The Age of Impossible Numbers
Slideshow / by / February 11, 2010
In Running the Numbers, photographer Chris Jordan attempts to convey the vastness of modern consumption with clever visualizations.
Now In Culture
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Books to Read Now
February releases explore the annals of piracy; delve into the subculture of anti-aging zealots; and reveal the fraught history of the most famous cell line in science.
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Life Imitating Life
Life, as the expression goes, isn’t always pretty. But with a few tricks of the lab, life in its simplest, single-celled forms can be manipulated into a thing of preternatural beauty.
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Nonlinear Relationships
In mathematician Steven Strogatz’s recent book, friendship and integrals collide, yielding a math story of unusual poignancy.
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The Back-Channel of Science
Scientists are exploiting online tools to facilitate research and communication in an increasingly flat media landscape. What are the implications for science?
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When Science Asks, “What If?”
The visions of tomorrow inspire the actions we take today. Science fiction is as much a reflection of society's deep fascination with science as it is an agent of change for its future course.
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The Dog Particle
Chad Orzel has spent much of his teaching career explaining quantum mechanics. In his book, How to Teach Physics to Your Dog, he takes on a new breed of student.
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Books to Read Now
January releases paint a portrait of an early fossil hunter; probe the nature of time; and reveal that the vast majority of your brain cells are not neurons.
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A Green World
From the frigid Japanese tundra to the heart of the Amazon Basin—award-winning photography captures the full splendor of Earth’s arboreal landscapes.
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The Exquisite Corpse of Science
Drawings from science communicator Tim Jones' worldwide art mosaic that asks scientists, journalists, students, and others what science means to them.
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Surreal Science
Tiles in a worldwide sci-art mosaic explore what science means to writers, scientists, school children, and others.
Slideshow
The Ancient, Distant, and Dead
Inspired by scientific research, Katie Paterson creates art based on data from faraway melting glaciers, long-dead stars, and the initial moments of the universe.
Essay
The Ends of Earth, and Beyond
To answer the most pressing questions about the origins of the universe, scientists must retreat to isolated pinnacles in the Andes or the South Pole. Anil Ananthaswamy follows in their footsteps in his new book.
Seed Picks
Books to Read Now
March releases follow physicists to the ends of the Earth; examine our obsession with stuff; and sift through the annals of the search for wisdom, in science, philosophy, and beyond.
SLIDESHOW
The Pre-Electric Slide
In the mid-1800s, hobbyists’ microscopes and slides took up a place beside the piano in the parlor. Explore a selection of antique slides of remarkable precision and beauty.
Now on SEEDMAGAZINE.COM
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World
Press Gang
With New York City about to let bloggers qualify for press passes, a look at what breaking down the walls between old and new media means for science reporting.
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Culture
The Ancient, Distant, and Dead
Inspired by scientific research, Katie Paterson creates art based on data from faraway melting glaciers, long-dead stars, and the initial moments of the universe.
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Ideas
A Sober Assessment
Alcohol is an important part of life in many cultures throughout the world, but there are many misperceptions about this common social lubricant.
