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I write on science, medicine, nature, culture and other matters for the New York Times Magazine, The Atlantic, Slate, National Geographic, Scientific American Mind, and other publications. (Find clips here.)
I've also written three books, including Reef Madness: Charles Darwin, Alexander Agassiz, and the Meaning of Coral, which traces the strangest but most forgotten controversy in Darwin's career — an elemental dispute running some 75 years. Oliver Sacks found Reef Madness "brilliantly written, almost unbearably poignant." Check it out.
If you'd like, you can subscribe to Neuron Culture by email. You might also want to see more of my work at my main website or check out my Tumblr log.
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- Jason Seidel on I'm not vulnerable, just especially plastic. Risk genes, environment, and evolution, in the Atlantic
- Meat Robot on I'm not vulnerable, just especially plastic. Risk genes, environment, and evolution, in the Atlantic
- Neelu Chitrapu on I'm not vulnerable, just especially plastic. Risk genes, environment, and evolution, in the Atlantic
- Tsutsugamushi on Roz Chast's "finite filing cabinet model" of memory confirmed
- Polonius on Roz Chast's "finite filing cabinet model" of memory confirmed
- Charles Jonassaint on I'm not vulnerable, just especially plastic. Risk genes, environment, and evolution, in the Atlantic
- tbell1 on Raymond Tallis trashtalks some "Neurotrash"
- Jeff on Senator Asks Pentagon To Review Antidepressants
- bsci on Raymond Tallis trashtalks some "Neurotrash"
- julia on I'm not vulnerable, just especially plastic. Risk genes, environment, and evolution, in the Atlantic
Categories
Education:
Category: Brains and minds
That post reported the news (via FiercePharma) that Pfizer had tucked away in its financial disclosure forms a $2.3 billion charge to end the federal investigation into allegations of off-label promotions of its Cox-2 painkillers, including Bextra. ... Because my post was was one of the few things already on the interwebz before Justice held its news conference, the Google rush shot it toward the top of the search results.
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Posted by David Dobbs at 3:19 PM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
This implies that religious beliefs and behavior emerged not as sui generis evolutionary adaptations, but as an extension (some would say "by product") of social cognition and behavior. May be something to that, Razib says — but it would be nice "get in on the game of normal human variation in religious orientation (as opposed to studies of mystical brain states which seem focused on outliers)."
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Posted by David Dobbs at 6:51 AM • 1 Comments •
Category: Brains and minds
As Obama explains, world leaders are puzzled that healthcare gets painted with a Hitler moustache. and other news.
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Posted by David Dobbs at 6:27 AM • 2 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Education
Six months ago I thought this country was ready to deal with the serious problems in our schools. This new survey would suggest that's the case. But having watched the healtcare reform debate/debacle, I now have my doubts.
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Posted by David Dobbs at 10:00 AM • 16 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Brains and minds
On citing papers you haven't read; writing better cuz U write more; the merits of merit pay; placebo effect versus placebo effect; and for fun, fire towers.
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Posted by David Dobbs at 10:06 AM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Brains and minds
Speaking of pleasure: Having lived with fire ants, stepped in fire ants, laid down with fire ants, and been bit just about everywhere by fire ants, this pleases me immensely: Parasitic flies turn fire ants them into zombies. The fly maggots eat their brains.
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Posted by David Dobbs at 3:12 PM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Education
As I've noted before, the U.S.'s health-care and education systems share some fundamental flaws: In both medical care and schooling we spend far more than other countries and get substandard results. Here's the latest data on the education end.
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Posted by David Dobbs at 1:16 PM • 1 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Brains and minds
"If you stick a robot--I don't care if you're talking about grade school kids or high school students--if you put a robot in the middle of the room, there is something captivating about the technology."
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Posted by David Dobbs at 9:50 AM • 1 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Education
"The New York Times editorial board today calls on Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and the Obama administration to hold states to tougher accountability standards if they want to receive a piece of the $49 billion school stabilization fund included in the stimulus package."
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Posted by David Dobbs at 3:14 PM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Culture of science
The balloon rises wonderfully, they're getting signals from the GPS and the camera indicating all is in good order ... and then, with the camera and rig well out of sight, the batteries on their laptops start to run out and they have to switch to another laptop:
"...but the surprise was great: the Google Earth not working!"
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Posted by David Dobbs at 11:01 PM • 1 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
