Animal Person
DECEMBER 8, 2009
Next year's Mind and Life Conference is called "Altruism and Compassion in Economic Systems: A Dialogue Between Economics, Neuroscience and Contemplative Sciences." But can we really imagine an economic system that delivers prosperity and welfare, or is competition an unavoidable consequence of the human race?
Animal Person
JULY 15, 2009
The fact that the concept of the timeline exists is simply an admission that human behavior is not necessarily aligned with what's in the head or in the heart. Moving people along is more art than science, and for some people it's far more emotion-based than logic-based. when they're ready.
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Critter News
MARCH 10, 2009
I responded to a post on animalblog that cited a recent article in the journal "Proceedings" of the National Academy of Sciences. Many people feel very uncomfortable with animal testing, even scientists I think, which is why they often get so emotional and defensive about their research.
10,000 Birds
JANUARY 7, 2014
It’s very hard to organize the many ways in which human beings relate to avian beings into comprehensible text. We sing about them, we paint them, we use them as mythic and poetic symbols for our spiritual and emotional feelings, we wear them in myriad and often colorful ways, we adopt them as household pets. .”
Animal Person
JUNE 8, 2009
For those who didn't read the five-part Slate series " Pepper, the stolen dog who changed American science " by Daniel Engber , I recommend it for the history, but also for the misconceptions and assumptions that you might want to discuss on the Facebook discussion about the series. It "guarantees humane treatment?" Maybe on paper.
10,000 Birds
FEBRUARY 15, 2013
The single greatest challenge facing any book of science writing is balance. Otherwise, there would be no science writing, everyone would just go straight to the journals. Nothing keeps a human reader more engaged than a genuine character, and the birds here are exactly that. Pinyon Jay by Dave Menke of the US FWS.
10,000 Birds
JUNE 6, 2023
It is also about Chris’s personal history: his boyhood in suburban Long Island, college years at Harvard and the struggle to come out, ‘nerdy’ passions beyond birding–namely science fiction books and films, career highs at Marvel Comics, travels to foreign countries, and his complicated relationships with his parents.
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