Now on ScienceBlogs: The Galaxy's Biggest Valentine
David Dobbs on science, nature, and culture.
I write articles 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, and am working on my fourth book, The Orchid and the Dandelion, which expands on my recent December 2009 Atlantic article. In August 2010, I'll be moving to London for a year to work on the book. I'll also serve as a senior fellow at City University London's MA science journalism program.
You're encouraged to check out my third book Reef Madness: Charles Darwin, Alexander Agassiz, and the Meaning of Coral, which traces the strangest but most forgotten controversy in Darwin's career; subscribe to Neuron Culture by email; see more of my work at my main website; or track Twitter feed, my Google Reader shared items, or my Tumblr log, which gets it all.
Category: Books
Our greatest distinction is that we're highly social. Yet in that we've got a lot of company.
Posted by David Dobbs at 8:31 AM • 2 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Digital culture
When an 'expert' shows a jury a bunch of brain images and says he's certain the images say a person is lying (or not), the jury will led this evidence far more weight than it deserves.
Posted by David Dobbs at 2:19 PM • 11 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Brains and minds
FromMind Hacks:
We've reported before on brain imaging research that shows brain activity in those in a 'persistent vegetative state'. What I didn't know until today was that one subject in this research, Kate, has since woken up. This YouTube video tells Kate's story:
Posted by David Dobbs at 10:11 AM • 3 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Brains and minds
There's been a lot of buzz on the Net* about the Nature commentary on cognitive enhancement I blogged about...
Posted by David Dobbs at 5:35 PM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Brains and minds
My own powers of memory and focus, for instance, probably fall within the normal range ; yet they're not as good as those possessed by some of my peers who can therefore perhaps outwork me. Taking some modafinil can close some of that gap -- and, more to the point, help me work at my own best capacity. And it's not hard to rationalize or justify: I already drink (too much) coffee to boost my energy and cognitive performance, and modafinil essentially provides a more complete coffee-achiever boost without producing jittery hands or irritability; in fact, many people find it has a nice antidepressive effect rather than producing the anxiety that too much coffee can. And virtually no one, of course, suggests it's unfair to drink coffee -- even though I clearly drink it not to cure an ill but to enhance my already existing powers and attentiveness (such as they aren't). So let's say I switch from coffee to modafinil. Have I done wrong?
Posted by David Dobbs at 10:34 PM • 1 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
casaubon's book 02.13.2012
denialism blog 02.13.2012
respectful insolence 02.13.2012
evolutionblog 02.12.2012
starts with a bang! 02.11.2012
