As you all have no doubt noticed over the years, I love highlighting the best science books every year via the various end of year lists that newspapers, web sites, etc. publish. I've done it so far in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013,2014 and 2015. And here we are in 2016! As in previous years, my definition of "science books" is pretty inclusive, including books on technology, engineering, nature, the environment, science policy, history & philosophy of science, geek culture and whatever else seems to be relevant in my opinion. Today's list is The Globe and Mail 100 Best Books of the…
Somehow this post from News Biscuit seems even more relevant now than when it was intially published back in August. Of course, we all shudder to think who will be under that ghostly costume, orange hair, Alaska plaid, Brietbart ball cap and all. Scooby Doo Team Expose Climate Change Tricksters A two-man, two-woman, one-Great Dane team of young Americans has exposed the belief that the Earth is heading towards widespread famine and ecological disaster, as the work of a scheming fraudster. Team leader Fred explained that they were passing through Central London in their VW camper van when a…
As you all have no doubt noticed over the years, I love highlighting the best science books every year via the various end of year lists that newspapers, web sites, etc. publish. I've done it so far in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013,2014 and 2015. And here we are in 2016! As in previous years, my definition of "science books" is pretty inclusive, including books on technology, engineering, nature, the environment, science policy, history & philosophy of science, geek culture and whatever else seems to be relevant in my opinion. Today's list is Boing Boing's 2016 Book Gift Guide. What'…
As you all have no doubt noticed over the years, I love highlighting the best science books every year via the various end of year lists that newspapers, web sites, etc. publish. I've done it so far in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013,2014 and 2015. And here we are in 2016! As in previous years, my definition of "science books" is pretty inclusive, including books on technology, engineering, nature, the environment, science policy, history & philosophy of science, geek culture and whatever else seems to be relevant in my opinion. Today's list is Popular Mechanics Gift Guide For The…
As you all have no doubt noticed over the years, I love highlighting the best science books every year via the various end of year lists that newspapers, web sites, etc. publish. I've done it so far in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013,2014 and 2015. And here we are in 2016! As in previous years, my definition of "science books" is pretty inclusive, including books on technology, engineering, nature, the environment, science policy, history & philosophy of science, geek culture and whatever else seems to be relevant in my opinion. Today's list is New York Times 100 Notable Books. The…
As you all have no doubt noticed over the years, I love highlighting the best science books every year via the various end of year lists that newspapers, web sites, etc. publish. I've done it so far in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013,2014 and 2015. And here we are in 2016! As in previous years, my definition of "science books" is pretty inclusive, including books on technology, engineering, nature, the environment, science policy, history & philosophy of science, geek culture and whatever else seems to be relevant in my opinion. Today's list is Amazon.com Best Books of 2016,…
And so it begins. As you all have no doubt noticed over the years, I love highlighting the best science books every year via the various end of year lists that newspapers, web sites, etc. publish. I've done it so far in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013,2014 and 2015. And here we are in 2016! As in previous years, my definition of "science books" is pretty inclusive, including books on technology, engineering, nature, the environment, science policy, history & philosophy of science, geek culture and whatever else seems to be relevant in my opinion. Today's list is The Washington Post…
Just a quick post to get a recent set of presentation slides up here on the blog. Earlier this week a colleague in the Science and Technologies Studies program here at York hosted me in her fourth year undergraduate seminar class. Rather than my accustomed and normal role of librarian (I happen to be the STS liaison librarian at the moment), I was invited to appear as seminar subject. In other words, she wanted me to talk about my long history of science policy advocacy and activism and a little about how I feel about the current Canadian government. Which I sort of did, I guess. I also…
Update 2017.01.31: First post-inauguration chronology post is done, covering the first week of the Trump administration. From the point of view of someone sitting North of the Canadian/US border, the results of this week's US Federal election are somewhat terrifying. And honestly and truly as a Canadian and a Torontonian, I say this without a bit of smugness. Been there, done that, if not quite on the same scale. And by done that, I mean that I've often seen my mission to document important stories in the world. In the past, mostly Canadian or mostly in the library world and all basically…
Every once in a while, I'm happy to use this blog to throw my support behind a worthy project. And there's nothing like children's science books about women in science! Check out the Kickstarter for Science Wide Open: Children's Books about Women in Science, and consider joining me in helping this amazing project come to fruition. Science Wide Open: Children's Books about Women in Science When children ask questions, their whole world becomes their experiment Kids ask a LOT of questions. The inquisitive star of Science Wide Open is no different! Her questions about how the world works guide…
