Science and journalism are two fields that have always greatly interested me. I follow science news reasonably avidly, and I worked as a journalist for some 25 years. Recently, while I was reading Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers, I came across a critique of the book by Michael Shermer, and blogged same.
Shermer criticizes Gladwell for lacking depth of proof for his conclusions, and, in support of which, cites two authors whose assertions counter Gladwell’s. As I was considering the two positions, it occurred to me that there is a similarity between the practice of science and journalism.
In both cases, an investigator goes to a source or sources, gathers information, and then presents that information in an organized way that leads the reader to conclusions that seem reasonable in light of the presented data.
The big difference, it would seem, is what each practitioner regards as acceptable quality in the proffered depth of supporting information. For the scientist, the best data comes from research that is ‘rigorous,’ which is to say conforms to current scientific methods and practices and is (usually) repeatable – the data can be replicated to a close approximation by someone else who also applies rigorous scientific methods. Such research is difficult and time consuming – it can take the better part of a lifetime to assemble a conclusive piece of research.
Gladwell, a New Yorker writer, does research that is light years more complete than what I was able to do when I worked for daily newspapers: I had after all, normally, only a few hours to a day to assemble my report, be it photographs (early in my career) or words (later on). Gladwell spends weeks or months gathering his data, and often references reputable scientific research, some of it quite difficult for the non-expert, which he seems to have read and comprehended quite well.
Gladwell makes judgments based on research much deeper than what most journalists routinely do, and certainly more complete than that which a casual observer (like many bloggers) or reader normally does. But still, he falls short, at least in Shermer’s published opinion (“unconstrained by research protocols”) of scientific rigor.
Which is OK by me. I think there is a need both for journalism and science, caveats of the former accepted. If it took a lifetime to arrive at every potentially useful conclusion, such information would be rare. Journalism, particularly when practiced in the manner of Malcolm Gladwell, has a very useful place in the information pantheon, in my opinion. (I should note that Shermer liked, indeed praises, Gladwell’s previous book Blink).
Photo of Gladwell, left, by Brooke Williams. BTW, both Shermer and Gladwell have made amusing TED presos: Gladwell on spaghetti sauce, and Shermer on the practice of debunking junk science et al…
Here’s the old barn on our cousins’ ranch in Potter Valley. Cousin Robin and son-in-law Dave have decided it has to come down: the other three sides, the roof and timbers that support it, are pretty beat up.
Naturally, photographer I love this structure: it makes for wonderful photos. Dave and Karen think its a mess, but, this is a ranch, after all, complete with the usual accumulation of ranch stuff – I’ve seen far worse on nearby spreads. This is the good side that faces away from the weather… 1:45:39 PM
Scott tweeted about this 2-page ad for Harley-Davidson in the New York Times’ biz section on Sunday. On Saturday, on our drive up to Potter Valley, I snapped the picture above of a trio of Harleys parked in front of the Bluebird Cafe on route 101 in Hopland. The silver machine is a VRSC, Harley’s latest design. It comes in a version called the V-Rod Muscle: which has it’s own distinctive ad campaign. I guess you could say both ads are ‘provocative,’ each in its own right… 2:13:40 PM
Sunset last night, from the yard at our cousin’s (Dave and Karen) ranch in Potter Valley – a very pretty place. I tried to Tweet, complete with pics from my iPhone, but I kept getting connection errors, even though my iPhone said reception was good.
This is the ranch where 13-year-old cousin Thomas resides. I gave Thomas my old Kindle when the new one came out, but it turns out Amazon’s Whispernet doesn’t reach Potter Valley (some 10 miles northeast of Ukiah). With a Kindle Books gift certificate burning a hole in Thomas’ Amazon account, he researched the network’s coverage, then persuaded his dad to drive him north to Lake County where, finally, Whispernet kicked in. First up were some Harry Potter titles…
Scene this morning off Cavallo Point as I took a walk. We’re headed north to Potter Valley…
It’s a beautiful afternoon here at the Cavallo Point Lodge, located at Fort Baker, near the North End of the Golden Gate Bridge. Linda and I are on our way North to visit her cousins… 4:29 PM
The conversation went like this: Scott was saying how his wife had spent dinner discussing a series of schedule conundrums that were seemingly intractable. Scott didn’t see how the situation could be resolved without more information, so he said, “What do you expect me to do about that?” Not, it turned out, what his wife wanted to hear.
