Well, I’m in my last city of the trip, and the best has been saved for last – The Big Apple! I arrived yesterday by train from Philadelphia. Checked into the hotel (E44th and 1st) in the early afternoon and went out to get some chores done in the afternoon including laundry (there goes Sally to put another load on…!)
Today I headed over to Hoboken on the PATH (hadn’t been on that before) to meet John Horgan of the Centre for Science Writing at the Stevens Institute of Technology. It was a very informal meeting – we chatted in his office for a while and then went out for lunch with several of his colleagues. Very interesting though. John is one of the science journalists who came at it through the journalism side, not the science side. And he makes it a thing to be critical and questioning, even (especially?) of mainstream science, not allowing things to be taken for granted. A great approach, and a healthy one I think. But this is at a time when science is under attack from several sides and there is a feeling of circling the wagons. He writes a lot about the interface of religion and science, a really interesting subject and one at the forefront of my mind after reading the Attack of the Unsinkable Rubber Ducks by Christopher Brookmyre (recommended reading by the way!) and then watching Expelled. He also gave me some other really interesting contacts in the science communication world.
Over lunch discussion was a bit more general, covering the GMO issue in Europe, public attitudes to nanotech and of course the elections – big night last night.
I was supposed to meet a schoolfriend this afternoon, but she got stuck at work so we are meeting tomorrow. Tonight is Korean food with Chak Hee!! I’m very excited!