KLI Colloquia are invited research talks of about an hour followed by 30 min discussion. The talks are held in English, open to the public, and offered in hybrid format.
Fall-Winter 2025-2026 KLI Colloquium Series
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/5881861923?omn=85945744831
Meeting ID: 588 186 1923
25 Sept 2025 (Thurs) 3-4:30 PM CET
A Dynamic Canvas Model of Butterfly and Moth Color Patterns
Richard Gawne (Nevada State Museum)
14 Oct 2025 (Tues) 3-4:30 PM CET
Vienna, the Laboratory of Modernity
Richard Cockett (The Economist)
23 Oct 2025 (Thurs) 3-4:30 PM CET
How Darwinian is Darwinian Enough? The Case of Evolution and the Origins of Life
Ludo Schoenmakers (KLI)
6 Nov (Thurs) 3-4:30 PM CET
Common Knowledge Considered as Cause and Effect of Behavioral Modernity
Ronald Planer (University of Wollongong)
20 Nov (Thurs) 3-4:30 PM CET
Rates of Evolution, Time Scaling, and the Decoupling of Micro- and Macroevolution
Thomas Hansen (University of Oslo)
4 Dec (Thurs) 3-4:30 PM CET
Chance, Necessity, and the Evolution of Evolvability
Cristina Villegas (KLI)
8 Jan 2026 (Thurs) 3-4:30 PM CET
Embodied Rationality: Normative and Evolutionary Foundations
Enrico Petracca (KLI)
15 Jan 2026 (Thurs) 3-4:30 PM CET
On Experimental Models of Developmental Plasticity and Evolutionary Novelty
Patricia Beldade (Lisbon University)
29 Jan 2026 (Thurs) 3-4:30 PM CET
Jan Baedke (Ruhr University Bochum)
Event Details

Topic description / abstract:
Writing scientific papers is, arguably, the most important task in a scientist’s working life. Papers are the universal currency by which scientists are compared and evaluated. For most scientists, papers will be the only scientific legacies they leave behind. Unfortunately, scientific papers are imperfect records of scientific activity. Papers present a cleaned-up, simplified and reorganized version of the scientific process, leaving out any detail that might distract the reader from understanding the paper’s findings. In addition, although a paper is “true” when published, its truth diminishes with time, as new knowledge emerges that questions its claims. Finally, a paper can take on entirely new, unintended and possibly erroneous meaning, when it is cited by other papers. One might even say that words are put in its mouth!
Since June 2016, in an attempt to provide a more realistic documentation of the scientific process, I have conducted 153 interviews (+20 still in progress), each based on a famous paper in ecology, evolution or behaviour. In these interviews, I ask the lead author of the paper questions about: 1. the making of the study and paper; 2. the current validity of the paper’s findings and conclusions; 3. the impact the paper has had on subsequent research and the author’s own career. During my colloquium, I will present excerpts from these interviews that will, hopefully, give you a flavour of the themes I’ve covered.
Biographical note:
Hari Sridhar is a post-doctoral researcher at the National Centre for Biological Sciences, Bangalore, examining the intersection of science and conservation in India. Over the last 4 years, Hari has been conducting interviews of authors of classic papers in ecology, evolution and behaviour, which he posts on the blog https://reflectionsonpaperspast.wordpress.com/
Hari’s other major research interest lies in understanding the causes and consequences of heterospecific sociality, a topic he has researched during his PhD and post-doctoral research at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. In addition to doing research, Hari teaches ecology and ornithology at various research institutes and colleges in India, and is an editor of the Current Conservation magazine.