The Philosophers' Cocoon

Additional cover letter tips?

In our newest "how can we help you?" thread, a reader writes:

Cover letters have been discussed before on the blog (see link below), but I am wondering if we might hear about the different approaches people take to ordering information in the cover letter.

We've all heard something like: teaching school/teaching job = talk about teaching first, emphasize it; R1 = talk about research first. But then I've also heard 'always talk about research first'. After all, you gotta show ya can meet tenure requirements at a teaching school, and maybe it comes off as disrespectful if you write as if the department must not care about research. Additionally, when I was looking back at another post on cover letters, there was some advice from Marcus to make sure you show you've actually read the ad and researched the institution. Fair enough. But do you, reader of my cover letter, want to see this demonstrated effort right up front, or can I mix it in, or what? Are you more interested in seeing that I've researched your department than hearing me describe my research?

Cover letters continue to be demanded. But do we really have a standardized understanding of what they are for? Be nice if we did.

https://philosopherscocoon.typepad.com/blog/2019/11/what-are-cover-letters-for.html

I guess I'm one of those people who think that it's not the order of what you put in the cover letter that matters, so much as the substance of the letter itself. If you're applying to a teaching focused institution, you never know how much individual search committee members care about research--so I think it's fine to start with research. The key is not to focus on it too much or come off in your letter like you belong (or think you belong) at a research university. Cover letters are, I think, there to show "you've done some homework" and are a good fit for the position. So, the more that you can speak to the things listed in the job ad, the better. Also, consider taking a quick look at the CVs of the faculty in the hiring department. How active are they in research? How active are they in pedagogical development? University service? That might give you a fairly good idea of where people's priorities are!

But these are just my thoughts. What are yours?  

Tips for writing conference abstracts?

In our newest "how can we help you?" thread, a reader writes:

I've searched TPC archives but didn't find a thread on "Tips for Writing Conference Paper Abstracts." Replies to this as a thread would be helpful. I was recommended this source years ago, but it's not philosophy-specific [https://history.ncsu.edu/grad/conference_abstracts.php]

We actually had a thread on this several months ago, but didn't get many replies. Any additional tips anyone is willing to share?

Write recommendation letters for students you barely know?

In our newest "how can we help you?" thread, a reader asks:

Should you write letters of recommendations for undergraduate students who took you for a 300-student lecture, whose work you didn't personally grade and with whom you had no interaction?

I'd have thought the answer is obviously no, but then I wonder whether this disadvantages students, who need the letters and who can't always find a way to get to know professors... Is refusing at least a decent thing to do, or is it unfair to vulnerable, shy or otherwise struggling students?

Good questions. I'm not sure that I've encountered this kind of situation before, so I'm not sure exactly what I think. I suppose you could always ask such a student to provide you with some of their work to review, and then go from there. But again, I don't think I've ever encountered this situation. To the best of my recollection, I've only been asked to write letters for students who have taken multiple courses with me, and all of our courses are 25 students or less and we have no TA's, so I always feel well-positioned to decide whether I can write a good letter.

Anyway, what do you all think?

Summer Institute for Cultivating Underrepresented Students (Penn State University)

Kaílah Jeffries, a Program Coordinator for the Cultivating Underrepresented Students of Philosophy (CUSP) program at Penn State University, wrote in to share the following information about their Summer Institute:

I wanted to reach out to let you know that we have opened applications for our Summer Institute, which will take place in person from June 4-10, 2023.  

The Philosophy Department at Penn State organizes two distinct CUSP programs each year. These programs are directed toward prospective graduate students in philosophy from traditionally underrepresented groups (including African Americans, Chicano/as and Latino/as, Native Americans, and Asian Americans). 

The Summer Institute is primarily intended for rising undergraduate sophomores or juniors (others are still encouraged to apply) who are considering pursuing an academic career in Philosophy and wish to learn more about what it means to be a part of the discipline; and the Fall Graduate Workshop is for college seniors, recent graduates, and working professionals who want to continue their graduate education in philosophy and are currently working on their graduate applications for the following Fall term. 

Applications for the Summer Institute are due April 3, 2023. The application and more information on our programs are available on our website: bit.ly/CUSPPSU 

We would love for you to use your platforms to spread the word so we can reach as many eligible students as possible. Feel free to email us [email protected] with any questions or concerns. 

