Category Archives: Science in culture & policy

Because science is all up in everybody’s business, whether they know it or not.

Should fictional narrators stop to explain basic science?

Posted on February 23, 2013 by cicada

Full disclosure: I like the New Yorker. I’m always up for vocabulary-stretching escapism, even if I have to wade through irrelevant front matter (newsflash: the Goings on About Town are mostly useless to readers in the flyover states) bordered by … Continue reading →

Posted in Biology, Book reviews, Science in culture & policy | Comments Off

Murmurations are so hot right now

Posted on February 23, 2013 by cicada

Murmurations are so hot right now, they’re showing up in federal economic working papers. Which is probably more than you can say for steampunk. More links on the ever-fascinating murmuration phenomenon: Pop culture: How hot were murmurations in, say, 1936? … Continue reading →

Posted in Ephemera, Science, Science in culture & policy | Comments Off

Of Money and Science: Two Book Reviews

Posted on May 18, 2012 by cicada

Paula Stephan’s observation that “not all science is created equal when it comes to funding” will not surprise any researcher who ever labored over a grant. Drugmonkey’s blog is a particularly good source of insight into how the NIH grant … Continue reading →

Posted in Biology, Book reviews, Books, Conspicuous consumption, Education, Littademia, Science, Science in culture & policy | Comments Off

Sciencedebate 2012: Should this be the top question for the next President?

Posted on March 24, 2012 by cicada

You can vote for the science questions you’d most like the presidential candidates to answer, and add your own questions, here: We’re not interested in quizzing candidates on the 4th digit of pi or the particulars of cell mitosis. We … Continue reading →

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What neuroscience tells us about creativity

Posted on March 19, 2012 by cicada

A preview of Jonah Lehrer’s new book on creativity, Imagine: What do you think? I haven’t yet read it, but Lehrer is always an engaging writer; I’m sure it’s both entertaining and literate. My only concern is a general one: … Continue reading →

Posted in Biology, Books, Neuroscience, Science, Science in culture & policy | Comments Off

I love it when Robert Krulwich agrees with me!

Posted on March 16, 2012 by cicada

NPR science correspondent Robert Krulwich, he of the oh-so-familiar voice, quoted me/BioE in a sciart blog post yesterday about “Magnetic Movie,” a short film by the artistic team of Ruth Jarman and Joseph Gerhardt. Here’s the original BioE post quoted … Continue reading →

Posted in Blogs and Blogging, Data Visualization, Film, Video & Music, Science, Science in culture & policy | Comments Off

Conservation photography as social change

Posted on March 3, 2012 by cicada

A few days ago, Sheril told me that I had to watch an amazing short film by Neil Ever Osborne. The video is ~20 minutes long, so I wasn’t able to find time until this morning, but I highly encourage … Continue reading →

Posted in Artists & Art, Biology, Education, Film, Video & Music, Photography, Science in culture & policy, Science Journalism | Comments Off

Its brain is the Enlightenment! Its gut is the Gothic Novel!

Posted on February 18, 2012 by cicada

Ward Shelley’s “History of Science Fiction” seems almost exactly like what you’d get if xkcd’s Randall Munroe illustrated the anatomy of a snail-cephalopod hybrid. Sweet! Via Hungry Hyaena.

Posted in Artists & Art, Littademia, Science in culture & policy | Comments Off

What “science as science” can offer us – or not

Posted on February 18, 2012 by cicada

This fascinating essay by Marilynne Robinson, “Reclaiming a Sense of the Sacred,” is a thoughtful and insightful piece of writing. But unfortunately, as noted by my friend Jacob, it completely fails to distinguish science from scientism (or, I would hasten … Continue reading →

Posted in Biology, Littademia, Neuroscience, Science in culture & policy, Words | Comments Off

Metaphors of Neurobiology: A neuroscientist-artist explains his work

Posted on February 11, 2012 by cicada

Required reading: this essay by Pablo Garcia-Lopez on the interaction between neuroscience and the arts: My work as an artist is directly inspired by my experience as a neuroscientist. I completed my PhD in conjunction with the Museum Cajal, working … Continue reading →

Posted in Artists & Art, Biology, Medical Illustration and History, Neuroscience, Science in culture & policy | Comments Off