I spent the past two days at the Science Writing in the Age of Denial conference at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The event explored the phenomenon of denial and what it means for science writers. How can journalists effectively convey science when its uncomfortable truths face organized resistance?
Miscellaneous
When I stepped back from full-time writing a few years ago, I knew that I would be giving up something I loved for something I felt was crucially important. But I had no idea what I would gain by making teaching, at Stanford University, a big part of my work life. In fact, I’m still […]
April 16 – 20 Michelle interviews a copy editor at a porn magazine — yes, porn magazines do have copy — and asks the immortal question, Is that an apostrophe in your pocket? Sally considers dimwit webtalk, in particular tl;dr, and wonders whether “you’re” is going the way of “forsooth,” and suspects it might be […]
Spend enough time on the internet and you’ll spot one. They tend to sprout in the comments beneath articles like little text cabbages: tl;dr tl;dr tl;dr Unpack them and you’ll find an accusation: “too long; didn’t read.” This isn’t some hot new trend I’m cluing you into: tl;dr hasn’t been de rigeur since it became […]
April 9 – April 13 Oh, are you having a bad day? JUST BE GLAD YOU’RE NOT A BIRD. Because if you were a bird, as Ann points out, you would go through puberty every single year of your life. Nature, Ann correctly summarises, is one mean mother. Maybe you’re just irritable because people keep […]
There are poems about science. There are poems about scientists. But I know of only two poems about women scientists — about women doing science, that is — and both were written by the same person: the brilliant, defiant, influential poet Adrienne Rich, who died last week at the age of 82. From “Power“: Today […]
March 26 – 30 Mr. Cosmology once again takes questions. I think he makes them up himself. Christie (and her commenters) find a brand-new widespread phenomenon: compulsive counting. Ann’s annoyed about nonfiction that’s fictional; she thinks it’s just lying. Ginny’s also annoyed about liars, so she learns to see them coming. Our boy Abstruse Goose tangles […]
March 19 – 23 This week: Sally has profound doubts about technology, choice, freedom, and those things on her lawn. Heather grieves her lost stories and admires a young writer who reclaims one of them. Erika says that nonfiction writers who lie hurt the causes for which they lie. Virginia argues with her charming […]