Postdoc opportunities for Black Scholars (Toronto Metropolitan University)

A reader from Toronto Metropolitan University wrote in encouraging me to share this ad for 4 postdocs for Black scholars at their university, which of course I'm happy to do. Here are some of the details:

TMU is implementing this program with the goals of building a more diverse and inclusive academe, and supporting the flourishing of Black scholarship. In particular, this program seeks to expand and advance Black scholarship and intellectual traditions, and support the academic endeavours of the Black community.

• • Available fellowships: up to four (4) beginning September 5, 2023
  • Amount: $70,000/year plus benefits
  • Duration: 24 months 
  • Field: Open
  • Deadline to apply: April 1, 2023
  • Decision: July 2023

Norms on reusing/recycling previously published ideas?

In our newest "how can we help you?" thread, a reader asks:

Is there a norm on how much of a book chapter contribution to an edited volume can overlap with material published (or to be published) by a journal? I feel like philosophers often "recycle" their own writings but I wonder if there are expectations or norms or even recommendations about this!

Good question. I know that some publishers have explicit requirements on what they allow, and that it may differ according to the publisher. But, beyond this, I'm not sure what the norms are. My sense is that some authors do repeatedly recycle previously published ideas, but I'm not at all sure what is considered good practice here. 

Anyone have any tips or insights?

Honest grad school advice?

In our newest "how can we help you?" thread, a reader asks:

Why doesn't anyone give honest grad school application advice? It's pretty much common knowledge, and confirmed by accessible online data (programs' grad student list that displays their background), that prestige simply matters more than anything else in applications. Despite this, it's told as if one can write a brilliant writing sample and get in anywhere. People who get in everywhere are usually NOT people with brilliant samples; it seems neither necessary nor sufficient to have even a good writing sample. Most people get cut in the initial stages before their writing samples get a careful look. The so-called *elite* schools should just state on their website that they most likely won't admit you if you're not coming from another elite institution. Whatever they say, the statistics are obvious that that's who they are admitting. Instead, everyone goes on and on about how important writing samples are, misleading, or even worse, stealing from and scamming hundreds of people every year. Why is that advisors, programs' websites, etc. don't make this extremely clear?

Fair questions. As unfortunate as it may be, I suspect that the data on this is not nearly as widely known as the OP assumes. Time and again, I've been surprised at things that many people in the profession aren't all that aware of--in large part, or so it seems, because some people don't appear to spend nearly as much time online (on blogs, etc.) as other people do. Of course, all of this is consistent with the fact that people advising undergrads and grad applicants should be aware of the relevant data, and be honest with grad applicants about their chances. But then one salient question is perhaps how to best incentivize this. Perhaps the APA could do more here? Any other ideas?

Grappling with internal candidates as an applicant?

In our newest "how can we help you?" thread, a reader asks:

I thought I was very lucky this year and got three on-campus interview requests. I have found out through various channels that ALL THREE searches have an internal candidate.

Is this normal? Should I have asked "is there an internal candidate?" before accepting these interviews? It's my first year on the market so I was expecting to be crushed, but not in this way. I am graduating late (August instead of May) because of all the travel and prep. I'm trying to be grateful for all the practice, but mostly I just feel like I have been used and lied to.

These are fair questions, and I empathize. However, my sense is that while there are often internal candidates for positions, they do not always get hired, even when the job ad looks like it was "written for them." This may not be the case for all search committees, but in my experience SCs tend to want to hire the best person for the job. But this is just my admittedly anecdotal experience.

What's yours? It would be especially helpful to hear from search committee members.

Handling serious copyediting problems?

In our newest "how can we help you?" thread, a reader asks:

I am having trouble with copyediting of a paper for publication in a philosophy journal in USA. A ‘Journals Production Editor’ (PE) of X University Press sent me a copyedited version of my paper based on the version accepted by the journal (it’s published by X University Press) and asked me to review/correct it and then send back. The journal is not ranked by Leiter. The problem is that the copyeditor made more than 200 changes in the paper, and I think most changes are unnecessary, such as adding 100 “,”, deleting 20 “,”, changing 10 “;” to “,” and 5 “,” to “;”, “but” to “however”, “which” to “that”, many other optional changes, etc. There’s no explanation for any change. Copyeditor also added in footnotes 10 questions (such as "Explain …", in order tone) that are mainly due to their not reading my endnotes (the journal doesn't accept footnotes) carefully or unwillingness to check the cited material and so fail to better understand the content.

