by Andrew Maynard | Jun 3, 2009 | Communication, Public Perception, Recommended
Should live tweeting and blogging from scientific meetings be controlled? Back in May, Daniel MacArthur – a researcher and blogger – wrote a number of on-the-spot blogs on the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) Biology of Genomes meeting. By all...
by Andrew Maynard | Apr 28, 2009 | Communication, Engagement, Public Perception
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: Take Our Poll (If you can’t see the poll, click here) Now...
by Andrew Maynard | Feb 16, 2009 | Engagement, Public Perception
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...
by Andrew Maynard | Dec 31, 2008 | Emerging Technology, Policy, Public Perception
Science gone right, science gone wrong, science gone social, science gone political—it’s all here in five off-beat book recommendations to kick off 2009. Ranging from Darwin’s Origin of Species to Sir Terry Pratchett’s Nation, the one thing I think I can guarantee is...
by Andrew Maynard | Dec 24, 2008 | Civic Science, Engagement, Policy, Public Perception
In 2003, Harvard University’s Sheila Jasanoff wrote about what she termed “Technologies of Humility.” Recognizing the growing disconnect between technological progress and its effective governance, Jasanoff explored new approaches to decision-making that “seek to...
by Andrew Maynard | Sep 30, 2008 | Communication, Public Perception, Synthetic Biology
The October issue of Esquire magazine is remarkable. Not for the world’s first e-ink cover (appearing on limited special editions of the magazine). But because three of the five scientists featured amongst the seventy-five most influential people of the twenty first...
