Open Lab
cevans | September 20, 2012I've been practicing little idiosyncratic rituals on this corner of the web for years: learn something new, obsessively research, get lost in the idea, scribble, converse endlessly, then write. This blog, Universe, has never been about garnering hits or materializing an audience because, for me, thinking and writing about science is a personal tic. I can't help but yell into the void; I understand science as a poetic language for explaining reality, and when I see changes in that language all I want to do is unfasten myself into them.
I definitely don't seek any form of recognition for what…
jgoldman | June 9, 2011Looking for a great Father's Day gift? How about the gift of Open Lab? Get it for 20% off if you buy it by Monday, June 13. Click the graphic below to head straight to the Lulu page for the 2010 edition of The Open Laboratory.
jgoldman | April 23, 2011First, the first couple of reviews of the 2010 anthology are now out: by Dr. Alistair Dove at Deep Sea News and by Ariel Carpenter at USC News. Check them out. If you have read the book and have a place to publish a review, we'll appreciate it - just send us the link.
Second, I am very excited to join Bora in announcing the Guest Editor for the 2011 edition: Jennifer Ouellette (blog, Twitter). I am sure that Jennifer will do a fantastic job putting together the sixth edition of the anthology! I couldn't be more thrilled.
Third, after five years of self-publishing the anthology through Lulu.…
jgoldman | April 18, 2011The first two reviews (that I'm aware of) of this year's edition of Open Lab have surfaced!
First, USC ran a fantastic story on Open Lab and on my experiences with science blogging more generally. It was placed prominently (to my surprise) at the front page of the USC website for a week, and included in the weekly email of the USC College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences! Thanks to Ariel Carpenter for such a great article.
Do Japanese people have a special sushi-digestion gene? What are 10 things everyone must know about comets? Can giraffes swim?
Inquiring minds from the Internet's vibrant…
jgoldman | March 31, 2011Earlier this week, friend-of-the-blog and Open Lab 2010 finalist Stephen Curry tweeted this picture, with the caption "Reaching the next generation with #openlab"
This is why I do what I do.
jgoldman | March 29, 2011In case you haven't procured your copy of Open Lab yet, you might consider taking advantage of a Lulu site-wide sale.
If you place an order by March 31, and enter the discount code SPLISH305, you can get 20% off, up to $100.
Here is a direct link to the hard copy version of Open Lab 2010 on Lulu, and here is a direct link to the e-reader friendly version of Open Lab (and here are directions for adding the PDF to your e-reader device).
jgoldman | March 22, 2011Many people have inquired as to whether there is or will be an e-reader version of Open Lab. The short answer is: yes. But because of various technological constraints, the only e-book format available is PDF, and its already available.
Since the link for the PDF download is not especially obvious on the Lulu website, here is a direct link to the page to purchase the PDF version.
Okay, I downloaded the PDF, now how do I get it on my e-reader? Read on.
For the iPad, iPod Touch, or iPhone:
Open iTunes, and click "File," then "Add to Library." Navigate to the PDF file, and click "Choose." Now,…
jgoldman | March 21, 2011
You kept submitting your posts all year long and watching, every Monday, to see which other posts were also entered.
Then we closed the submission form.
Then we made you wait a month of "electoral silence" while the judges went through three rounds of judging, until we announced which 50 essays, plus poems and cartoons, made it into print.
Then, at Science Online, we announced the gorgeous new cover art.
But now - what you have been waiting for so long:
The Open Laboratory 2010, the collection of best writing on science blog for the year, is finally up for sale!
Buy one for yourself, buy…
jgoldman | January 31, 2011Production on Open Lab 2010 is proceeding apace, thanks to the valiant assistance of Blake Stacey. While we put the finishing touches on it, though, it is time to announce the sixth anthology.*
The submission form for the 2011 edition of Open Lab is now open. Any blog post written since December 1, 2010 is eligible for submission.
You can buy the last four annual collections here. You can read Prefaces and Introductions to older editions here. The instructions for submitting are here.
Here are the submission badges, designed again this year by Doctor Zen. You are encouraged to display them…
jgoldman | January 13, 2011Just now, attendees of Science Online 2011 are getting their #scio11 Swag Bags as they register and prepare for the Keynote. And in those swag bags are postcards revealing the cover of Open Lab!
But even if you're not at Science Online, you, too, can revel in the awesomeness of the brand-spankin'-new cover.
Behold! (Click to behold even larger!)
Thanks to science illustrator extraordinaire Andrea Kuszewski (blog, twitter) for the art and design.
jgoldman | January 7, 2011It's here! After more than a month of reviewing, I am pleased to announce the list of posts that will be included in this year's edition - the fifth - of The Open Laboratory!
