Celebrity scientists – it takes more than stardust

by Andrew Maynard | Jun 27, 2009 | Civic Science, Communication, Engagement, Public Perception

It’s been a few weeks now since the men’s style magazine GQ launched the “Rock Stars of Science” campaign.  I’m a staunch advocate of raising science’s profile, but the whole campaign has had me on edge, and I haven’t quite been able to put my finger on why.  Was it...

Cultural smokescreens

by Andrew Maynard | May 6, 2009 | Civic Science, Emerging Technology, Engagement, Policy, Recommended

50 years on, have we missed the point of C.P. Snow’s “Two-cultures?” 50 years ago, long before Richard Dawkins coined the term “meme,” the British scientist, public figure and novelist Charles Percy Snow planted an idea into the collective consciousness that has since...

Culture clash – Probing CP Snow’s Two Cultures, part 2

by Andrew Maynard | May 5, 2009 | Civic Science, Communication, Engagement

Last week I asked a rather trivial (did someone say trite?) question (the 2-second Two-Cultures poll) about perpetual motion machines – as a gentle lead-up to this week’s 50th anniversary of CP Snow’s Two Cultures lecture.  So what were the results...

Deconstructing the “Fry Event Horizon”

by Andrew Maynard | Mar 6, 2009 | Civic Science, Communication, Emerging Technology

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...

Science, society and the Second Enlightenment

by Andrew Maynard | Feb 23, 2009 | Civic Science, Policy

It’s barely a month since Obama promised to “restore science to its rightful place” and already there has been widespread discussion over what this rightful place might be—spurred on in no small part by science and technology provisions in the recently passed stimulus...

Thank goodness for Sir Robert

by Andrew Maynard | Feb 5, 2009 | Civic Science, Engagement

I’ve been sitting here for over half an hour, trying to work out how to start this blog in an engaging and witty way, but have failed miserably—it’s been a long day!  Instead, let me come straight to the point, because it’s quite a simple one—please read Sir Robert...