Communication

The Tale of Rhino Banana(TM)

by Andrew Maynard February 4, 2012

A product of the A World Of Surprises project with James King and a bunch of extremely talented public health and science students. The task was to explore the confluence between mundane and catastrophic risk, which the team does beautifully.  Love the technique, and the subtle touches (note the progressive effect of Rhino Bananas on [...]

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Exploring speculated catastrophe and mundane reality

by Andrew Maynard February 4, 2012

Credit: James King Last semester, speculative designer James King worked with myself and a small group of science and public health students at the University of Michigan to explore how a fusion of science and creative art can lead to new insights and modes of communication.  The exercise was part of the A World of [...]

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Mind the Science Gap – Helping science students connect with a non-science audience

by Andrew Maynard January 21, 2012

Cross-posted from the Scientific American Incubator blog: Studying for a Masters degree in Public Health prepares you for many things.  But it doesn’t necessarily give you hands-on experience of how to take complex information and translate it into something others can understand and use.  Yet as an increasing array of public health issues hit the [...]

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Spare a comment – student science writers need your help!

by Andrew Maynard January 5, 2012

In a little over a week, ten of my University of Michigan Masters of Public Health students will embark on an intensive  science blogging course – and they need your help! Every week for ten weeks, each student will take a recent scientific publication or emerging area of scientific interest, and write a public blog [...]

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Metaphorically speaking, it’s photo caption time

by Andrew Maynard December 19, 2011

A question for you: How many science literacy/communication/engagement metaphors can you see in the photo below? Answers on a metaphorical post card in the comments area below please – I’m really interested to see what you come up with! The photo by the way is the header image for a student science blog that will [...]

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Pencasts – a useful educational tool?

by Andrew Maynard December 11, 2011

I picked up a new toy this weekend. (If you want to cut to the chase and see what I’ve been doing with it, please head straight to the end of the post). I’m fascinated by the combination of old tech (essentially “chalk and talk”) and new media that Sal Kahn has been successfully using [...]

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Risk = OMG x WTF!

by Andrew Maynard October 18, 2011

My apologies for the rather crude title, but I couldn’t resist.  Australian science communicator Craig Cormick is speaking at a University of Michigan Risk Science Unplugged event on November 1, and when asked for a short and pithy title, this is what he suggested.  It was too controversial for the Risk Science Center website (and [...]

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Contagion, plausible reality and public health: In conversation with Larry Brilliant

by Andrew Maynard September 14, 2011

Blockbuster movies aren’t usually noted for their scientific accuracy and education potential.  But since its release last week, Steven Soderburgh’s Contagion seems to be challenging the assumption that Hollywood can’t do science. The other day I posted a piece about how director Steven Soderburgh and screenwriter Scott Z Burns’ attention to detail and plausibility left [...]

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Cool science: The Charlie McDonnell Effect

by Andrew Maynard September 11, 2011

There’s been quite a bit of chatter about the “Brian Cox Effect” in the UK recently, as interest in science seems to be on the rise.  But I haven’t heard anyone talking about the “Charlie McDonnell Effect”. Maybe it’s because Charlie appeals more to a growing movement of teens who just want to immerse themselves [...]

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“Social Media makes us more”

by Andrew Maynard August 29, 2011

Following on from my post a couple of days ago on teens and social media, I wanted to post this highly eloquent response to some of Susan Greenfield’s remarks about social media and society.  It’s from Francisco of the YouTube collab channel Fellowship of the Ning, and directly addresses the 2009 Guardian article “Facebook and [...]

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Want to know about teens and social media from the horses mouth? Watch this space

by Andrew Maynard August 15, 2011

If you are a teen who uses YouTube (or know of one – maybe even your own teenager), please think seriously about posting a response to this video: (You can also watch it directly on YouTube here). Over on the Risk Science Blog, I’ve just posted a piece about Baroness Susan Greenfield’s views on the [...]

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Would You Lick Jam Off An Old Man’s Foot? and other important science questions

by Andrew Maynard August 8, 2011

Would You Lick Jam Off An Old Man’s Foot Or Drink Toilet Water For An Hour? Can you explain how gravitons can escape a black hole?  Or do you have a good answer to the question “why are people annoying?” This is just a sampling of some of the more entertaining and challenging questions from [...]

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Frying your brains on information overload: Old perspectives on a new issue

by Andrew Maynard August 3, 2011

Living online is changing our brains – at least according to Baroness Greenfield in an interview posted today by New Scientist. Leaving aside questions over the extent to which Greenfield’s concerns are driven by misapprehension or plausibility, the interview put me in mind of a rather wicked quote that appeared in a presentation I saw [...]

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The science of VidCon – Connecting with Science & Engineering through YouTube

by Andrew Maynard August 1, 2011

Where I cover science at this year’s VidCon YouTube convention, take a look at science and engineering more broadly on YouTube, and suggest that for next year’s VidCon the organizers should bring together some of the leading science projects on YouTube with grass-roots science-advocates like Charlie McDonnell and Hank Green.  It’s a long post, but [...]

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I’m a scientist… what the heck am I doing at VidCon?!

by Andrew Maynard July 26, 2011

This week my teenage kids are dragging me of to the premier YouTube event of the year – VidCon.  I was foolish enough to agree to chaperone them, and now I have two days in LA immersed in a sea of one thousand YouTube celebs, fans and wannabe’s. But not one to miss an opportunity, [...]

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Radiation-Crazed Zombies in Anti-Vaccine Hand-Washing Health Scare – Possibly

by Andrew Maynard July 10, 2011

OK so it’s a slightly misleading title, but I did want to draw your attention to the rather splendiferous Risk Science Blog. When I took over as Director of the University of Michigan Risk Science last year, I wanted to find ways of connecting researchers and students here with a broader audience.  And what better [...]

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Responsible development of… Unobtanium?

by Andrew Maynard June 4, 2011

I thought I’d post this spoof presentation for the fun of it on the responsible development of “unobtainium”, which seems to have some remarkable similarities with some other emerging technologies: If you’re a little mystified, blame David Berube – who encouraged the initial idea, and embellished it in his own presentation at a recent conference [...]

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A plug for the 2011 Risk Science Symposium: Risk, Uncertainty and Sutainable Innovation

by Andrew Maynard May 13, 2011

Registration is now open for the 2011 Risk Science Symposium, and as I’m chairing it, I thought it worth giving a bit of a plug here. The symposium brings together a fantastic cast of experts from very different backgrounds to explore the intersection of technology innovation and human health risk – with the aim of [...]

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Social media and science communication – the backup video!

by Andrew Maynard April 27, 2011

Yesterday I have the rather odd experience of opening the media140 meeting on the impact of social technologies on science communication in Brisbane Australia – from my basement in Michigan, USA.  Skyping into the meeting, it was hard to tell whether I was making sense, or just taking the title of the keynote too literally [...]

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Social media and science communication – the New Renaissance, or A Load of Jackson Pollocks?

by Andrew Maynard April 22, 2011

Next Wednesday (April 27th) I’m kicking off a media140 gig in Brisbane (by Skype rather than in person sadly), exploring the impact of social technologies on science communication). When I was originally asked, it seemed a great idea – a chance to pontificate on my vast knowledge of social media and science communication to vast [...]

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