In no particular order:
Givin' props to hybrids by DeLene Beeland
The decade the clones came: Beware the mighty Marmokrebs! by Zen Faulkes
Can seabirds overfish a resource? The case of cormorants in Estonia by Hannah Waters
The Data Speak by Andrew Thaler
Testing the flotation dynamics and swimming abilities of giraffes by way of computational analysis by Darren Naish
Shark week! by EcoPhysioMichelle
Size really does…
jgoldman | December 31, 2010
Even though I'm on a mini-blogcation (owing to my temporary residence in the Cave of Open Lab), I'd like to take a moment to wish all of my readers and friends across the blogosphere, a very Happy New Year.
I plan on being back to a somewhat normal blogging schedule in about a week (something like January 10). Enjoy these hilarious animal videos (behind the fold), in the meantime.
Image source
jgoldman | December 16, 2010I'm still here, I swear. Most of the time I'd normally devote to writing blog posts has been spent in the Cave of Open Lab™, the last couple weeks. But it will be worth it, I promise.
Brief update, by the numbers:
900 posts (first reviews back on 266 of them; waiting on the remaining 634)
41 reviewers
1 editor (that's me)
1 series editor
1 cover designer (it's done and it looks awesome! - but, yes, we're keeping it a secret for now)
An artist's rendition of the Cave of Open Lab™ (source)
In the meantime, if you'd like some awesome stuff to read, why not read some of the posts that were…
jgoldman | December 2, 2010On Wednesday I posted the full list of the almost 900 posts submitted to Open Lab. As part of the process that I'm using to distribute the posts to my awesome reviewers, I've assigned each post a primary category. (Clearly, many of the posts can easily fit into more than one category, but based on the post, the blog's general content - as far as I know or can tell - or whatever other information is available to me, I've picked one to be primary.)
Here's the breakdown of the posts by category (click to enlarge):
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*/
CATEGORY
NUMBER
Psychology/Behavior/Cognition
126
Biology
104…
jgoldman | December 1, 2010And it is over! The submission deadline has just passed. No more submissions will be accepted for the 2010 edition of the Open Laboratory.
I have lined up an impressive list of reviewers who will immediately start receiving their first judging lists and the complex process of winnowing down almost 900 entries into the final 50 essays/stories, one poem, one piece of art (for the cover) and one cartoon/comic strip. As usual, the book will be published with lulu.com and we'll try to have the book ready roughly in time for ScienceOnline2011 (we always say that, I know, but this time we'll really…
jgoldman | November 26, 2010There are only FIVE DAYS left for submissions! Dig through your archives, through other people's archives and submit!
Note: if you have recently moved your blog, please e-mail Bora the corrected URLs for your entries
The list is growing fast - check the submissions to date and get inspired to submit something of your own - an essay, a poem, a cartoon or original art.
The Submission form is here so you can get started. Under the fold are entries so far - almost 700 of them, with more coming in each day.
The instructions for submitting are here.
You can buy the last four annual collections…
jgoldman | November 11, 2010Only twenty days left for submissions! Dig through your archives, through other people's archives and submit! I've already started to contact potential judges for this year's anthology. We're ready to roll!
Note: if you have recently moved your blog, please e-mail Bora the corrected URLs for your entries
The list is growing fast - check the submissions to date and get inspired to submit something of your own - an essay, a poem, a cartoon or original art.
The Submission form is here so you can get started. Under the fold are entries so far. The instructions for submitting are here.
You can buy…
jgoldman | November 3, 2010There is only one month left for submissions! Dig through your archives, through other people's archives and submit! I've already started to contact potential reviewers for this year's anthology. We're ready to roll!
Note: if you have recently moved your blog, please e-mail Bora the corrected URLs for your entries
The list is growing fast - almost FIVE HUNDRED posts have been submitted so far! Check the submissions to date and get inspired to submit something of your own - an essay, a poem, a cartoon or original art.
The Submission form is here so you can get started. Under the fold are…
jgoldman | September 29, 2010The list is growing fast - check the submissions to date and get inspired to submit something of your own - an essay, a poem, a cartoon or original art. Continue to submit your best posts, and the best posts you read online. Especially those art/cartoon posts, and poems!
The Submission form is here so you can get started. Under the fold are entries so far, as well as buttons and the bookmarklet. The instructions for submitting are here.
You can buy the last four annual collections here. You can read Prefaces and Introductions to older editions here.
Interested in the origins of this project?…
jgoldman | July 23, 2010So this year, super science blogger Ben Young Landis was supposed to be guest editor for Open Lab, but alas, he has gotten a new job and will be moving and will no longer be able. So that meant that series editor Bora, aka the Blogfather, aka Papa Smurf, needed a new editor.
And he picked ME!
So I am very happy to announce that I'll be editor for Open Lab 2010, which I am very excited about, especially because I know it means I will be up to my eyeballs in awesome science writing. And you know, because now I have something to do with my hours and hours of free time :-)
If you aren't yet…