Welcome to the 2020 Science Archive

2020 Science started life in 2007 as a nanotechnology blog written by Andrew Maynard on SafeNano. In the following years it developed into a personal blog addressing emerging technologies, responsible innovation, risk, science communication, and the intersection between science and society more generally.

Andrew made he decision to wind the blog down in 2019 as his focus and writing developed in new directions. This archive contains most of the original posts (there have been occasional clean-ups of content). For more recent articles etc. please visit andrewmaynard.net. And thanks for visiting! 

 

BROWSE THE ARCHIVE

2020 Science in 2020

2020 Science in 2020

In September 2008, the blog 2020 Science was born. The intent was to write about how science and technology can be used most effectively in the service of society. At the time I was science advisor to the Woodrow Wilson Center-based Project on Emerging...

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A new website for Films from the Future

A new website for Films from the Future

There's a new website for the book Films from the Future: The Technology and Morality of Sci-Fi Movies that you might want to check out! As well as an overview of the book, and those every-important links to where to purchase it, the site contains information and...

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A book club guide for Films from the Future

A book club guide for Films from the Future

The same structure that makes Films from the Future ideal for undergrads, also makes it perfect for an extremely engaging book club – one where you not only read a book together, but you get to watch films as well!

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Films from the Future: The Last Chapter

Films from the Future: The Last Chapter

Through this book, I’ve set out to show how science fiction movies can help point the way along this journey, flawed as they are. As I’ve been researching and writing it, I’ve developed a deeper appreciation of how the movies here can expand our appreciation of the complex relationship between technology and society, not because they are accurate or prescient, but precisely because they are not tethered to scientific accuracy or to realistic predictions of the future.

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Contact: Occam’s Razor and Films from the Future

Contact: Occam’s Razor and Films from the Future

William of Occam was a fourteenth-century English philosopher, friar, and theologian. From historic accounts, he was sharp thinker, and a somewhat controversial religious figure in his time. Yet, these days, he is best known for the scientific rule of thumb that bears his name.

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Environmental resilience and The Day After Tomorrow

Environmental resilience and The Day After Tomorrow

Resiliency, I have to admit, is a bit of a buzz-word these days. In the environmental context, it’s often used to describe how readily an ecosystem is able to resist harm, or recover from damage caused by some event. But resiliency goes far beyond resistance to change..

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The Honest Broker meets Dan Brown’s Inferno

The Honest Broker meets Dan Brown’s Inferno

Each week between now and November 15th (publication day!) I’ll be posting excerpts from  Films from the Future: The Technology and Morality of Sci-Fi Movies This week, it’s chapter eleven, and the movie Inferno. Inferno may seem like an odd choice of movie in a book...

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