Hark! The new lab-leak hypothesis is going to be a lot more, uh, “energetic” than the COVID one.

I asked #ChatGPT to “write me a sonnet about being made of numbers, as you are.” And, uh, maybe you shouldn’t:

Gorgeous cover for the end of year issue of The TLS, which includes my review of two animal books, Delorme's "Deer Man" and Antone Martinho-Truswell's "The Parrot in the Mirror." A link to the review: the-tls.co.uk/articles/deer-…

Thank you Peter Godfrey-Smith for the review! Loved reading your thoughts on the book and great to read about Delorme’s book as well!

The final paragraph of my book review in the current issue of The TLS describes a pair of rose-breasted cockatoos (or galahs). As of some time before last Friday, they are no longer merely a pair. Details here: metazoan.net/105-cockatoo-n… TLS Review here: the-tls.co.uk/articles/deer-…

Yes yes, the Nativity of our Lord and the fruition of the prophets, and the incarnation of God on Earth, and death now has no reign over us. All true. All of it. O come let us adore him. But also, do you have your bets in for Tangmalangaloo tomorrow? I know Bishop Down Umber does.

Shameless plug: aeon.co/ideas/we-need-…

No.

Should I do my shameless plug again? Does the new year make people want to talk about ritual? It seems to this year. Gather round the fire and start chanting…

The funny thing about this is the huge list of incredibly twee, faux-profound (“fauxfound”? Do we like fauxfound?) junk in the replies. There are so many good lines out there, but not down there. And very little of The Kinks in the replies, who own all the correct answers.

There are no upsides to breaking with Catholicism. Anything inspired by doing so is bad.

We cannot trust AI. It leads us astray…

You are the people in grey West Oxfordshire District Council. Jeremy Clarkson youtu.be/XP9LEocv8qE

What do you use to justify your political choices? “Values” perhaps? “Norms”? “Ethics”? Religion is far more robust than any of those vagaries. It’s a brilliant tactic, though, to dodge an argument by yelling about the unique impermissibility of most humans’ moral frameworks.

“Human rights” is a meaningless concept without a moral framework that creates them. Religion is not the only such framework, but you do need one. Otherwise the idea itself is a big old beggéd question.

“includes a healthy dousing of puns and witty interjections for a lively reading experience.” Thank you [email protected] and Bushra- I feel so seen!

New essay out from Aeon Magazine! Read about human child birth, why we don’t lay eggs, and how we raise our brood like birds! aeon.co/essays/how-evo…

Always a pleasure contributing to Aeon Magazine

You mean the Feast of Mary, Queen of Heaven