As my husband and I drove into Ouray, Colorado recently, we both gasped. The red-grey cliffs of 14,000-foot mountains cradle the old mining town, with waterfall lacework tracing down the mountainsides — one of the most gorgeous spots on Earth. But it was the stream tumbling through the valley we were gasping at: It was […]
Month: September 2015
September 14-18, 2015 This week was a blend of the old and the new, the past and the present—and how the two connect. On Monday, Christie reduxes a post about her former life as a researcher, and the mundaneness that is a part of science. Erik was thinking about Donald Trump before the rest of […]
The first time I ever saw a marching band I ran away and cried. The band wasn’t even really marching–it was cooped up inside a small music hall. Maybe that was the problem. The timpani and the tubas, trapped in a single room, were far too loud for a little kid’s ears. When I finally saw […]
A year ago this month, I followed some random link and came upon 10Q, a site that promises to ask you 10 questions over a period of 10 days and then send your answers to your inbox after a one-year interlude. The questions were generic but reflective: “Describe a significant experience that has happened in […]
Two weeks ago, my living room was home to a miraculous transformation. In truth, this transformation was utterly mundane: An insect entered the last stage of its development. It just happened to do it on my dining room table. And it was beautiful.
Since I wrote this post one year ago, “The Donald” has only grown in the public consciousness and is now the GOP frontrunner. I can’t understand why the rest of the media ignores the obvious fact that he never existed. “For those who believe, no proof is necessary. For those who don’t believe, no proof is possible.” […]
Lately, I’ve been writing about how we think of science, and so I’ve been remembering my own experiences as a researcher. This is a redux of a post that first appeared July 12, 2012. When I was a biology researcher, the strangers I met at parties and on airplanes were always impressed when I told them how […]
September 7-11, 2015 In the way that miniature zeitgeists sometimes appear here at LWON, it was a week that centered around birds and flight. Renewable energy is great until it massacres all your eagles. Cameron follows the newest developments in wind farming. Boobies are unfaithful, fratricidal maniacs, says Eric. But it’s not their fault, and […]