PE says if I would like the copyeditor to reverse a change, I should enter 'STET' immediately following the change, and asks me to answer the copyeditor’s questions. I objected and argued with PE, write a long email saying that I should have the right to reject some changes without the copyeditor’s understanding, and that the copyeditor does not seem to have the required knowledge of relevant (non-English) language to understand my paper well.(The paper is in English, but cited many translations) But PE just replies with two sentences: “No need to explain. Simply type “[STET]” following the unnecessary change.” I then spent a lot of time type more than 100 “[STET]” and explained why I reject where necessary, and sent the file back to PE; I accepted maybe 100 changes. But after a second thought, I find that only about 15 changes are necessary. So I asked PE again: Should they ask authors to point out only changes they agree? (The copyeditor’s name is unknown and I only know PE’s name and email.)

I signed the copyright transfer contract 2 months before this. But I just transferred the copyright of my accepted paper, not a substantially changed paper, right? I think the copyeditor and PE are a bit rude, do not appropriately respect authors, and the copyediting process unjustly favors copyeditors. I don’t mind if the paper can be published or not, but the journal editor and anonymous reviewer are good and open-minded persons.

Have you had trouble with copyediting before? And what do you think about this case?

Indeed, I have--not just with copyediting, but with the publication of final proofs. My sense is that these problems have gotten especially bad recently, as journals increasingly seem to either use automated copyediting or outsource it to people who really have no business doing it. I'm not sure what's to be done other, and I don't know what to advise in this case. Do any readers have any helpful advice?

Are AI developers playing with fire?

You can read about why I think so here. (Also, check out this Twitter thread by philosopher Toby Ord). 

A question on 'overlapping contracts'

In our newest "how can we help you?" thread, a reader writes:

What are the norms around potentially overlapping contracts?

I ask because when transitioning from a temporary position to another temporary position I've sometimes faced the problem that my contract a job X is supposed to begin before my contract at job Y has ended. Of course, all of my teaching duties, etc. at X have finished, but I'm still technically on their payroll. Is it a problem to have contracts overlap?

Another reader, a UK postdoc, just added:

I would also like to know what people's thoughts are on anon's question re: overlapping contracts. I've heard anecdotally that this is acceptable e.g. if it is a month in summer when there is no teaching/department activity, but would like to know what people think more broadly.

So, I figured I should probably run a thread on this! One reader submitted the following answer:

I have been in your situation twice. However, the overlapping jobs were, in both cases, in two different countries, and for only one paycheck. If you pay taxes in the country x, but then for a month you work in the country y, unless your salary is insane, it does not make a difference tax-wise. If you are in the same country, then it's just a matter of filing your taxes in the proper way - it's just accumulating income, I guess. Please take my considerations cum grano salis, as I'm not an accountant, and there might be complications if you are on a visa.

Anyone else have any tips, experiences, or other insights?

 

 

Salary info for negotiation?

In our newest "how can we help you?" thread, a reader writes:

I have been extremely lucky to receive a TT offer this job market season. The salary they are offering me is higher than I expected and I kind of just want to accept it and be done with the job market, but everyone tells me I should negotiate for a higher salary! I don't really know how to do this, especially since I lack other offers. I guess one thing that could help is an idea of what starting salaries people make elsewhere, but I'm finding this information pretty hard to find. Does anyone have any advice or a good resource? Some time back I remember coming across an excel document someone had shared collecting anonymized information about people's salaries in philosophy, but I can't seem to find it.

Congrats on the job! We had a thread on this a couple of years ago (see here), but aside from that I don't know of any good resources here. Anyone have any tips, resources, or other advice? 

Improving the grad program application process for students and programs?

A reader writes in:

I am a faculty member at a (currently) unranked PhD department, and we've been considering numerous ways to improve our program. Some of these improvements will be internal - making sure we provide quality courses, excellent instruction, guidance on professional development, doing whatever we can for our job candidates to improve job placement, etc. Yet some improvements depend on us increasing our initial applicant pool.

In conversations with faculty at other (ranked) institutions, we've heard complaints that they receive far too many graduate applications. Meanwhile, we generally receive far too few. Some of this, of course, has to do with the rankings/quality of the relevant departments. But the rankings, while helpful in some respects, also function as a clearinghouse for what applicants’ options are, resulting in unranked departments not being “search engine optimized” to receive applications. Many undergrads do not know which grad schools they could apply to, or which ones they have a realistic shot at getting into, or just generally not having enough information about grad school options. I suspect that at least some of those applicants who are competing against so many at higher-ranked or ranked institutions would be happy to apply at other grad programs, including our own, if they knew about them and knew that their odds of getting accepted at these programs is much higher than at other programs. We imagine that it would be helpful if applicants could know which grad programs to apply to (if they were all linked or listed in one place, for example), and if they had some information about approximately how many applicants there are on average each year at each program.

