“In my last post, I inadvertently implied that I don't like teaching, and am thankful that I don't have to do much of it. What I really meant was that it's convenient not to have to do much in the thick of grant-writing season. But I do like it – something about the challenge of translating complicated science into elegant, easily understood but still powerful metaphors can be very satisfying… when it works.
Some of the best science writers are masters at this. Among my favourites I must count Bill Bryson, whose A Short History of Nearly Everything is a book for which the hackneyed description "delightfully irreverent" seems perfect. Fellow Canadian Jay Ingram is another. And the high drama (yes, really) of scientific competition can be no better told than by veteran science journalist Nicholas Wade, in the now unfortunately out-of-print The Nobel Duel. The ease with which these and other popular science writers de-mystify tricky concepts can be wonderful.” —Richard Wintle
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