Luke Holbrook

Vertebrate paleontologist and morphologist, and Professor of Biological Sciences at Rowan University (He/Him/His)

[Luke Holbrook @LukeTHolbrook]

Last RT inspired some more thoughts on interviewing. Lesson 1: Get them talking. Always ask faculty you meet about what they do. 1/n

[Luke Holbrook @LukeTHolbrook]

@gstrike56 @ScoopyWoopy885 @camelkhann @zayzyverse @SouthApe @Marco03170867 It’s more accurate to say that all lizards (and snakes) are lepidosaurs, and that “lizards” do not form a natural taxonomic group. Similar to the situations with “fish” and “monkeys.”

[Luke Holbrook @LukeTHolbrook]

Happy #WorldTapirDay to all who celebrate!

[Luke Holbrook @LukeTHolbrook]

Catching up with vert morph friends at #NERVES2024

[Luke Holbrook @LukeTHolbrook]

@dr_klassen @ObsFromLife Not to mention paying taxes.

[Luke Holbrook @LukeTHolbrook]

@mualphaxi @alxcharlesdukes A lot of the critique of standardized tests is that they track school quality, quality of preparation, and other environmental variables, rather than individual capability. Are those controlled for in this study?

[Luke Holbrook @LukeTHolbrook]

@hapyresearchers We get paid so much in exposure.

[Luke Holbrook @LukeTHolbrook]

@WrightingApril Outrageous! I can’t understand how anyone can even rationalize such exclusion.

[Luke Holbrook @LukeTHolbrook]

@DrLMRobinson @NickJMatzke We had this and it always annoyed me. If it’s needed for bureaucracy, why not ask for this at hire? I actually had colleagues who looked through UG transcripts. Imagine questioning hiring a PhD in plant systematics as a botanist because they didn’t take an UG botany course.

[Luke Holbrook @LukeTHolbrook]

Old Dog Needing New Phylogenetic Trick asks: What software do people use for visualizing/editing trees from .tre files? Used to use FigTree, but that has gone wonky on both my Mac and PC.

[Luke Holbrook @LukeTHolbrook]

@BklynCollege411 @BrooklynAnthro @ChesterLabCUNY @DenverMuseumNS @NSF Awesome! Congrats!

[Luke Holbrook @LukeTHolbrook]

@dr_klassen @jfrickuga @drjchernov Admin bloat follows from cuts to public funding. Unis increase enrollment to compensate. Result is more work and more strain on resources. Admin’s response to more admin work is to hire more admins; for everyone else: “Well, guess you’ll have to work harder with less.”

[Luke Holbrook @LukeTHolbrook]

@tim_mccourt @drjchernov @jfrickuga Each crisis (9/11, 2008, COVID) results in reduction of state revenue. In NJ, by law you can’t really cut K-12, prisons, or police, so higher ed is one of the first things to get cut. Those cuts never come back, so unis increase enrollment to compensate.

[Luke Holbrook @LukeTHolbrook]

@evilsmaug @ClementYChow I agree and would add that it’s a topic that invites a lot of misconceptions. This example might actually be one of the better ones, because it’s more likely that a viewer just sees the skulls and takes nothing from the tree rather than misinterpreting the phylogeny.

[Luke Holbrook @LukeTHolbrook]

@evilsmaug @ClementYChow Isn’t assessment a problem for any museum exhibit? I’m sympathetic to your point, but I feel like invoking assessment is holding phylogeny to a standard that we’re not necessarily applying to geology, ecology, etc.

[Luke Holbrook @LukeTHolbrook]

@WrightingApril Rewatched that opening sequence, and I think there are two species of tapir in it. Definitely T. terrestris, but I think there are also some T. bairdii. Kubrick borrowed zoo animals, so I could see him getting different species from different zoos.

[Luke Holbrook @LukeTHolbrook]

@WrightingApril I always figured that it was because Kubrick thought they looked “prehistoric.” Apparently he originally was shown a pig for the role, and then asked if they could get anteaters or tapirs. So I think he had some notion that whatever was the prey in the scene should look “exotic.”

[Luke Holbrook @LukeTHolbrook]

@AntSymbiosis @WrightingApril At least around African primates. Tapirs do live among Asian primates today, and have done so for a long time.

[Luke Holbrook @LukeTHolbrook]

Happy World Tapir Day to all who celebrate!

[Luke Holbrook @LukeTHolbrook]

@WrightingApril Definitely going to add this to my course! I also use the Benghazi hospital case for a forensic application of molecular clocks, though I don’t think that was ever admitted as evidence in court.

[Luke Holbrook @LukeTHolbrook]

We’re hiring a Lecturer in A&P. Feel free to DM me if you have questions.

https://t.co/kcjtxYdPbn