Tag Archives: science journalism
Ruins of the Sutlej avulsion paper’s coverage
Reporting on the new Indus civilisation study out of IIT-K and Imperial College London was an interesting experience because it afforded an opportunity to discover how the technical fields of sedimentology and hydrodynamics can help understand the different ways in … Continue reading
Posted in Life notes
Tagged fluviodeltaic morphodynamics, Ghaggar-Hakra palaeochannel, hydrodynamics, Indus river, Indus valley civilisation, river avulsion, science communication, science journalism, science writing, sedimentology, Sutlej river
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Some empathy for Treebeard's privilege
There’s a line from The Two Towers (2002) that’s really stayed with me: I’m on nobody’s side because nobody is on my side. It’s spoken by Treebeard, the Ent, to one of Meriadoc/Peregrin when asked whose side he was on: … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged mainstream media, political journalism, politics, privilege, science journalism, The Wire, Treebeard
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Taking the ringdown route to understanding the humans of science
What follows is an attempt to process and understand Cassandra Willyard’s post on Last Word on Nothing, about her preferring the humanised stories of science over the stories of the science itself (“Physics writers, this is how you nab the … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Cassandra Willyard, emotions, humanisation, humans of science, Last Word on Nothing, populism, positivism, privilege, ringdown, science communication, science journalism, scientism
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On that 'Last Word on Nothing' post
A post published on the Last Word On Nothing blog yesterday has been creating quite the stir on Twitter. Excerpt: While I can appreciate that this is an important scientific discovery, I still have a hard time mustering excitement over … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Cassandra Willyard, Last Word on Nothing, LIGO, neutron stars, populism, science journalism
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Why do we cover the Nobel Prize announcements?
The Nobel Prizes are too big to fail. Even if they’ve become beset by a host of problems, such as: Long gap between invention/discovery and recognition, A large cash component given to old scientists, Limiting number of awardees to three, … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Abel Prize, Lasker Award, media coverage, Nobel Committee, Nobel Prizes, science journalism, SS Bhatnagar Award, Wolf Prize, women in STEM
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Talking scicomm at NCBS – II
I was invited to speak to the students of the annual science writing workshop conducted at the National Centre for Biological Sciences, Bangalore, for the second year (first year talk’s notes here). Some interesting things we discussed: 1. Business of journalism: … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged conflict of interest, National Centre for Biological Sciences, Nautilus, Quanta magazine, science journalism, science writing, storytelling, The Wire
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Communication, journalism and bullshit
Science can often be complicated to deal with and benefit from a journalist’s gaze – but it must be accompanied, if not preceded, by science communication. Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Eric Hobsbawm, Gwyneth Paltrow, science communication, science journalism, scientific method
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Overview of science journalism in India, for WiD
Wissenschaft im Dialog is hosting “a special series about the role of science communication and science journalism in various countries”. I wrote the India edition Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Arwen Cross, Esther Kähler, Germany, India, science journalism, WIssenschaft im Dialog, wissenschaftskommunikation
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The raison d’être of a science journalist, courtesy Hobsbawm
‘Age of Extremes’ offers a carefully considered picture of modern science and its philosophical roots Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged 20th century, Age of Extremes, authority, common sense, Eric Hobsbawm, history, morality, natural science, science journalism, specialisation
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