One (infeasible) way to do this would require a huge amount of institutional uniformity, something along the lines of law school applications using SLAC, where all applicants could submit using a single portal, then pick which schools to send their application materials to. Another (more feasible) way might be having grad applicants self-report - something along the lines of how job applicants self-report on job-reporting threads. This led us to wonder whether this would be something to ask others about at the Cocoon. Maybe there is already something like this that exists that we aren't aware of. If not, does anyone have any ideas about how something like this might be implemented? Is this something that other programs would be interested in, too?

Good questions - what do readers think?

Beyond Academia Conference

A reader writes in:

Just in case you have not seen this already, I wanted to call your attention to a conference aimed at “PhD professional development and careers outside of academia" that begins next Thursday, February 23—the “Beyond Academia Conference” at UC-Berkeley. Here is the link to the event site:  https://beyondacademia.berkeley.edu/. My understanding is that one can attend this conference virtually, and that it is free.  There is at least one speaker with a philosophy background, past member of the APA non-academic careers committee Shane Wilkins, who will be speaking about employment in the government sector. 

Sounds like a cool opportunity!

Advice for job talks?

In our newest "how can we help you?" thread, a reader asks:

A question about the demeanor of giving job talks. Context first: I am much less good at the presentation side of things than the content side. I am also awkward in social situations.

My question is whether I should approach the audience as if I already had the job and were doing just a normal presentation (again, just demeanor-wise, not content-wise). I have the feeling that I am usually way more excited than I should be. However I also heard from a friend that many candidates didn't get a job because they do not seem excited about their work (which is super surprising to me: why would anyone not feel temporarily excited in a job talk?).

Any thought, advice, or anecdotes...?

Do any readers have any tips or insights on what comes across well or not so well in a job talk?

What do professors expect from grad students?

In our newest "how can we help you?" thread, a reader writes:

The DailyNous posted about a hidden syllabus and asked grad students to say in what ways their behaviors differed from what professors actually expected. That assumes that we know what professors expect, but at least in my program there aren't really clearly stated expectations except boilerplate requirements. I would like to know what professors in fact expect from grad students, and also what type of things they looked out for in writing recommendation letters.

Interesting query (the Daily Nous post is here). Another reader submitted the following reply:

Clearly, the most important things to comment on are your research - ideally, your published research, for then your letter writer does not look like a bozo who is just supporting his student (even with lies), and teaching. That is what hiring departments want to know about. And evidence based remarks are really what are wanted - "she is a great teacher", means less than reporting on her evaluations or classroom observations of her teaching. But softer things might include evidence of their involvement in a department - do they attend and participate in colloquia? I went to a lower ranked program, and everyone of the people from my programme who ended up with a decent career was actively involved in the life of the department.

It would be great to hear from other faculty who work in grad programs: what do you expect from grad students in your program, and what types of things do you look for in writing recommendation letters?

Tips for prospective PhD student visits?

In our newest "how can we help you?" thread, a reader asks:

Now that some PhD application results are coming out, what advice is there for how to prepare for a graduate campus visit? Should I read articles written by some of the faculty I hope to work with and specifically ask questions about it? Should I email graduate students ahead of time to ask if I can take them out for coffee to ask questions, or should I let the department handle arranging conversations with students? What sort of questions should I be asking these students and professors anyway?

Excellent questions! Anyone have any helpful tips to share?

When anonymous review is compromised?

In our newest "how can we help you?" thread, a reader asks:

What is the protocol for when a journal (accidentally) reveals identities in a blind peer review? I've experienced this a few times lately, from both sides: As an author, I got the reviewer's comments and could still see their name. As a reviewer, I got a paper that still contained the author's name (both top-level special journals in my field, btw). What should one do in such a case? Report to the journal? Pretend nothing happened? Decline to review?

