Author: Lori Jia
On Friday I wrote about how good science fiction (at least to my tastes) often relies on bad science. I was glad to see my ravings triggered a lot of responses over the weekend, both here and abroad at sites like Science Made Cool and io9 (see the comments to their first and second posts). There’s no way I could respond to all the comments, but one in particular stuck in my memory–
Tim Bryon wrote:
Continue reading “Bad Science, Good Science Fiction: Hitting a Nerve”
Julie writes, “It’s a map of Galapagos, which obviously resonates with me as a biologist. I also spent a month working there on a volunteer project a couple of years ago, and fell in love with the place so hard I’m determined to go back! San Cristobal is a bit off to the right, and wasn’t really captured on this photo, unfortunately. However, you will notice the two outlying islands, Darwin and Wolf, on the back of my neck!”
She also adds–“By the way, if you do publish this, could you make sure you credit Fatty’s Custom Tattooz in DC somewhere? He did a great job from a handful of maps and pictures and my vague descriptions of how I wanted the piece to look!”
Continue reading “Turn Right And Head North Till You Reach The Nape of the Neck”
Christina writes, “After passing our neuroscience PhD candidacy exam, my friend and I decided to get neuron tattoos. This tattoo was sketched while in research ethics class.”
Click here to go to the full Science Tattoo Emporium.
Originally published December 7, 2008. Copyright 2008 Carl Zimmer.
The New York Times, December 6, 2008
Imagine the Book of All Species: A single volume made up of one-page descriptions of every species known to science. On one page is the blue-footed booby. On another, the Douglas fir. Another, the oyster mushroom. If you owned the Book of All Species, you would need quite a bookshelf to hold it. Just to cover the 1.8 million known species, the book would have to be more than 300 feet or 92 meters long. And you’d have to be ready to expand the bookshelf strikingly, because scientists estimate there are 10 times more species waiting to be discovered.
Jim writes, “This radiolarian (of the Polycyttaria) represents for me the staggering complexity, beauty and wonder of life. That such an amazing looking critter can evolve, and be so amazingly intricate and small blows my mind. I love talking science, and so far (have had it for less than 24 hours) heaps of people have asked, ‘That is great; what is it?’ And after the brief explanation, they are always amazed.”
Here are drawings of Polycyttaria by Haeckel. And here is an entire web site dedicated to radiolarians.
Click here to go to the full Science Tattoo Emporium.
Originally published December 6, 2008. Copyright 2008 Carl Zimmer.