The jazz of physics, the physics of jazz, the chemistry of jazz, the jazz of chemistry, the jazz of computer science, the computer science of jazz, the math of jazz, the jazz of math, the jazz of biology, the biology of jazz, the jazz of engineering, the engineering of jazz. And why not the jazz of history and the history of jazz? The sociology of jazz and the jazz of sociology? The jazz of political science, the political science of jazz. The jazz of philosophy, the philosophy of jazz, the literature of jazz, the jazz of literature. And why not the jazz of religion, the religion of jazz,…
What About the Planet? Partisan polarization on climate change is worse than ever Three things Ottawa should do to fight climate change It’s Happening Now: Climate Change Is Killing Off the Yellow Cedar ‘Next year or the year after, the Arctic will be free of ice’ Could Ontario's climate strategy trigger an industrial exodus? Why Obama’s top scientist just called keeping fossil fuels in the ground ‘unrealistic’ On Climate Change, Pence and Trump Are a Perfect Match As climate change worsens wildfires, smokejumpers fight blazes from the sky Why Trudeau’s Commitment to Harper’s Old Emissions…
100 Greatest Music Books of All Time Does the music business need musicianship not to speak ill of the dead.. but.. on the demise of other music What It Takes for an Independent Record Store to Survive Now Why record stores mattered How Miles Davis remade jazz over and over again The Electric Surge of Miles Davis The Classic Cool of Miles Davis Brilliant Corners: Approaches to Jazz and Comics How New York City Became the Epicenter of Jazz new york’s free jazz loft scene, with tom marcello’s photos from studio rivbea How Canada's Philanthropic Pop Industrial Complex Took Over The World Don't…
I wish I knew how many times per week I get pitched opportunities to "interview" brave, unconventional, innovative "scientists" on my blog. Too many to count, most weeks. The pseudoscience PR whirlpool is vast and slippery. But there's also the legitimate "Hey, somebody at my university just published this thing, maybe you want to talk to them" pitch. While often interesting, that's not really what I do on this blog. I don't really do science explainers. But once in a while, a pitch resonates. And such is the case with the pitch I got from Guerilla Science a few weeks ago. I'd heard of them…
Yep, Facebook, love it or hate it, it's hard to ignore that life just hasn't been the same these past 10 years or so. Horrible Facebook Algorithm Accident Results In Exposure To New Ideas “To those who were forced to read a headline they did not agree with when they visited Facebook yesterday, we are deeply sorry. It’s an inexcusable failing on our part if your viewpoints were not reinforced by what you saw onscreen. I want all Facebook users to know that you’ll never again encounter any ideas on our site that are in any way novel or ideologically challenging to you—that’s my personal promise…
It's been quite a while since I've done one of these posts, that's for sure. But since we're at the start of the new school year, I thought it might be fun to highlight some recent and forthcoming books about science and technology and especially how they intersect with the human condition. Climate change, critical thinking, new horizons, threats to privacy...and more. These are all books on my list to get at some point, either to catch up on books from earlier this year or books that are yet to be published. Enjoy!   A Field Guide to Lies: Critical Thinking in the Information Age by Daniel…
One of the real highlights for me every year is the late-summer announcement of the Lane Anderson Awards short list. Celebrating science books is a good thing. Celebrating Canadian writers is a good thing. Somehow in 2016, sunny ways and all, celebrating Canadian science writers seems like the best thing of all. Some info on the award: The Lane Anderson Award — created by the Fitzhenry Family Foundation — honours the very best science writing in Canada today, both in the adult and young reader categories. The winner in each category receives $10,000. And the shortlist from their website here…
I have a son who will be finishing up his undergrad in physics this coming school year with an eye towards possible graduate work in math. As you can imagine, I occasionally see a link or two on the web that I think he might particularly interesting or useful. Thinking on that fact, I surmised that perhaps a) this kind of post might be more efficient and b) other undergrad students might find those links interesting or useful as well. Hence, this series of posts here on the blog. What is it like to understand advanced mathematics? How to Write Your First Paper How to write proofs: a quick…
Are We Feeling Collective Grief Over Climate Change? Astrophysicist wins Twitter burn of the year with her reply to climate change skeptic The Point of No Return: Climate Change Nightmares Are Already Here Dazzling blue lakes are forming in Antarctica — and they’ve got scientists worried The Galileo gambit and other stories: the three main tactics of climate denial Greenland Melt Could Expose Hazardous Cold War Waste Time for the hard work on meaningful climate policy Effective climate change regulation: Let’s transform Canadian cars Suncor and province discuss “stranding” some oilsands…
I'm afraid the answer to that might be "Yes." Perhaps I'm the only one who's still interested and perhaps not, but there seems to be little movement towards launching a review of Canadian Science Library infrastructure. Why do I think such a review is a good idea? First of all, I've documented the devastation wrought on that infrastructure under the Conservatives. Not only do I chronicle the destruction, but at the same time you can clearly see from the assembled articles I link to in that post how much the various opposition parties -- including the now-in-government Liberals -- used those…