By nature.com Communities Team on 17 Jun 2011
Happiness Getting the week off to a cheerful start, blogger Tom Webb, in his latest post Shifting baselines of happiness has been reading up on happiness after being inspired by an article written by the evolutionary ecologist, Hanna Kokko. He raises some interesting points, such as the significance of the role of ecology or perhaps more specifically ‘nature’ (with a small ‘n’, note!), in making us happy and how the concept, “You don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone” falls into this: Things like birdsong, green space, clean rivers, ancient trees all make us happy (most of us, anyway) … Read more
Posted in Weekly round-up
By nature.com Communities Team on 16 Jun 2011
Throughout our latest blogging extravaganza, science festivals have been in the limelight. We have looked at the brief history of a science festival, how they are organised and have been summarising some of the best events from the World Science festival held in NYC at the beginning of June. Read more
Posted in Science festivals
By Lou Woodley on 15 Jun 2011
Humans seem to be drawn towards extremes of accomplishment – whether it’s daring to explore new geographical locations no matter what practical challenges that presents or pushing our bodies to their limits in attempts to break sporting world records. The enigma of genius panel at the World Science Festival explored one end of the mental spectrum of humans; what makes some of us outstandingly intelligent or creative? And how do you spot a genius anyway? Read more
Posted in Science festivals
By Laura Wheeler on 12 Jun 2011
The recipe for a perfect Saturday night-out may include laughter, meeting interesting people, and, for some, a few alcoholic beverages. Add to this mix some of the world’s esteemed scientists, writers and artists and you certainly have a formula for success. Last Saturday night, these ingredients were all on offer at the Dark Night: Stories of Stars Aligned, another of the unique World Science Festival’s events on the menu. Read more
Posted in Science festivals
By nature.com Communities Team on 10 Jun 2011
Festival Fever Sadly, what the New York Times is calling “a new cultural institution,” the World Science Festival, is now over. But for those who were unable to attend this spectacular five day scientific extravaganza, you can relive your experience with our blogging coverage which summarises the festival highlights. Whether you want to learn more about Rosalind Franklin, or to discover the darker side to our universe, you can find links to all of our coverage, as well as other coverage here. Do let us know if we have missed out anything and feel free to share your experience of … Read more
Posted in Weekly round-up
By nature.com Communities Team on 09 Jun 2011
On Wednesday evening, we hosted the third installment of the monthly Science Online NYC (SoNYC) discussion series. The topic for debate this month was “Science and the Law” and the panel featured Nadim Shohdy, Matt Berntsen Simon Singh (who kindly stayed up late in the UK so that he could join us via Skype) and Dan Vorhaus. Read more
Posted in Events, SpotOn NYC (SoNYC) | Tagged #SoNYC, law, policy, politics
By nature.com Communities Team on 08 Jun 2011
This month on Of Schemes and Memes, science festivals are in the spotlight. Read more
Posted in Science festivals
By Lou Woodley on 07 Jun 2011
One of the unique aspects about the World Science Festival is the willingness of the organisers to experiment with different formats; from theatrical interpretations of key “scientific events “:https://blogs.nature.com/u6e5b2ce1/2011/06/07/photograph-51 to the all-day family street fair on the final day. Another type of event at this year’s festival is the “science salon”; a panel discussion pitched at a slightly more scientific audience with an emphasis on more direct conversation between the panel and the attendees. Read more
Posted in Science festivals |
By Laura Wheeler on 07 Jun 2011
At this year’s World Science Festival, science has been liberated from the laboratory and allowed to spread its wings through the imaginative medium of theatre. What better example of this new freedom, where art and science can complement each other like the threads of an intricately woven tapestry, than the powerful presentation of Photograph 51, performed at The 3-Legged Dog Art and Technology Centre in New York. Read more
Posted in Science festivals |
By Laura Wheeler on 05 Jun 2011
Who wouldn’t want to turn their body and skin into a musical instrument, or to generate a personal dance tune? How about sitting in an oscillating chair which allows you to experience physically the power of sound or to create your very own personal surround synthetic cinema? Read more
Posted in Science festivals |