Animals 内の NonTransferable によるリンク My donkey has never seen his reflection before. My wife bought an Airstream. Airstreams are shiny. Donkey is confused.

[–]Jobediah 2ポイント3ポイント  (0子コメント)

What kind of donkey is that? He is so awesome, I want one... neigh, two! And I shall name them Biscuits & Gravy and we shall share jokes all the livelong day!

Pottery 内の emirii_kya によるリンク Recently fired pot. ^10 glazed

[–]Jobediah 0ポイント1ポイント  (0子コメント)

I <3 your anatomical references

dataisbeautiful 内の verdantlabs によるリンク Democratic vs. Republican professions [OC]

[–]Jobediah 0ポイント1ポイント  (0子コメント)

well, biology is a big area. I'm in ecology and evolution, so I guess we lean more democratic than other subfields.

dataisbeautiful 内の verdantlabs によるリンク Democratic vs. Republican professions [OC]

[–]Jobediah -2ポイント-1ポイント  (0子コメント)

Apparently Biology has a lot of closet republicans because the data says it's 87:13 D:R, but in 20 years, I've only met a handful that have admitted to it.

AskAcademia 内の I_could_care_fewer によるリンク Is there a "polite" way to disagree with (previous) supervisors?

[–]Jobediah 0ポイント1ポイント  (0子コメント)

yes, an email with a draft manuscript asking for his thoughts is the way to go.

dataisbeautiful 内の CJMinard によるリンク Percentage of obese population by country in Europe (map)

[–]Jobediah -4ポイント-3ポイント  (0子コメント)

can you explain why obesity is defined as a mass per unit surface area?

edit: for explanation of my question

Obesity is classified as a BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2

...is in units of a mass (kg) divided by a linear measure (m) raised to the second power which is an area. The reason this is weird is because mass should be proportional to a linear measure raised to the 3rd power because mass scales with volume (in three dimensions) not usually with areas (in two dimensions).

science 内の nallen によるリンク /r/Science Mod discusses the Science AMA Series

[–]Jobediah 18ポイント19ポイント  (0子コメント)

This post is so meta it makes me wish people would do a bunch of studies on the impact of reddit /r/science AMAs on the increased readership and learning and the number of citations to the work. Then someone could do a meta-analysis and we would achieve meta-nirvana. Seriously though, this is probably the greatest feature on the whole site and we should be proud.

philadelphia 内の scared_little_girl によるリンク It's Turtle Season! Please be careful on the Schuylkill River Trail. See that little guy in the middle of the path? NEITHER DID I AND I ALMOST SMOOSHED HER! So, yeah, please, for the sake of the turtles.

[–]Jobediah 9ポイント10ポイント  (0子コメント)

Probably a female because it's nesting season and she's looking for a place to dig her nest and lay eggs. Definitely a painted turtle... because I'm a turtle whisperer.

botany 内の martinebotany によるリンク Plants are Cool, Too! YouTube series for botany education….now over 70,000 views.

[–]Jobediah 2ポイント3ポイント  (0子コメント)

You should do an AMA in the science subreddit! I bet you'd find interested people with interesting projects in a heartbeat. Regardless, you'd be great at it and would get a ton of exposure. Let me know if you want to do it and I'll help you set it up... it's easy and fun. (ps. jobediah=tobediah)

Professors 内の Scrumpy7 によるリンク Students going to the bathroom?

[–]Jobediah -4ポイント-3ポイント  (0子コメント)

I think you are applying the wrong moral barometer here. This is not accosting a disabled stranger on the subway demanding to know what their disability is and humiliating them publicly. This is privately asking if there is a reason (not what exactly it is) they are acting inappropriately in your class that can be explained by a condition that they should have documentation for and should have notified you about and helping them manage their condition appropriately for a classroom learning environment (or) mentoring someone who does not have a condition but is acting inappropriately to get their shit together.

Professors 内の Scrumpy7 によるリンク Students going to the bathroom?

[–]Jobediah -1ポイント0ポイント  (0子コメント)

Agreed, specifics aren't needed. But if someone repeatedly disrupted my class, I would absolutely ask them if they have a reason. If the answer is yes, then the next question is whether they have documentation and why haven't I been informed? If the answer is no, then you ask them to change their behavior. Students need to inform professors in advance of these kinds of things so we can accommodate it properly. If the student has a problem that is disrupting class they need to be advised at the very least to see disability services so the proper professionals can help them and that office will help the student navigate and make sure the student informs the instructor of what kinds of situations to expect and they typically come with paperwork in hand that informs us of the accommodations. Again no details are shared with the instructor unless the student wishes to share them. But the students need documentation and the instructor needs to be informed. This is standard and appropriate professional conduct to help and protect students and class learning environments. It's not willy nilly prying into student's personal lives.

