It's an ethnography of dinosaur science in the spirit of Latour and Woolgar's Laboratory Life. Historians and philosophers of paleo, this is a must read. #Philpaleo #philsci www.ucpress.edu/books/making...
ucpress.edu
Making Our Beasts by Elana Shever - Hardcover
Scholarship is a powerful tool for changing how people think, plan, and govern. By giving voice to bright minds and bold ideas, we seek to foster understanding and drive progressive change.
03113
Derek D. Turner @wiserthanddt.bsky.social · 17/06/2026
Excited to visit Ostrava for this upcoming conference! (Philosophers working on issues in the historical sciences might consider submitting.) #philsci
0186
Derek D. Turner @wiserthanddt.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
I'm giving a talk next Thursday on the aesthetic dimensions of narrative scientific explanation. It is on Zoom -- see below.
0175
Reposted by Derek D. Turner
Dr. Michelle I. Turner @chaco-arch.bsky.social · 02/04/2026
ACTION ALERT⚠️ Dept. of Interior is trying to rush through a revocation of Biden’s public law protecting lands around Chaco Canyon from new oil/gas leases. They’ve given only 7 day for public comment, during Easter/Passover. Thread 🧵 below on why you should care, but here’s a link to comment! 🏺
nmwild.org
Protect Chaco Canyon | New Mexico Wild
29888
Derek D. Turner @wiserthanddt.bsky.social · 26/03/2026
If you are in the area, we have an exciting interdisciplinary conference coming up at Connecticut College! @alisabokulich.bsky.social is one of our speakers. This is free and open to the public.
eventbrite.com
Sea Level Rise: Measurement, Understanding, Adaptation
Explore sea level rise & climate change with national experts as they examine the human and ecological challenges our coastlines face.
042
Derek D. Turner @wiserthanddt.bsky.social · 20/03/2026
My friend and colleague Simon Feldman has a new book out! It develops a rigorous response to the conservative allegation that liberal arts college professors like us are indoctrinating our students. This is an awesome book. www.bloomsbury.com/us/in-defens...
bloomsbury.com
In Defense of Indoctrination
Considering charges that liberal arts institutions indoctrinate their students, this book investigates the conceptual connections between critical thinking and…
031
Derek D. Turner @wiserthanddt.bsky.social · 31/01/2026
My friend and colleague Ross Morin has just finished recording season 2 of his podcast, Filmmaking Unpacked. Season 1 was awesome (and very philosophical). Philosophers and anyone interested in creative work might find this worth listening to! www.rossmorinfilm.com/unpacked.html
0102
Derek D. Turner @wiserthanddt.bsky.social · 16/01/2026
Book recommendation! Over winter break, I've been reading Robert McFarlane's Is a River Alive? It is beautiful writing, and it has an undercurrent of serious philosophical argument. An awesome book. wwnorton.com/books/978039...
wwnorton.com
Is a River Alive?
A <em>New York Times</em> Bestseller<br />A #1 <em>Sunday Times</em> (UK) Bestseller<br /><br />Finalist for the 2025 Banff Mountain Book Competition in Environmental Literature<br />Longlisted for th...
040
Derek D. Turner @wiserthanddt.bsky.social · 13/11/2025
Here's a short piece on de-extinction that just came out in Ethics, Policy, & Environment: www.tandfonline.com/eprint/DKVRV...
tandfonline.com
Game of Clones: Why the Best Argument for De-Extinction Does Not Support Colossal Biosciences’ Dire Wolf Project
Beth Shapiro, the lead researcher on Colossal Biosciences’ dire wolf project, has argued that the goal of de-extinction research should be to restore lost ecological interactions. But the recent cr...
1125
Derek D. Turner @wiserthanddt.bsky.social · 24/08/2025
Years ago I published a short review of an environmental ethics anthology. Just jot a notice that my old book review has been cited in a paper in the journal *AI & Ethics.* So I looked up that paper. The authors clearly thought they were citing the book I was reviewing. I'm guessing they used AI 😂
030
Derek D. Turner @wiserthanddt.bsky.social · 03/06/2025
A few of us philosophers with hot takes on the news about "dire wolves." (I didn't come up with the "Game of Clones" title, but I kind of like it.)
dailynous.com
Philosophers On The Science & Ethics of Resurrecting Extinct Species - Daily Nous
"The Return of the Dire Wolf" announced Time magazine---not quite correctly, it turns out---in its article on the creation of three creatures genetically engineered into existence by the firm Colossal...
