Practice SICB Presentation

Gave my practice talk for Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology in Wainwright lab this afternoon, after (not quite) finishing the presentation.  Trying to figure out the best way to introduce these ideas to a broad audience (same challenge as with the manuscript).

Talk storyboard:

Looking at other talks in my session: Macroevolution I - Methods and Character Evolution, looks like a reasonably sophisticated group.

Good feedback from the Wainwright Lab:

  • Emphasize:  Currently we worry that we don’t have the right models.  Should worry that we don’t have the power to know if we have the right models.

  • Avoid the first person plural!

  • Focus on slow and careful explanation of phylogenetic signal and lambda

  • More time on step by step creation of graphs / phylogenetic Monte Carlo

  • Repeat theme more, emphasize importance of qualifying power.

  • The power curves figure is probably the most exciting concept

  • Keep the message positive: the future is in big trees

  • Mention software package in passing, PMC

  • Under-emphasize AIC.  Can say in passing: “We know it doesn’t work for phylogenies, and we can see it in these examples.  It’s not appropriate.”