As a science writer, my job is to raise questions about science and technology, which shape our lives in countless ways, not all of them good. I try to do the same thing as director of the Center for Science Writings, which I started here at Stevens in 2005. The CSW hosts talks by authors who explore the implications of science, technology, and medicine. The speakers include scientists, engineers, philosophers, historians, and journalists like me.
Below is information on three speakers coming this spring, the first on Feb. 28. They are going to talk about how meditation and other Buddhist practices can help us overcome negative emotions; about the history of sexism in science; and about how archaic ideas about nature might be holding back the environmental movement. These talks are all free and open to the public, so come and bring friends with you. Here are details:
Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2018, 4:30–5:30 p.m. “Can Buddhism Save Us?” Journalist Robert Wright, Visiting Professor of Science and Religion at Union Theological Seminary in New York, will talk about his bestselling book Why Buddhism Is True, which explores profound convergences between Buddhism and modern science. Burchard 118.
Wednesday April 4, 2018, 4–5 p.m. “Is Science Sexist?” Journalist Angela Saini, who has a master’s in engineering from Oxford, will talk about her new book Inferior: How Science Got Women Wrong and the New Research That’s Rewriting The Story. Booklist calls Inferior “a brilliant approach to a long overlooked topic.” Kidde 228.
Wednesday April 25, 2018, 4–5 p.m. “Redesigning Wilderness.” Journalist Emma Marris will talk about her book Rambunctious Garden: Saving Nature in a Post-Wild World, which presents a radically optimistic vision of our evolving relationship with nature. Grist calls the book “the most optimistic and controversial work about the future of nature to appear in years.” Burchard 118.
For more information, see the Center for Science Writings website, https://www.stevens.edu/college-arts-and-letters/research/centers-labs/center-for-science-writings, or write me jhorgan@stevens.edu.
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