In praise of astonishment
Does our love of the new and strange, both in literature and science, flow from the same wellspring? On the restorative power of surprise. (900 words)
They shall not grow old
A few thoughts, prompted by the film. (800 words)
We are all the Tin Woodman
In what sense are we the same person today as yesterday? (2200 words)
Can we create a climate for hope? Try a reboot
How can we sail against the climate headwinds currently blowing out of Washington? It can help to remind ourselves there are always countercurrents beneath the surface. (1200 words)
The weightlessness of knowledge
Does the citizen scientist have a long term future? It depends on the future of both the citizen and the scientist. (4000 words)
Racing with drones and dancing with robots
How can we tell a new technology has become humanized? When we begin to play with it. (800 words + videos; approx. 30 mins. reading/viewing)
Learning to see [Aeon, American Scientist]
One astronomer’s dimpled pie is another’s cratered moon. How can our mind’s eye learn to see the new and unexpected? (3900 words)
A scientist on walkabout
Marshall Islands, July 2016. (8000 words)
A physics without time [Aeon]
From past to present, into the future: the flow of time is central to human experience. Why isn’t it central to physics? (3600 words)
What We Lose When We Don’t Look At The Night Sky [Wisconsin Public Radio]
An interview with Rob Ferret of Wisconsin Public Radio. The stars, Polynesian voyaging, human exploration of the solar system. It’s all here. (12 mins. listening time)
