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
Roll over nanotechnology, synthetic biology is coming!
So you’re looking for a new technology concept—something that will stimulate research funding, make a buck or two, and maybe save the world—at least for another year or so. What do you need? Here’s a quick checklist: Something that’s revolutionary. Evolutionary...
The long shout
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...
Cultural smokescreens
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
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 and what can be...
Control at the nanoscale: Smallness, strangeness and sophistication
Part 5 of a series on rethinking science and technology for the 21st century Last time in this series of occasional blogs, I made the rather bold statement that while science and technology are going to have a highly visible impact on our lives over the next few...
Culture clash: Take the 2-second two-cultures poll
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...
Obama’s science and technology call to arms
Just in case anyone wasn't clear, President Obama blew away any residual doubts this morning that he considers science and technology supremely important to the future well-being of the US. In a stirring and historic speech to the National Academies of Science (audio...
Science influence on Twitter
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,...
As Twitter users skyrocket, how are the science tweeps doing?
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...
Control: Gaining mastery over the world at the finest level
Part 4 of a series on rethinking science and technology for the 21st century So far in this series of occasional blogs, I’ve covered coupling and communication—two of three “C’s” which together are challenging how science and technology are best used to serve...