Communication

Science influence on Twitter – June update

by Andrew Maynard June 23, 2009

Back in April I posted data on three indicators of “influence” for ~400 science-focused Twitter users – based on David Bradley’s list of “Scientific Twitter Friends.” Intrigued to see how these Tweeps’ influence evolves over time, I will be updating these data periodically. In this first update (aided and abetted by @ruthseeley – thanks Ruth!), [...]

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Vote for science

by Andrew Maynard June 2, 2009

At least, vote for your favorite science blog post!  Voting is now open on the the 171 (yes – 171!) blog posts nominated for this year’s Quark award for science – being run by 3 Quarks Daily…

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Wolfram Alpha – Should have called it Deep Thought!

by Andrew Maynard May 16, 2009

Last night, Stephen Wolfram threw the switch on Wolfram Alpha – a ground-breaking… no, make that game changing… “search engine” that computes answers to questions rather than simply drowning you in a torrent of possibly-relevant web pages.  Itching to give it a whirl, I asked some of my friends on Twitter to suggest some questions [...]

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The long shout

by Andrew Maynard May 13, 2009

In the long run, does art trump science? Lateral communication—sending information from point to point around the world—is so fast and efficient these days that we tend to take it for granted.  But how good are we at passing information forward in time—what you might call longitudinal communication?  If we wanted to send a message [...]

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Culture clash: Take the 2-second two-cultures poll

by Andrew Maynard April 28, 2009

A 2-second distraction in the run-up to the 50th anniversary of CP Snow’s Two Cultures lecture:  Take the two-cultures poll (below), and see how your answer aligns with those from others: (If you can’t see the poll, click here) Now you’ve pressed the button and seen the results, here’s the background: On May 7th 1959, [...]

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Nanotechnology in motion: the good, the bad and the.. just plain weird?

by Andrew Maynard April 25, 2009

How many good nanotech videos have you come across?  Chances are, you’ll be struggling to name more than one of two.  But over the past few weeks there have been a few posted on the web that are worth watching.  These three in particular mesh together rather nicely to tell a story of nanotechnology’s potential, [...]

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Science influence on Twitter

by Andrew Maynard April 22, 2009

This is by way of a quick follow-on to yesterday’s post on the number of people on Twitter  following science-focused users.  As was pointed out, just logging the number of followers someone has on twitter is a poor indicator of either success or influence.  So, spurred into action, here is a rather more sophisticated analysis [...]

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As Twitter users skyrocket, how are the science tweeps doing?

by Andrew Maynard April 21, 2009

Earlier today, David Bradley over at ScienceBase announced that his growing list of “Scientific Twitter Friends” has hit the 400 mark.  Given the recent explosion in Twitter use, I was intrigued to see how these science-types are faring in the brave new world of on-line communication, 140 characters at a time. This is a bubble [...]

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Creating order from disorder – the YouTube Symphony way

by Andrew Maynard April 15, 2009

I was skeptical – really skeptical – that the folks doing the mashup could pull it off.  But I was wrong.  They managed to create something in virtual space that is quite possibly unique, and that is most definitely greater than the sum of the parts. I’m talking about Tan Dun’s just-released YouTube “Internet Symphony”. [...]

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Twitter: changing your perspective on reality, 140 characters at a time

by Andrew Maynard April 14, 2009

13 “Twits” Who Will Change Your Perspective on Reality Back in the days when Twitter was a mere slip of a social media service—around four months ago by my reckoning—it was a byword for meaningless web-chatter and banal exchanges.  But the service is growing up rapidly —not only in the number of users (which is [...]

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Communication: Science and technology in a connected world

by Andrew Maynard April 7, 2009

Part 3 of a series on rethinking science and technology for the 21st century I’m fascinated by the power of communication.  The idea that someone’s perceptions and actions can be changed by information received through sight, sound or touch, is rather profound.  Even more so is the idea that, through exchanging information and ideas, people [...]

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Confessions of a “media hog”

by Andrew Maynard March 26, 2009

There are some things they don’t cover in media training, like giving interviews while suffering from stomach flu, talking to reporters thousands of miles away while on a dodgy cell phone connection, or speaking intelligently while your three-year-old niece runs rings around your legs.  It’s probably because they come under the “so bloody stupid no [...]

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Blogging the demise of science journalism

by Andrew Maynard March 20, 2009

This week’s edition of Nature includes a thought provoking piece by Geoff Brumfiel on the decline of mainstream science journalism and the rise of science blogging.  The big question: Can one replace the other?  It’s a sobering read: Blumfiel paints a picture of old media in crisis—science coverage in the mainstream media is being cut [...]

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Science, technology and the three “C’s:” Communication, Coupling and Control

by Andrew Maynard March 19, 2009

Part 1 of a series on rethinking science and technology for the 21st century We live in a crowded, science and technology-dependent word.  And things aren’t getting any better!  The global population is currently around 6.8 billion.  Over the next four years it’s projected to grow to over 7 billion.  And by 2050, the US [...]

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Deconstructing the “Fry Event Horizon”

by Andrew Maynard March 6, 2009

I’ve been intending writing about Ray Kurzweil and the technological singularity for some time now.  This isn’t that blog—it is a Friday evening after all, at the end of a long week.  But it is connected with some of the ideas behind the singularity. Instead, I’m going to write about the “Fry Event Horizon”—a phenomenon [...]

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Sing a song of nanotechnology

by Andrew Maynard February 26, 2009

Explaining nanotechnology to people is tough—as anyone working in the field will tell you.  Clever stuff that’s too small to see with the naked eye doesn’t slot easily into most people’s human-scale view of the world.  So it’s not surprising that many non-experts (and even some “experts”) end up with a rather mangled idea of [...]

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In space, no one can hear you scream – unless you’re in a sci-flick!

by Andrew Maynard February 16, 2009

If you want to annoy a scientist, show them a movie that gets the little details wrong—like the fact that sound doesn’t travel in a vacuum, or biologists always have a box of Kim Wipes within arms-reach. If you want to annoy anyone else, put them in the same room with the scientist! Scientists love [...]

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Managing the small stuff – a visual nanotechnology primer

by Andrew Maynard February 2, 2009

Nanotechnology: What is it, what can it do, what are the downsides, and how can we ensure it reaches its full potential? Managing the Small Stuff. Also available in High Definition on Vimeo The promise and challenges of nanotechnology is something I lecture on a lot.  And when I do, I’m inevitably asked for a [...]

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