Insights

Metaphors are like widgets for the mind. The point of a metaphor is to fit into two things — the world and your mind — and then turn, to unlock a different way of seeing in you.

A story might do that.…

I caught up with a friend the other day — let’s call them The Old Scientist — who thinks many people are behaving too fearfully about the risks of COVID-19.

The Old Scientist doesn’t advocate not taking precautions — they wear a mask in public, and insist others near them do the same — but they also do things that a lot of people who also pay attention to science headlines wouldn’t dream of doing, such as flying frequently and dining out at indoor restaurants.…

I was delighted to give a short talk last night to many of the nominees for the 2020 Pritzker Emerging Environmental Genius Award as well as the award community at UCLA’s Institute of the Environment and Sustainability.…

It’s incredible to me that so many NGOs, research centers and academic institutions still prevent their research staffers — particularly junior researchers — from doing public scholarship and trying to become thought leaders.

After all, it’s not as if the world desperately needs less research-based insight — especially from new voices that might give us fresh perspectives and solutions on all the challenges that collectively threaten to overwhelm us.…

The venture capitalist Laura Deming is advertising for one of the most beguiling ideas I’ve heard in some time: a thought partner.

For Deming, this partner would be someone like her: fascinated by science; working in a profession “related and orthogonal to it”; keeping up with the literature in one or more fields; and desiring someone with whom regularly to explore science-related ideas.…

Just announced: a prize for the best new blog. Oh my.

But wait: a $100,000 prize? With the potential for other blogs to win five later awards of comparable value?

Before you try to find your WordPress.com username, the prize is part of Tyler Cowen’s ongoing Emergent Ventures awards.…

You would think research communications has enough challenges today; it doesn’t need to inflict its own.

And yet: Self-regarding gestures — especially self-flagellating ones — have become proxies among many research communicators for action and impact. Example:

If I recommended the above to my clients — academics, NGOs, for-profits that a) are all deeply committed to and practice diversity and inclusion and b) pay me to help them articulate and start conversations with new audiences about their biggest, research- and expertise-based ideas and solutions and arguments — they would … be perplexed.…

I was wrapping up a kickoff meeting with a scientist I’m coaching and asked him if there was anything he wanted to accomplish working together that we hadn’t already discussed.

“More of what we’ve been doing today,” he said. “Getting clarity on interesting entry points for my audiences.…