Good questions, and I'm curious to hear what people think. First, I think it's worth noting that not all journals have anonymized review. In some science-y fields (including some philosophy of science journals), journals have authors submit papers with their identifying issue available to reviewers. So, although I don't know for sure, something like that might have happened here. But, if not, I think the right thing to do is to draw the problem to the editors' attention and, if you're a reviewer, decline to review. I've heard some people say that they tell the editor, and then let the editor decide whether to let the review proceed. But I think this is bad practice. If a journal is supposed to have anonymized review and that is compromised, then the review should not proceed, whatever the editors might say or do--as it goes against the journal's own stated editorial policy. 

But these are just my thoughts. What are yours?

Thank you notes on the job market?

In our newest "how can we help you?" thread, a reader asks:

This came up in the job market discussion thread, but I'd love to see wider discussion: what is the etiquette for post-interview thank-you notes? Is it overkill to send a handwritten note to the search chair after an on-campus interview?

What does everyone think? I'm currently on a search committee, so I should probably avoid weighing in--but if anyone else has experiences or insights to share, please do!

Two-body problems with unmarried partners

In our newest "how can we help you?" post, a reader writes:

I would be interested in hearing people's impressions on the following issue: How much (and in what ways) does it matter for the purposes of partner hiring whether the partners in question are married (as opposed to "merely" being in the sort of committed relationship where seeking a partner hire makes sense)? Is it more difficult to secure a partner hire if you're not married to your partner? If so, what's the source of the difficulty? Bureaucratic constraints? Narrow-minded administrators? Narrow-minded hiring committees? All of the above?

Great questions. Anyone have any helpful experiences or insights to share?

What kind of job talk is it best to give?

In our newest "how can we help you?" thread, a reader asks:

What is the best kind of topic for a job talk or for an invited talk? I work in metaphysics and do some metaphilosophy, and generally study/am excited about the kinds of topics others find very dry, but my subject matter also has relevance for many "applied," or "real life" issues, and it is easy for me to frame my main research topic as informing these more accessible questions. I would like to make a strategic choice of what to present in some upcoming talks... is it best to formulate a talk that I think will speak to the greatest number of people in the audience? Stick to what I find most exciting/what I am most knowledgeable about? I recently heard a job talk that was on another one such dry metaphysical topic, and I had mixed feelings. One one hand, I wanted to applaud the candidate for sticking to what excites him/his actual expertise, but on the other I wondered if he'd thought about how best to engage his audience. Thoughts?

Excellent questions, and I'm curious to hear from readers. I've always heard the advice given that you should "present your best work", whatever it is. But I also imagine that some people might find some topics more exciting than other "dry" topics. Anyone have any helpful insights here? 

Listing supervision on a CV?

In our newest "how can we help you?" thread, an anonymous postdoc asks:

A simple CV question: How, if at all, do you list supervision on your CV?

Should you list supervision at all? Does it matter whether it is MA or PhD supervision? Does it matter if you are chair or a secondary supervisor? Do you put it under teaching or in its own section? Do you give names of the students? Do you give the titles of their theses?

I ask because I am a postdoc at the moment with limited teaching experience on my CV. I am serving as secondary supervisor to two MA students. I wonder if I should include this in my teaching section and, if so, how I should do so (see above questions)?

Good questions! Another reader submitted the following reply:

All the distinctions matter. Have a sub-list for PhDs separating those you are the supervisor for, from those you serve on the committee of; a sub-list for MAs, again, separated. List it under teaching, unless you are a leader of a team or lab with post-docs as well, then have a separate heading for Supervision. Whatever you do do not exaggerate your role to beef up your teaching. It will backfire.

I'm curious whether other readers agree. It does seem to me that it's good to list how much supervision one has done, as some job ads explicitly note supervision experience as a hiring priority. But, beyond that, I'm not sure. I'm also not sure whether it's a good idea to list names of students, as in the US at least my understanding is that all academic information falls under federal FERPA privacy laws. 

Anyone else have any helpful tips or insights?

New Work in Philosophy (NWP) Roundup

This is just a quick roundup of this week's posts over at New Work in Philosophy. This week NWP featured:

• Matilda Carter (University of Glasgow), "Minority Minds: Mental Disability and the Presumption of Value Neutrality" (Journal of Applied Philosophy, 2022)
• Hrishikesh Joshi (Bowling Green State University), “The Epistemic Significance of Social Pressure” (Canadian Journal of Philosophy, 2022)
• Jeffrey Kaplan (University of North Carolina at Greensboro), "A New Problem for Rules" (Forthcoming in Philosophy and Phenomenological Research) (video)
• Charlotte Knowles (University of Groningen), "Beyond Adaptive Preferences: Rethinking Women's Complicity in their own Subordination" (European Journal of Philosophy, 2022)
• Paul Schofield (Bates College) on recent work of Jack Samuel (NYU Law Student)

You can also visit NWP's full archive of posts, and our YouTube Channel and Playlist. Also, if you have recent or forthcoming peer-reviewed work that you'd like to share more widely, please do consider emailing us with a pitch. NWP currently has nearly 1,100 subscribers, and we feature new posts on a rolling basis as they come in.

