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Secret Science Clubs
By Virginia Prescott on Thursday, March 12, 2009.
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It’s not easy being smart. If you’re into science and math, you’re tagged as a nerd early on. It’s a tough stereotype to beat, especially when pop culture reinforces it at every turn. Just ask Professor Frink from The Simpsons:
"Brilliant! They transduced amplitude modulation via the concavity of that oversized beverage conveyance. I mean, that is some clever vliavin!”
But the nerdy pigeonhole doesn’t hold up so well anymore. In the nineties, one-time computer geeks become the darlings of Silicon Valley. Now hipster science lovers are getting together to unabashedly share their curiosity about physics, biology, neuroscience, technology and astronomy. If it sounds boring, then you haven’t been to a meeting of New York’s Secret Science Club, where young urbanites gather in basement auditoriums to watch presentations by the rock stars of the science world.
I haven’t been to one of these meetings either, so we got one of the club’s co-founders to tell us what they’re like. Dorian Devins is a radio host and producer at WFMU in Jersey City.
ScienceCafes.org has a map of active science clubs and cafes across the country
Christian Science Monitor: "A nightclub for nerds makes science cool in New York"
(Photo courtesy jylcat via Flickr/Creative Commons)
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Word of Mouth is all about what's new. Online and on-air, the show looks at our fascinating and ever-changing world, and puts the latest ideas under a microscope. Word of Mouth investigates everything from science and technology, to health and the environment, to new trends in popular culture. The show airs Monday through Thursday at noon and is hosted by Virginia Prescott.
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You mentioned an apparent increase in interest in the sciences and technology, which I celebrate, but believe it's limited to a very small percentage of the US population. I've ALWAYS been a science & technology nerd and am constantly frustrated by the ignorance of most reporters who struggle to report developments and discoveries while obviously failing to understand what they are reporting. The media needs far more knowledgeable reporters to handle this task. Of course, schools also need to teach science AND technology so students graduate with a solid basic understanding to the gadgets and machines we all live with from our cars and washing machines to our computers.