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David Dobbs on science, nature, and culture.
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.
Category: Interesting if true...
From Mind Hacks: Deodorants boost sexiness by getting men in the groove: I keep running into fascinating articles that The...
Posted by David Dobbs at 11:08 PM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
"Of course," says Clay Shirky, "because people will hit the print button."...
Posted by David Dobbs at 10:55 PM • 3 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Environment/nature
Despite what you may think, the universe is not necessarily a friendly place.
Posted by David Dobbs at 1:31 PM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Books
A few that rolled away with the tide ... PsychCentral not impressed with Outliers Look Who's in the Operating Room...
Posted by David Dobbs at 9:55 PM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Interesting if true...
A few that keep slipping out of my hands: It's All in Your Head -- Sally Satel, in the Wall...
Posted by David Dobbs at 9:54 PM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Brains and minds
Shirky talks about how society's "cognitive surplus" -- the time and brain power contained in the free time created by the Industrial Revolution and the 40-hour work week -- has moved from building cultural infrastructure (libraries, democracies, museums) in the 19th century to TV in the post-War 20th century and the Internet (at least for many people) in the 21st century. The benefit of this last move, Shirky argues, is that the Internet can actually put some of this cognitive surplus to work, as it does on, say Wikipedia. (This all came to Shirky's mind, he explains, when a TV producer he knew said of people writing and editing Wikipedia ,"Where do they find the time?" and Shirky thought, "They take it from your TV programs!")
Posted by David Dobbs at 12:06 PM • 1 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Interesting if true...
While threats by letter were more thoughtfully composed, they need to taken more seriously as they were more often followed by a threatening physical approach and more frequently written by people with a significant criminal history.
Posted by David Dobbs at 8:37 PM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Brains and minds
There's been a lot of attention the last couple years to the possibility of brain-based lie detector tests -- most...
Posted by David Dobbs at 1:52 PM • 2 Comments • 1 TrackBacks
Category: Interesting if true...
And this: Japan scientists make paper planes for space (Reuters)Reuters - A spacecraft made of folded paper zooming through the...
Posted by David Dobbs at 9:43 PM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Interesting if true...
Go figure: Apparently immaculate Komodos hatched (AP)AP - Two Komodo dragons have hatched at the Sedgwick County Zoo, apparently without...
Posted by David Dobbs at 9:39 PM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
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Eruptions 11.05.2009
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Corpus Callosum 11.05.2009
Starts With a Bang 11.04.2009