As our About page notes, 

We welcome unsolicited submissions from any professional philosopher (PhD students or beyond) or anyone who has published philosophy in legitimate peer-reviewed venues.

We particularly encourage submissions from junior philosophers and underrepresented groups in the profession, as well as postdocs, VAPs, and full or part-time faculty from a diverse variety of institutions.

Also, in addition to posting contributions by authors on their own work and the work of others (e.g. book/article reviews), we would like to encourage:

1. 1. Submissions by established (or somewhat established) philosophers that discuss/recommend new work by less/un-established philosophers who aren’t their colleagues or students.

   2. That readers draw our attention to other Substack pages with professional philosophical content, including their own. Substack has a nifty “recommend” feature, and we hope to draw amplify the work of other professional philosophers on Substack, as well.

Please email [email protected] or [email protected] to pitch a post or draw our attention to another Substack in professional philosophy that you would like to recommend.

Monist CFPs?

In our newest "how can we help you?" thread, a reader asks:

The Monist used to have a page on their website that listed CFPs for upcoming issues (all their issues are special issues devoted to particular topics). However, I can't seem to find that page anymore. Does anyone know if it exists somewhere, or where else we can see what future issues are coming/which CFPs are active?

Another reader seconded the query:

I have been wondering this exact thing lately, and have been tempted to reach out to them to ask what happened.

Anyone have the inside scoop on this?

How to teach sensitive topics close to students' lives?

In our newest "how can we help you?" thread, a reader asks:

How to teach topics which in some way come very close to the students and their lives or are related to who they are? What I have in mind are cases of teaching sexual ethics when someone in the classroom says she is a victim of a sexual assault, teaching philosophy of disability when there is a disabled person in the class, or teaching philosophy of discrimination when you have 24 white students and one black student on the course? Is there something the teacher should do differently in these cases compared to when the issue is not present in the same way?

These are excellent and important questions. Another reader submitted the following reply: 

I have an experience that is relevant to [the OP's] question. I was teaching a feminist philosophy class for the first time and we often discussed sexual assault. I used an example to explain a concept and, unbeknownst to me, the example I used very closely matched the actual experience of one of my students. She emailed me about it later and requested that I stick to the examples provided in the text. That way, she explained, she will have already grappled with the exemplar situation (at least once) while reading and could be more mentally and emotionally prepared in class discussions. I apologized to her and agreed that her suggestion was very sensible. That's what I did for the rest of the semester and I had no other issues.

Does anyone else have any helpful tips or experiences to share?

How can we help you? (February 2023)

Now that it's been over a month since our last "how can we help you?" thread, it's time for a new thread.

For those of you unfamiliar with this series, this is a chance for you to post openly or anonymously in the comments section below on anything you could use help with related to the profession. After you post your query in the comments section, I will then post new threads for readers to discuss your query.

As usual, feel free to ask questions on anything (within the Cocoon's mission) that you could use help with, including but not limited to:

• The job-market (applying for jobs, etc.)
• Issues in the profession (including issues of social justice)
• Graduate school
• Publishing
• Teaching
• Work-life balance
• Mental health & well-being
• Personal struggles
• Etc.

Ask away - we're here to help! 

Important reminder: if you submit a comment in this thread responding to someone's query, I won't post it, as this makes it difficult for me to keep track of everything in the comments section, particularly which queries I've started new threads on and which ones I have not. However, if you do post a follow-up comment, chances are good that I will post it in the new thread I start on the relevant query. So, do feel free to submit responses. Just know that they won't appear in this particular thread and might instead appear later in a new post.

Good (minimalist) templates for Mac Keynote?

In our January "how can we help you?" thread, a reader asks:

I'm pretty bad at designing slides for talks and teaching, so I tried searching things like "free" "keynote" "templates" "minimalist," but every search resulted in some website where I needed to register or pay. Any idea where one can find free and downloadable templates for slides, preferably for Mac Keynote (and of course also asking for powerpoint).

Anyone have any tips or templates to share?