Author Archives: David Maddison

The Passing of the Tree of Life Web Project

Posted on 2 November 2025 by David Maddison

The Tree of Life Web Project began its journey almost 40 years ago, and was formally announced in early 1996. It has served thousands of pages of information about the evolutionary tree of life and the characteristics of organisms that … Continue reading →

Posted in Phylogenetics, Tree of Life | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

A LUCA in our Courtyard

Posted on 18 February 2025 by David Maddison

One of my recent academic journeys led me down an unexpected path, to a celebration of art and science in the building I work in. I was fortunate to follow this path with others, including the artist who created the … Continue reading →

Posted in Art & Science, Tree of Life | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Maddison’s Law of Phylogenetic Analysis

Posted on 20 February 2024 by David Maddison

Sigh. I was painfully reminded yesterday of Maddison’s Law of Phylogenetic Analysis. It wasn’t the first time over the last few months I have been reminded of that law. As I documented in my March 2023 blog post Prior and … Continue reading →

Posted in Phylogenetics | Tagged | 2 Comments

Truth versus firehoses of falsehoods

Posted on 30 March 2023 by David Maddison

As a result of one of my more traumatic experiences as a graduate student, I became familiar with Knoll’s Law of Media Accuracy, “Everything you read in the newspaper is absolutely true, except for that rare story of which you … Continue reading →

Posted in Fieldwork, Revising Bembidiina | Tagged | 1 Comment

Prior and Current Ignorance: Struggles with Bayesian analyses

Posted on 9 March 2023 by David Maddison

Many years ago I dressed up for Halloween with a piece of paper taped to my rear with “Pr” on it, in one hand holding a small crowbar, and in the other an engagement ring in a small box (see … Continue reading →

Posted in Phylogenetics | 2 Comments

Who are those people?

Posted on 4 May 2022 by David Maddison

In 2019, I went to Vancouver, Canada, to spend some time with family. While there, I went into a funky little store called Urban Source. It’s a great place that has all sorts of odds and ends that might be … Continue reading →

Posted in fun stuff, Musings | 4 Comments

Pointing and Pinning Block v6

Posted on 21 September 2021 by David Maddison

I’ve finally revised the 3D design of pointing and pinning block mentioned in my previous post. This new version of the block has the standard holes of a pinning block (in the center of each level) as well as holes … Continue reading →

Posted in Miscellany, Morphological Techniques | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Permanent male genitalic mini-preps

Posted on 3 February 2021 by David Maddison

For many insects, examination of the genital structures is vital to understand species diversity. The genitalia of each species are often distinct, and species can be easier to distinguish using genitalia than other morphological traits. In carabid beetles, male genitalia … Continue reading →

Posted in Morphological Techniques, Revising Bembidiina | 1 Comment

Development of the Dicaelus purpuratus drawing

Posted on 1 February 2021 by David Maddison

In 2006, for George Ball’s 80th birthday, I presented him with a drawing of Dicaelus purpuratus. This was the species that captivated his attention and eventually led to his doing a PhD on the carabid beetle tribe Licinini, of which … Continue reading →

Posted in Scientific Illustrations | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Ten years later: the Lionepha paper is out

Posted on 3 April 2020 by David Maddison

In September of 2009, I arrived in Oregon, excited to begin my new position at Oregon State University. I was also excited to live near Marys Peak, as the top of Marys Peak was the locality of capture of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Academia, Fieldwork, Revising Bembidiina, Taxonomic Process | Tagged , | 1 Comment