Here is a complete archive of my essay series "Problematica," written for the Extinct blog. If you want to get a feel for what I'm about as a scholar and a writer, this is the place to start. I've marked some of my favorite essays with an asterisk, but you should jump in wherever you want. A good number of these are multi-part essays, but this is clearly indicated at the top of each post.
Important thing— While these are blog posts, I've tried to infuse them with every bit as much rigor and originality as you'll find in my published work. In fact, I recognize no distinction in quality between the work I've done here and the work I've published in journals. Enjoy!
Comparisons with Teeth: Two Hundred Years of Actualism in Paleontology*
"Truth also has its Paleontology," or When Pragmatism met Uniformitarianism
Hugh Miller, Misplaced Boulders, and a Challenge for "Historical Cognitivism"*
Stray Thoughts on Contingency Following the MBL-ASU History of Biology Seminar
Ediacaran Enigma: Uncertainty and Underdetermination in Precambrian Paleontology*
"What we are Witnessing is the Collapse of the Terrestrial Globe"*
Toulmania '53: Remembering the Practice-Turn that Didn't Happen
Why the Yanks Whiffed on Drift... Was Uniformitarianism to Blame?
Ode to Opabinia, or Why you Don't Hear as Much about Problematic Fossils as you Used to*
American Primordial: Remembering the Great Taconic Controversy*
A History of Geology Reading List, Part 1
A History of Geology Reading List, Part 2
Problematica: The Charles Lyell Collection