Professors 内の Scrumpy7 によるリンク Students going to the bathroom?

[–]Jobediah -7ポイント-6ポイント  (0子コメント)

Not sure why you consider this crossing a line. As professors we are constantly accomodating students with all manner of health and mental issues. It's our job to understand their needs and help them get help if they need it.

Professors 内の Scrumpy7 によるリンク Students going to the bathroom?

[–]Jobediah -6ポイント-5ポイント  (0子コメント)

You could either make an announcement at the beginning of class asking everyone to please not come and go during class (unless it's an emergency) because it is distracting to students and you. Or you could email individual students and ask if there is a medical reason they are behaving the way they are. Informing them that of course you will accommodate their needs, but also informing them that you are concerned about distractions.

Amphibians 内の CloakedHamster によるリンク Help me determine the sex of my turtle.

[–]Jobediah 0ポイント1ポイント  (0子コメント)

Male. That thickness of the tail and the way it tapers after the cloaca as well as the location of the cloaca out beyond the shell margin all say it's a dude turtle.

crafts 内の shandron によるリンク Another turtle colouring page / simple craft

[–]Jobediah 0ポイント1ポイント  (0子コメント)

what amazing conference is this for? I must attend!

pics 内の CreepyPhotoshopper によるリンク Tortoises have the weirdest looking skeletons.

[–]Jobediah 46ポイント47ポイント  (0子コメント)

Here's an image from my research on turtle breathing and locomotion showing how much lung volume is displaced when they retract into the shell.

AskAcademia 内の [deleted] によるリンク Plagiarism scenario:

[–]Jobediah 1ポイント2ポイント  (0子コメント)

almost every student caught plagiarizing has some bullshit cover and maintains his/her innocence to the end.

My experience tells me that most plagiarism actually falls under the "I thought that changing the wording slightly and citing the source was good enough". In other words most plagiarism is actually ignorance of what it really means. I have found plagiarism dozens of times and the vast majority comes from this lack of education on the subject. And almost all the students in this position freely admit to it and learn something and feel bad.

AskAcademia 内の [deleted] によるリンク Plagiarism scenario:

[–]Jobediah 9ポイント10ポイント  (0子コメント)

The best defense is to get the plagiarizer to admit that he stole the work without permission and that your brother had no knowledge of the stealing and gave no permission.

Obviously the institution's rules will determine the outcome. However, with corroborating stories and best case scenario, if it was me (I'm a professor), I'd give your brother a zero for the assignment and give the plagiarizing thief an F for the course.

herpetology 内の ResidentConservative によるリンク Juvenile American or Alligator [snapping turtle]?

[–]Jobediah 13ポイント14ポイント  (0子コメント)

It's a Common snapper which have the light spots along the carapacial margin and only a small hook on the beak.

Alligator snappers are much rougher and have a big gnarly hooked beak

herpetology 内の AlexTheChase によるリンク Best steps to take to become a herpetologist?

[–]Jobediah 2ポイント3ポイント  (0子コメント)

I'm a professor of biology who specializes in amphibians and reptiles. My general advice is to study biology, follow your passion and interests to the furthest level you can and get research experience.

One of the big things you'll need to land a research position is to avoid coming across as just an enthusiast. There are a lot of people who like snakes and turtles or whatever. These are not necessarily herpetologists. The vast majority do not take their love of these animals to the level of scientific inquiry. If you just like keeping herps, fine, you belong to the vast majority of people. But to be a herpetologist, you need to be a biologist first and a specialist in herps second. This requires that you embrace larger biological questions and can use herps as ways of answering them.

Herpetology is one of the few areas of science where amateurs can still make valuable contributions. Develop your own amateur research projects. Nothing is more convincing to a professor than a student who says, "I've been following my passion in fill in the blank this way and that. So go out there and find critters, and observe them closely, take pictures and notes. When you find something interesting follow it up in the literature. Join herp societies and read their journals cover to cover. You will soon become conversant in the language of science and the questions that are important to professionals. Find anyone who will let you work with them on a herp-related project. Whether it's for free or for credit or pay, doesn't matter. When your opportunity comes, no matter how small, be ready and jump on it.

turtles 内の MogwaiBurger によるリンク Is this a snapping turtle?

[–]Jobediah 5ポイント6ポイント  (0子コメント)

Yes, it's the prince of turtles, the sultan of musk, the CEO of attitude, the shelled survivor... a common snapping turtle

painting 内の gordarentz によるリンク This sub needs work.

[–]Jobediah 17ポイント18ポイント  (0子コメント)

Weekly constructive criticism selfpost. Everybody can come in and submit WIP or recent finished pieces. Hopefully the 'gathering' nature of a weekly feature could bring more attention to more people's work.