Events

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

O Theory Where Art Thou? The Changing Role of Theory in Theoretical Biology in the 20th Century and Beyond

Jan Baedke (Ruhr University Bochum)

Event Details

Hari Sridhar
KLI Colloquia
Naeem revisits Naeem et al. 1994: Reading between the Lines of a Scientific Paper
Hari SRIDHAR (National Centre for Biological Sciences, Bangalore)
2020-02-25 17:00 - 2020-02-25 18:30
KLI
Organized by KLI

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.