182
Derek D. Turner @wiserthanddt.bsky.social · 04/05/2025
Am I the only one who still writes their own recommendation letters for students? Is everyone else using AI?
320
Derek D. Turner @wiserthanddt.bsky.social · 21/03/2025
Meta has apparently used 18 of my publications, without permission, to train its AI. This is theft of intellectual property.
theatlantic.com
Search LibGen, the Pirated-Books Database That Meta Used to Train AI
Millions of books and scientific papers are captured in the collection’s current iteration.
041
Derek D. Turner @wiserthanddt.bsky.social · 16/03/2025
Recently I Zoomed in to participate in one of Adrian Currie's seminars at Exeter and one of the seminar participants followed up with some wonderful interview questions on aesthetics and science #HPS #Philsci exeternotion.press/2025/03/14/5...
exeternotion.press
Provenance and the Natural World: An Interview with Derek Turner – Notion
0124
Reposted by Derek D. Turner
Extinct blog @extinctblog.bsky.social · 20/01/2025
Need something to watch today that *isn't* the U.S. presidential inauguration? Try these hidden YouTube gems! Featuring Alfred Wegener, J. Tuzo Wilson, Fred Vine, Stephen Jay Gould, Adolf Seilacher, and the Venus-was-once-a-comet guy, Immanuel Velikovsky www.extinctblog.org/extinct/2025...
extinctblog.org
More Hidden Gems from YouTube — Extinct
In which Max compiles another set of YouTube videos for your enjoyment. Featuring Alfred Wegener, J. Tuzo Wilson, Immanuel Velikovsky, Adolf Seilacher, and more!
0113
Derek D. Turner @wiserthanddt.bsky.social · 20/01/2025
I've been on the lookout for interesting examples of challenging environmental art, and someone shared this one: "The Black Gold Tapestry," by Sandra Sawatzky. And it's got dinosaurs! www.theblackgoldtapestry.com
theblackgoldtapestry.com
The Black Gold Tapestry
Sandra Sawatzky's contemporary work of art dramatizing the saga of oil through 220 feet of hand embroidery.
010
Derek D. Turner @wiserthanddt.bsky.social · 16/01/2025
Another book recommendation for #HPS ers: I learned some new stuff from Caroline Winterer's fantastic book, "How the New World Became Old." Anyone who likes to geek out on 19th century geology will love this & It's got beautiful images and plates. press.princeton.edu/books/hardco...
press.princeton.edu
How the New World Became Old
How the idea of deep time transformed how Americans see their country and themselves
12810
Derek D. Turner @wiserthanddt.bsky.social · 15/01/2025
Book Recommendation: Lulu Miller's "Why Fish Don't Exist." It's got interesting history of science, some philosophy of biology, some memoir, and some murder mystery, all woven together. HPS folks might enjoy it! www.simonandschuster.com/books/Why-Fi...
simonandschuster.com
Why Fish Don't Exist
A Best Book of 2020: The Washington Post * NPR * Chicago Tribune * Smithsonian A “remarkable” (Los Angeles Times), “seductive” (The Wall Street Jou...
1162
Reposted by Derek D. Turner
Extinct blog @extinctblog.bsky.social · 10/01/2025
In case you missed it: here is Kelle Dhein's wonderful discussion of George Gaylord Simpson's posthumously published sci-fi/time travel/dinosaur novella, The Dechronization of Sam Magruder. Or: the umwelt of a paleontologist... www.extinctblog.org/extinct/2024...
extinctblog.org
From the Archive: Rugged Individualism in the Cretaceous — Extinct
Once more to the archive: in which Kelle Dhein analyzes George Simpson’s sci-fi novella, The Dechronization of Sam Magruder
285