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The articles in "Scientists" were written by scientists themselves for the general community. The writers of this magazine are the people who best know the material that they are writing about, having devoted months or years to their research. They are inviting you into their laboratories, whether these are at the bottom of the Science Center, the particle accelerators across the country or the observatories that witness the fluid jets of stars in interstellar space. We are in an age when science is effecting every aspect of our lives. The cloning of mammals, the exploration of space and the rise of the computers are being discussed by politicians and others around the world. Often, though, we are getting an analysis of a scientific issue that has passed through many different hands. This extensive game of "Telephone" begins with specialized scientists and passes through many different callers who add their own views and their own politics to the science. Many of these other callers know very little about the initial scientific message. Accordingly, the politicians and the public, who are last in this chain of information, are provided with unclear, sensationalized, or even untrue stories. Scientists need to talk directly to the public. The writers of this magazine are inserting their research into the general discussion -- into the place it held in centuries past alongside philosophy essays. By speaking in everyday language and a format that most of the Wesleyan community is used to, these Scientists are clearing some of the barriers that have been surrounding science. This magazine is the product of a joint project of Wesleyan's Writing Programs and the Natural Science and Mathematics departments. The writers participated in a course in which they practiced writing about their technical research for a general audience. They drafted and peer-edited extensively. This magazine is a true testament to the capacity of scientists to explain complex scientific information to a general audience. |
Alice Lurain Summer Halas Ben Holder Sam Sober Lauren Weinstein |
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Forest Perry Emily Sharrock Amanda L. Green |
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Jules Cohen |
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Special Thanks to : David Beveridge, Joy McConnell, Paige Wilder, Milton Van Dyke, Jonathan Schell, who says we write best about the things in which we are intensely interested, and, most importantly, Anne Greene for teaching us all how to write |
Turbulent Water Jet. The photo was reproduced in Milton Van Dyke's Album of Fluid Motion Photo by: Dimotakis, Lye & Papantoniou See related article: TURBULENCE IN INTERSTELLAR SPACE |