In addition to my scientific research, I write for popular audiences about topics related to science. My work has appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic Online, Wired, New Scientist, and The Boston Globe, where I am a regular contributor to the Ideas section. In addition, I have a blog called Social Dimension at Wired. I am currently working on a book about how knowledge changes over time, entitled The Half-Life of Facts (Current / Penguin).
I also created something called The Milky Way Transit Authority – a map of our galaxy in the style of a subway map – which you might have heard of.
The Invisible Borders That Define American Culture. The Atlantic Cities, April 26, 2012.
How Big Is Your City, Really? The Atlantic Cities, March 9, 2012.
New Ways to Measure Science Wired, January 9, 2012.
Scientists, Share Secrets or Lose Funding Bloomberg, January 9, 2012.
Do Rankings Affect Our Opinions of Cities? The Atlantic Cities, January 5, 2012.
How long will America last? An impossible question, answered with math. Boston Globe, October 30, 2011. Ideas.
Street Talk: Personalized Subways Scientific American, September 2011.
Traces of humanity: What aliens could learn from the stuff we’ve left in space Boston Globe, August 7, 2011. Ideas.
In Praise of Mediocre Research Longshot Magazine, Issue 2, July 31, 2011.
Why Science Drama Would Make Great TV Wired Science, June 15, 2011.
The Social Networks of Superheroes The Atlantic Online, May 27, 2011.
Gaussian Genealogy: Math Masters Trace Their Intellectual Lineage Wired Magazine, June 2011.
Streaks, from Joltin’ Joe to Mutual Fund Managers Harvard Business Review, February 21, 2011.
The Copernican Principle The Edge Annual Question, January 15, 2011.
2011 – The year you weren’t expecting: A calendar of the obscure and surprising in the year to come. Boston Globe, January 2, 2011: K1, Ideas.
2011 preview: Million-dollar mathematics problem . New Scientist, December 25, 2010/January 1, 2011. (with Rachel Courtland).
2011 preview: Expect Earth’s twin planet. New Scientist, December 25, 2010/January 1, 2011. (with Rachel Courtland).
2011 preview: No ‘magic’ element just yet. New Scientist, December 25, 2010/January 1, 2011. (with Rachel Courtland).
2011 preview: Peak internet comes into view. New Scientist, December 25, 2010/January 1, 2011. (with Rachel Courtland).
Mutated Manuscripts: The Evolution of Genes and Texts. The Atlantic Online, November 16, 2010.
The pay is $8.57 million an hour, but bulls are involved. Recent highlights from the Ideas blog. Boston Globe, October 24, 2010: K3, Ideas.
If ‘shark bear’ is the answer, what was the question? Recent highlights from the Ideas blog. Boston Globe, October 17, 2010: K3, Ideas.
The me-sized universe: Some parts of the cosmos are right within our grasp. Boston Globe, September 19, 2010: K1, Ideas.
Hard to find: Why it’s increasingly difficult to make discoveries – and other insights from the science of science. Boston Globe, July 18, 2010: C1, Ideas.
Warning: Your reality is out of date: Introducing the mesofact. Boston Globe, February 28, 2010: C3, Ideas.
League of nations: Bored with football stats? Introducing fantasy geopolitics. Boston Globe, November 15, 2009: K10, Ideas.
Naming the sky: The true story of one man’s quest to give George Plimpton a permanent presence in orbit. Boston Globe, September 27, 2009: K1, Ideas.
The mysterious equilibrium of zombies: and other things mathematicians see at the movies. Boston Globe, September 6, 2009: C3, Ideas. (plus supplement).
- Reprinted in M. Pitici (ed.) The Best Writing on Mathematics 2010, Princeton University Press, 2010, forthcoming.
Start the clock: A modest proposal for improving football: the ‘time-in’. Boston Globe, August 16, 2009: C2, Ideas.
What to do if your child has superpowers: A FAQ for concerned parents. Boston Globe, June 21, 2009: C2, Ideas.
A brief inquiry into the nature of sports fandom: Why the home team doesn’t deserve your loyalty. Boston Globe, March 22, 2009: K10, Ideas. (this is tongue-in-cheek)
The Arbesman Limit: How to be famous in a few easy steps. Boston Globe, February 8, 2009: L10, Ideas.
Anatomy of a Spring Break. Boston Globe, January 25, 2009: C10, Ideas.
A Journey to Baseball’s Alternate Universe. New York Times, March 30, 2008: WK12 (with Steven Strogatz).
How to Get Your Own Scientific Eponym, and Introducing the Arbesman Limit, Science Creative Quarterly, Issue 3.
Human Anatomy Terms That Sound Like Things You Would Go See on a Vacation, Science Creative Quarterly, Issue 3.