I’ve invited a new friend, David Wescott, to contribute to Science Cheerleader. David has a varied background – he’s managed a pediatrics department in a public hospital, he’s worked for a United States Senator, and now he works in public relations and social media. Whatever the job, David has built his career trying to bring people from different backgrounds together: doctors and patients, parents and policy makers, environmentalists and big companies, and so on. He’s also been interested in science as long as he can remember. David works with a lot of online communities and sometimes gets asked to contribute posts and podcasts to blogs that have nothing to do with public relations – sites like Earth & Industry and Global Voices Online. You can find more of his writing at his own blog, It’s Not a Lecture.
We met earlier this year at ScienceOnline 2010 in North Carolina, when I was introducing everyone to Science For Citizens. He was very enthusiastic about it and we talked about ways to work together to promote citizen science and build bridges between scientists and everyone else. David’s reading list is very diverse and includes a lot of science topics, so I asked him to share some links to what he’s reading, with us….every Wednesday. Hence the title: “Wescott’s Wednesday Wrap Up.”
Take it away, David!
I’m very grateful to Darlene for the opportunity to contribute here at Science Cheerleader. The people who read this blog knows she’s such an effective advocate and she’s done so much to promote the idea that science is for everyone.
There are so many great science writers providing so much great content that it’s very hard to catch it all. I’m trying to find bits that don’t necessarily require a PhD to enjoy, but are interesting and engaging. I hope you’ll enjoy this as much as I do – and I hope you’ll share it with your family and friends as well.
The inaugural links:
Amaurobius ferox Spiderlings: OK, don’t let the title throw you off. This is a story about motherhood at an Australian blog called “Save Your Breath For Running Ponies.” You know how your mom did so much for you when you were a kid? These eight-legged moms tell their kids to EAT THEM. Plus cool stuff about how the spiders can make their web pulse and vibrate. ( I found this through a blog “carnival” called Scientia Pro Publica.)
Ask a ScienceBlogger (anything!) Seriously, anything. ScienceBlogs is a large network of really smart scientists and science writers and now they’re taking questions. So this is your opportunity to ask that question that for some reason always stumped Google.
Today’s Mystery Bird: Grrl Scientist has been doing this “guess this bird” thing for a while now. She’s hopping a bit from blog to blog right now, but she posted this on Nature Network. It’s great fun if birds are your thing.
Advice for Aspiring Young Scientists: A theoretical astrophysicist (say that five times fast) gets a letter from a young student in the UK who wants a career in science but begins to notice there aren’t many girls like her in the room.