May/June 1998 Issue

Unscientific Americans

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The frothy formula of celebrities + products + buzz that informs general interest magazines hardly allows for discussion of real formulas, or any other scientific phenomenon. Save for the occasional charismatic cloned sheep, science magazine editors have to make do with stories that have far less appeal. But they’re a brainy bunch, and they’ve found ways to modify the standard formula to suit their own applications.

NEW SCIENTIST SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN POPULAR SCIENCE DISCOVER PSYCHOLOGY TODAY
Recommended educational background Undergraduate degree in one or more of the hard sciences Graduate degree in one or more of the hard sciences or Mensa membership Glancing familiarity with the Sharper Image catalog At least two years of watching “Nova” on PBS and/or moderate-sized science-fiction collection Learning Annex “Certificate of Completion”
Weird Science “Split Electrons: Strange Creatures Born From a Storm” “Both a Bird and a Dinosaur” “Cars That Run on Air” “Ancient American Cannibals” “A Provocative Look at Taboos”
Celebrity angle “Meet El Niño’s Atlantic Cousin” “‘Scientific American Frontiers’—Hosted by Alan Alda” “More Secrets From Mars” “Beyond Hubble” “Dr. Laura Wants You to Stop Whining”
Most telling advertisement More than 40 pages of science-oriented help wanted ads. Must be willing to relocate to England. “Take the Cell Biology Set for only $5.95!” Ford Econoline centerfold “Think Different” ad from Apple Ad for a book called I Don’t Have to Make Everything All Better
Einstein has left the building “If you cannot see, you may not be able to find your way out of a burning building—and that could be fatal.” “Although every discipline has its own jargon, the preference for simple language in some cases improves communication between doctor and patient.” “Full-size American-made family sedans once were the pride of the Motor City’s fleet. But the past decade has seen a mass defection toward smaller cars.” “When I watch a game with my sons, I can’t help but see that today’s NBA players are incomparably better than they were during my childhood 50 years ago.” “One intriguing implication of behavioral genetic research is that children…driv[e] their own development, through…the reactions they elicit, even the friends they pick.”

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WE'LL BE BLUNT

It is astonishingly hard keeping a newsroom afloat these days, and we need to raise $253,000 in online donations quickly, by October 7.

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Readers also told us to just give it to you straight when we need to ask for your support, and seeing how matter-of-factly explaining our inner workings, our challenges and finances, can bring more of you in has been a real silver lining. So our online membership lead, Brian, lays it all out for you in his personal, insider account (that literally puts his skin in the game!) of how urgent things are right now.

The upshot: Being able to rally $253,000 in donations over these next few weeks is vitally important simply because it is the number that keeps us right on track, helping make sure we don't end up with a bigger gap than can be filled again, helping us avoid any significant (and knowable) cash-flow crunches for now. We used to be more nonchalant about coming up short this time of year, thinking we can make it by the time June rolls around. Not anymore.

Because the in-depth journalism on underreported beats and unique perspectives on the daily news you turn to Mother Jones for is only possible because readers fund us. Corporations and powerful people with deep pockets will never sustain the type of journalism we exist to do. The only investors who won’t let independent, investigative journalism down are the people who actually care about its future—you.

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Getting just 10 percent of the people who care enough about our work to be reading this blurb to part with a few bucks would be utterly transformative for us, and that's very much what we need to keep charging hard in this financially uncertain, high-stakes year.

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