Life on Training Wheels

There's a 2002 episode of This American Life that featured prisoners performing Hamlet. Many of the inmates were so frustrated by the play's language that they missed its meaning at first.

My own high school experience was similar. While good teachers helped me to cultivate my love of civics, community service and journalism, I lacked proper guidance to awaken in other areas, and purposely overlooked Shakespeare, history and math.

To use my favorite Barbie quote, "Math class is tough!" Especially when you already think you're an idiot.

Near the end of that episode of TAL, a prisoner/performer said the line that made me cry (there's at least one teary do-gooder moment per show). It was something like: "I always thought I was dumb. But I'm not. I just wasn't educated."

While the passion in Shakespeare or math can be challenging for a novice learner to uncover, it isn't impossible or even tough. Life is tough.

Tough is trying to be wholesome & make good choices after nearly 33 years of living sans boundaries. Tough is becoming the teacher you always wanted but never had.

I'm absolutely aboard the Steve Jobs-as-master bandwagon. A few years ago when his Stanford speech began circulating, I was reminded of the idealist I was. I refocused.

But time passes and it's easy to lose sight of goals & self. We humans need constant reminders. (And especially to be reminded that we're only human.) Although I'm saddened by his passing, I'm overjoyed and renewed by his urging and earnestness once again.

Science Diet 2

This weekend I turned on C-SPAN for a little holiday viewing and found an awesome program of lady science writers. (Merry Christmas to me!)

Molly Caldwell Crosby (Asleep: The Forgotten Epidemic that Remains One of Medicine's Greatest Mysteries) and Rebecca Skloot (The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks) were on a panel at the Texas Book Festival discussing their books and writing habits. (Skloot's book is on Ars Hermeneutica's 2010 list of top-rated reads, as well as most of this year's bestsellers lists.)

Sadly, I don't think I read one science book all year, which not only prompted me to interview Jeff but to also deem 2011 my year of math & science.

If you'd like to suggest some titles, please do! I'm already building my list.

WMNF Evening News Special

The extended versions of the author interviews I've been working so diligently on all year are finally airing tonight on the WMNF Evening News between 6 - 7 p.m. (or in the archives at wmng.org/news).

The program includes Big Citizen Alan Khazei, Factory Girls' Leslie T. Chang, and young adult author Walter Dean Myers.

I also did a round up of Eckerd College's Plight & Promise of Africa, their 2010 initiative on the continent's struggles and successes, which includes the work of fellow WMNF reporters Joshua Holton, who covered a photo exhibit of the suffering in Congo, and Tom Baur, who spoke with humanitarians John Prendergast and Elie Wiesel. My bit on Dave Eggers and Gabriel Bol Deng is in the mix as well.

Late last week I realized that I failed (big) to interview any science writers. So I googled around trying to find someone science-y willing chat with during Christmas week, and I stumbled across Dr. Jeff Shaumeyer.

A former physicist, Jeff started Ars Hermeneutica to encourage science literacy. And part of his effort to increase Americans knowledge (and love) of science is the Science Reading Challenge, now in its fourth year.

The Science Book Challenge 2011 requires only three (or 3.14) books throughout the entire year. I figure that's the least I can do, so I'll keep you posted on my progress.

Science Diet

In high school I had the self esteem of a Twizzler. When my 8th grade algebra teacher called me stupid my response was getting my first (ever) 'F' in his class, flunking out, then having to be in remedial math the next two years. I guess I showed him.

That experience helped put me on the path towards becoming a mass comm major (where at least I was resourceful enough to get a scholarship to a college with no math requirement), but I was permanently damaged. Not only did I never pass math beyond the 10th grade level but my love of science was tarnished forever.

Or so I thought. My interest in reading food labels in junior high grew into a hunger to learn all I could about about nutrition and the body, aging, mental health, addictions, and more. I love how science explains so-called mysteries and overturns conventional wisdoms. Working as a health care journalist has become one of my pipe dreams and has brought me back to my love of science.

Which leads me to The Scientist, one my favorite online magazines. I just got an email from them saying they're opening up their archives:

For a limited time, The Scientist has opened its premium content to all of our readers. Dating back to 1986, our archives contain over 15,000 articles from 23+ years of issues.

While the site is open, you do not need to log in to view our award-winning content*, but we strongly encourage readers to register to receive our eNews, monthly Table of Contents e-mails, and other announcements.

Although I barely got through college astronomy because of my math handicap, I flourished in biology which had less math. Post-college, though, I thought I would never be bothered by math again, until it became clear to me that my easy boredom demanded usage of a part of my brain that I had always previously ignored.

It never occurred to this occasional literacy tutor how important math is. I see the obvious tragedy in a high school grad who can't read, but being math illiterate has always been more acceptable.

Other science-y sites I like are Physicians News, Explorations with Michio Kaku, NPR's Science Friday, and anything by Atul Gawande. Lemme know if you know of any other science sites I should be checking out.