Brian Switek
Brian Switek is an ecology & evolution student at Rutgers University.
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Posts by this author
February 15, 2008
A friend of mine recently passed this along to me; there's a new article in Science Careers about "impostor phenomenon," a general feeling that success is due to luck more than ability among scientists (and Sb's very own ScienceWoman is interviewed in it, too). I'm sure some of you will identify…
February 15, 2008
There has been another tragic school shooting, this time at Northern Illinois University. I don't know what to say about such senseless violence, and although many universities have updated safety protocols in the wake of Virginia Tech. it is still all-too-easy for a disturbed person to walk into a…
February 15, 2008
When I think of large, African carnivores, the big cats and spotted hyena come most immediately to mind. Indeed, most of the documentaries I watched growing up focused on the warfare between lion prides and hyena clans, and I had no idea that the African Wild Dog (Lycaon pictus) existed until a…
February 14, 2008
It's Valentine's day, so I'm allowed to put up some videos of excessively cute baby animals. I wouldn't imagine that a baby two-toed sloth (Choloepus sp.) would be at the top of anyone's list, but I'll let you decide for yourself;
The giant anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla) is one of my most…
February 14, 2008
Plans for the next annual science blogging conference are already under way, and the 2009 meeting is going to be biggest and best yet. The 2009 meeting will be from January 16th - January 18th, 2009, allowing attendees to double their fun (and bar tabs).
February 14, 2008
Many, many more dinosaur-themed Valentines (dino-tines?) can be found here.
February 14, 2008
Banded mongoose (Mungos mungo) are a gregarious animals that, like some of their close relatives, use termite mounds for food and shelter. They are one of the few animals I've featured here that are not presently threatened or at risk of extinction, and a WWF map of the range of the species…
February 13, 2008
It just so happens that at the end of next month David Mention of Answers in Genesis is going to be presenting a multi-day creation seminar in Bucks County, PA (which puts the event within driving range). I haven't decided whether I'm going to subject myself to Menton's rendition of crusty, old…
February 13, 2008
Intelligent design has to be one of the most boring concepts I've ever had the displeasure to be acquainted with. When I first heard about it I thought it was nuts, but at least it was interesting. Two years later I've tired of hearing shrill arguments about how "Big Science" and the "Darwinian…
February 13, 2008
Archosaurs have been making a lot of news over the past day or so. First, there's the diminutive new pterosaur Nemicolopterus crypticus, a toothless Early Cretaceous form that may have been arboreal. As far as dinosaurs go, the hadrosaur Velafrons coahuilensis was described in the December issue of…
February 13, 2008
"It is little wonder, then, why this great creature failed to continue its lineage: with no ears, it could not sustain a top hat upon its head, and thereby expired from lack of common dignity." A cartoon featuring Koch's "Hydrarchos," cobbled together from several Basilosaurus skeletons. [Update…
February 13, 2008
If you've got a spare second (and would like a chance to win a new iPod nano), head over to Page 3.14 and take a quick, anonymous survey that will help out my benevolent masters.
February 13, 2008
Paleontological reconstruction can often be a bit of a gamble, especially if the specimen you're working with is incomplete. In most of the newer books about prehistoric animals I had when I was young, Pakicetus was often reconstructed as a stubby, seal-like creature, and the AMNH reconstruction…
February 12, 2008
I'm starting the wonder if I should change the name of this blog to "The Ornery Undergraduate" given my experience at Rutgers. Today there was a snow/ice storm, and I had little choice but to walk home in it. I can somewhat understand why Rutgers did not close down the university this afternoon,…
February 12, 2008
199 years ago today, Charles Robert Darwin was born in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England at the home of his family (known as the Mount). By pure coincidence, Charles would have published one of the most important books ever written 50 years later in 1859, and next year will mark not only the…
February 12, 2008
Bora's got an interview with yours truly over at A Blog Around the Clock.
February 12, 2008
I tried to come up with something witty to say about this old Levi's commercial, but words fail me. It best speaks for itself;
Update: In the comments Ian says "I wonder if any major advertiser would use such blatantly pro-evolution thinking these days..." Maybe not here in America, but Guinness…
February 12, 2008
Before I knew very much at all about ancient marine reptiles, I had only encountered two names for the long-necked plesiosaurs (Plesiosaurus & Elasmosaurus) and had assumed that the incredibly long skeleton hanging from the 4th floor ceiling of the AMNH was a representative of the latter. I…
February 11, 2008
At least that's what I learned from this video;
February 11, 2008
Well, it appears as if that's what he's going to do, anyway. In all seriousness, though, it's a pretty neat painting and the post also includes a time-lapse movie of the evolution of the piece. There's lots more where that came from so be sure to browse around for similar paintings via the…
February 11, 2008
If Huckabee shows up for Science Debate 2008, maybe he should spend a little time at the Academy of Natural Sciences (just a stone's throw away from the Franklin Institute); he might just learn something about paleontology & evolution. Then again, he might be inspired to engage in some…
February 11, 2008
Given that tomorrow is Darwin Day, I've been trying to think of something original to write that will not merely be an echo of what my fellow bloggers have already written about Charles Darwin. Unfortunately, I have to brave the cold to attend classes for the rest of the afternoon and most of the…
February 11, 2008
At the 2nd Annual Science Blogging Conference held a few weeks ago, fellow Scibling Chris Mooney mentioned that there was some news about Science Debate 2008 to get excited about, although he wouldn't tip his hand as to what that news might be. Now the cat is out of the bag; Hillary Clinton, Mike…
February 11, 2008
Right now it's about 10 degrees Fahrenheit here in New Jersey, and the last time I remember it being this cold was on a day last year when I decided to visit the Bronx Zoo. Being that it was so cold there weren't many people around at 10 AM, but the Amur tigers (Panthera tigris altaica) were up…
February 10, 2008
Today is Evolution Sunday, and as part of the "festivities" I headed up north to speak to the Congregation for Humanistic Judaism of Morris County about evolution. I had an absolutely wonderful experience (I felt very welcomed by the group and they had terrific questions), and although I do not…
February 9, 2008
Tonight I finished Rudwick's Georges Cuvier, Fossil Bones, and Geological Catastrophes, and I certainly feel that I have a better understand of Cuvier's work than I did previously (although the subject of his embranchments and debates with Geoffrey only received a fleeting mention). What is truly…
February 9, 2008
Tomorrow is Evolution Sunday and I'll be presenting a lecture called "Unlikely Humans" to the Congregation for Humanistic Judaism of Morris County. Regular readers of this blog probably already know what I'm going to say, but I've tried to combine some old material and some things that I've only…
February 9, 2008
Given the diversity of lemurs on the island of Madagascar, it's not surprising that some of them have more specialized diets. Bamboo lemurs (Hapalemur sp.) are among the specialist species, their diet consisting almost entirely of bamboo. This diet results in them ingesting a considerable amount…