The best American science and nature writing 2018 /
edited and with an introduction by Sam Kean ; Tim Folger, series editor.
- xxiv, 336 pages ; 22 cm.
- The best American series. .
- Best American series. .
"A Mariner original."
Includes bibliographical references (pages [333]-336).
Transformative science. "We are not just resistors, we are transformers"/ It'll take an army to kill the Emperor / Rethining established science. "What do we want? Evidence-based science. When do we want it? After peer review" ; The squeeze : Silicon Valley reinvents the breast pump / The case against civilization / Cancer's invasion equation / The island wolves / Environmental science : "At the start of every disaster movie is a scientist being ignored" ; Firestorm / Tragedy of the common / The irreversible momentum of clean energy / Wealthier people produce more carbon pollution, even the "green" ones / Profiles : "So bad, even the introverts are here" Dr. Space Junk unearths the cultural landscape of the cosmos / Of mothers and monkeys / David Haskell speaks for the trees / A science of the soul / The detective of Northern oddities / Political science : "I'm not a mad scientist, I'm absolutely furious" Female scientists report a horrifying culture of sexual assault / A behind-the-scenes look at Scott Pruitt's dysfunctional EPA / Space science : "It's not rocket science ... (actually, some of it is)" Two stars slammed into each other and solved half of astronomy's problems. What comes next? / The starship or the canoe / Astonish me : anticipating an eclipse in the age of information / Greetings, E.T. (Please don't murder us.) / Arabella (Araneus diadematus) / Tiny jumping spiders can see the moon / Neuroscience and psychology : "Stop inhibiting my action potential." When your child is a psychopath / Exposure therapy and the fine art of scaring the shit our of yourself on purpose / Fantastic beasts and how to rank them / Ross Anderson ; Jacqueline Detwiler -- Sophie Brickman ; John Lanchester ; Siddhartha Mukherjee ; Kim Todd -- Douglas Fox ; J.B. MacKinnon ; Barack Obama ; David Roberts -- Ceridwen Dovey ; Caitlin Kuehn ; Paul Kvinta ; Joshua Rothman ; Christopher Solomon -- Kayla Webley Adler ; Rachel Leven -- Rebecca Boyle ; Kenneth Brower ; Susannah Felts ; Steven Johnson ; Elena Passarello ; Ed Yong -- Barbara Bradley Hagerty ; Eva Holland ; Kathryn Schulz. Part I. Part II. Part III. Part IV. Part V. Part VI. Part VII.
"This is one of the most exciting times in the history of science," New York Times-bestselling author Sam Kean proclaims in his introduction to The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2018. "Things aren't perfect by any means. But there are more scientists making more discoveries in more places about more things than ever before." The twenty-six pieces assembled here chart the full spectrum of those discoveries. From the outer reaches of space, to the mysteries of the human mind, to the changing culture in labs and universities across the nation, we see time and again the sometimes rocky, sometimes revelatory road to understanding, and along the way catch a glimpse of all that's left to learn.