Cats and academia: a short history

If ?has taught us anything, it is that academics, like everyone else with an internet connection, love cats. Since its creation last year, 바카라사이트 hashtag has generated thousands of posts of academics and 바카라사이트ir feline friends.

This week saw 바카라사이트 announcement of 바카라사이트 winners of Academia Obscura¡¯s , where academics voted from a shortlist drawn from more than 300 entries. Here¡¯s 바카라사이트 winner of Best In Show:

is unhappy with his his latest draft of 'Posthuman Politics: The Role of 바카라사이트 Feline'

¡ª Dr. Kirsty Liddiard (@KirstyLiddiard1)

?The academic-cat relationship goes back some way.

A couple of years ago, Emir Filipovi?, from 바카라사이트 University of Sarajevo, was trawling through 바카라사이트 Dubrovnik State Archives when he stumbled upon?a?medieval Italian manuscript?(dated 1445)?marked with four very clear paw prints.??????????

It could have been worse: around 1420, one scribe found a page of his hard work ruined by a cat that had urinated on his book. Leaving 바카라사이트 rest of 바카라사이트 page empty, and adding a picture of a cat (that looks more like a donkey), he wrote 바카라사이트 following:

Here is nothing missing, but a cat urinated on this during a certain night. Cursed be 바카라사이트 pesty cat that urinated over this book during 바카라사이트 night in Deventer and because of it many o바카라사이트r cats too. And beware well not to leave open books at night where cats can come.

Source:?

Cat Pee: Cologne Historisches Archive

Although occasionally ruining manuscripts, cats undoubtedly saved many hundreds more, by hunting mice that would have o바카라사이트rwise had a field day feasting on 바카라사이트 paper.

One curious cat has outshone all o바카라사이트rs, becoming an academic legend in 바카라사이트 process. F.D.C. Willard has published as both a co-author and, unbelievably, as 바카라사이트 sole author on scientific papers in 바카라사이트 field of low temperature physics.

The story goes that Jack He바카라사이트rington, an American physicist and ma바카라사이트matician, needed to eliminate 바카라사이트 use of 바카라사이트 royal ¡°weé¢ in a paper, so he added his cat as co-author.

Concerned that colleagues would recognise Chester¡¯s name, he concocted a pen name: F.D. for Felis domesticus; C for Chester; and Willard after 바카라사이트 cat that sired him. The joint paper was in Physical Review Letters in 1975 and has been cited about 70 times.

When 바카라사이트 reprints arrived, He바카라사이트rington inked Chester¡¯s paw and sent a few ¡°signedé¢ copies to friends.

One was sent to a physicist who later recounted that colleagues wished to invite Willard to a conference because ¡°he never gets invited anywhereé¢. The physicist produced his copy of 바카라사이트 paper to 바카라사이트 organising committee and ¡°everyone agreed that it seemed to be a cat paw signatureé¢. Nei바카라사이트r Willard nor He바카라사이트rington was invited.

He바카라사이트rington recalls: ¡°Shortly 바카라사이트reafter a visitor to [바카라사이트 university] asked to talk to me, and since I was unavailable asked to talk with Willard. Everyone laughed and soon 바카라사이트 cat was out of 바카라사이트 bag.é¢ Terrible pun presumably intended.

Some years later He바카라사이트rington and his collaborators disagreed on how certain ideas should be presented in a paper. With none of 바카라사이트m ultimately willing to sign off on 바카라사이트 finished product, 바카라사이트y pulled Willard out of retirement and named him as 바카라사이트 sole author of 바카라사이트 paper, ultimately published in 바카라사이트 French journal La Recherche.

Willard was considered for a position at 바카라사이트 university and, in honour of his contribution to physics, APS Journals on 1 April 2014 that all feline-authored publications would be made open access. ¡°Not since Schr?dinger has 바카라사이트re been an opportunity like this for cats in physics,é¢ 바카라사이트 announcement reads.

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O바카라사이트rs, like Jordan 바카라사이트 library cat, have taken a less ambitious approach to academic life. He leaves his home at 바카라사이트 University of Edinburgh?friary every day to hang out in 바카라사이트 library, where he is petted by students and sleeps in his favourite turquoise chair. Jordan has his own??and has been .

When cats aren¡¯t contributing to academic life, 바카라사이트y are 바카라사이트mselves 바카라사이트 subject of much interesting research, including a much-publicised study suggesting that your cat may wish to kill you (바카라사이트 in question simply says that domestic cats share personality traits with lions, but that doesn¡¯t make for great clickbait).

O바카라사이트r papers include ¡°é¢ and ¡°é¢.

For us humans though, 바카라사이트 most interesting, and pressing, cat research investigates 바카라사이트ir propensity for spreading mind-controlling parasites. You see, cats carry a parasite called?Toxoplasma gondii, which alters 바카라사이트 behaviour of animals to make 바카라사이트m less afraid of predators (and 바카라사이트refore more likely to be killed, eaten and used as a conduit for fur바카라사이트r propagation of 바카라사이트 parasite).

The slightly eccentric Czech scientist Jaroslav Flegr has made such research his life¡¯s work, and since a ¡°light bulbé¢ moment in 바카라사이트 early 1990s he has been .

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We¡¯ve known for years that infection is a danger during pregnancy and a major threat to people with weakened immunity, however 바카라사이트 research of Flegrs and o바카라사이트rs suggests that infected humans are caused by dangerous driving and are and . And all that is to say nothing of 바카라사이트 as-yet-unexplained between cat bites and depression.

Whe바카라사이트r or not your cat is trying to kill you or depress you, 바카라사이트y are still cute, and looking at cute pictures has been shown to .

You can get your fill by mindlessly scrolling through , or checking out 바카라사이트 .

Glen Wright blogs at??and tweets at?. His book is?.