by marissa | May 11, 2013 | Inspirational, Personal Blog Posts, Science (Cosmos, Mind & Psychology of Reading)
Today is the birthday of Richard Feynman, the great scientist, poet, storyteller and merry prankster. It’s hard to write about him because I know I can never do him justice, and because sometimes when I read over his words I get all heartachey. I think of him as...
by marissa | Apr 21, 2013 | Science (Cosmos, Mind & Psychology of Reading)
One of my favorite podcasts is the consistently brilliant Brain Science Podcast hosted by Ginger Campbell. She interviews loads of fascinating brain-science researchers and writers, and somehow manages to keep a nice balance between complex science and plain-speak....
by marissa | Feb 16, 2013 | Science (Cosmos, Mind & Psychology of Reading)
The cool thing about people who are curious about the universe (my favorite kind of human) is that they all express their curiosity in different ways. Some spend their lives doing monotonous experiments in laboratories (bless them), some make nature shows, some...
by marissa | Jan 30, 2013 | Science (Cosmos, Mind & Psychology of Reading), Science Fiction
Some of my favorite skeptical podcasts have dipped into science fiction in the last few months. Point of Inquiry has had two interesting SF writers on as guests: David Brin, who talked about romanticism and how it relates to fantasy, and about keeping protagonists in...
by marissa | Oct 15, 2012 | Craft of Storytelling (Writing Techniques & Ideas), Science (Cosmos, Mind & Psychology of Reading)
Aside from being interesting for anyone who is curious about how magic tricks work (or about how to be less gullible in general), Sleights of Mind: What the Neuroscience of Magic Reveals about Our Everyday Deceptions is a pretty fascinating book for writers, mainly...
by marissa | Jun 6, 2012 | Inspirational, Science (Cosmos, Mind & Psychology of Reading)
I was at a friend’s place the other day, nosing through a treasured little book that found him at a flea market, when I discovered this quote. So I stole it for you when he wasn’t looking. (Always steal a truth when you get the chance.) “People are...