My wife, who had overheard our conversation, said “Well of course not – she was just twittering – any girl would have understood that. I don’t know why men think they always have to solve everything.” Scott and I agreed he’d have been better off nodding a few “yes, dears” and letting the matter go. He could always go to Twitter for solace… 4:11 PM
To scrounge in the garage’s stacks of boxes, order credit card and bank statements, scavenge hard drives and computers for PDFs, scans and other data and assemble all these records into 2 spreadsheets and a Schedule C (a form that has some serious design problems) along with 28 pages of receipts. All because of an audit and an apparent mishap with a box of my business records during a recent move.
The blog was a great resource, reminding me where I was and what I was doing for most of 2006 – I wonder if it fits the IRS requirement of keeping a log of travel and entertainment expenses? In the Bible many things take place ‘after three days,’ hopefully my audit will pass from me after these three days… 4:09:19 PM
So, it was mid mid-2006 that we began the paperless project, an attempt to control the blizzard of paper that confounds daily life. I did this in part because I knew, I just knew that some day, the IRS would require me to provide my receipts for deductibles.
We have had a small side business as a freelance photographer, in conjunction with wordsmith spouse, Linda. In the early days we pitched stories to newspapers and magazines, and my photos went off to agencies (Gamma/Liaison, Picture Group, Saba, Corbis) and we made some reasonably serious bucks – indeed, at one point I was ready to quit my day job at a daily newspaper and go full time freelance, so lucrative had that practice become. (Pre-crash of Old Media, natch).
Not a fan of playing chicken with the IRS, I have meticulously saved receipts, and logged the day’s events (formerly in moleskine notebooks, now on my weblog). There is a Manilla folder for every year, and a letter-size envelope for each trip’s receipts. We were even good about logging working and non-working days when we were in places like Paris. Easiest to be honest, right?
So, when, after nearly 30 years of no beef from the IRS (we made money, we paid taxes, after all) we got a request from the IRS for 2006 travel and entertainment receipts, we were ready!
Ready, at least, until we went to the garage to get the paper receipts (from June 2006 on, most of our receipts were also scanned to PDF: before that, it’s all Manilla folders). Lo and behold, we discover there is a gap in those file storage boxes (the ones you keep buying when your file cabinet gets full). Records for 2003 to 2006 are just nowhere to be found (and, boy, have we turned the joint upside down, best as a hemiplegiac man can).
True, we had everything moved out of the office late last year (aka gulker.com World HQ) while the floor was being repaired (and we took the opportunity to repaint while everything was out). True, a local mover boxed up everything but missed the main ‘live’ file cabinet. True, we also took the opportunity to recycle a truckload of accumulated cruft.
So, of course, we had no idea this stuff wasn’t there when we proudly went to collect our neatly-archived business receipts (and now have no idea where they may have gone). Had the IRS asked for any year between 1997 and 2008 (except for 2003-2006) we’d have just faxed them the stuff. As it is, I’ve been spending endless hours getting credit card and bank receipts and trying to recreate a year that’s hazier than most – I received the glioma diagnosis in 2006…
Professional skeptic Michael Shermer takes a swipe at Malcolm Gladwell in his Scientific American column this month, calling him a journalist “unconstrained by research protocols” and describing Outliers as a “self-help” book.
Shermer apparently thinks that it’s genius, not 10,000 hours (or circumstance or culture), that makes people exceptional, and cites authors who think so, too. (Scientific American is still in Luddite land when it comes to the web, so no link possible). Well, Wikipedia does describe Gladwell as a ‘pop sociologist,’ but I think the battle lines are drawn… 3:32:10 PM
Why are science magazines so clueless about electronic delivery? I subscribe to the print edition of Scientific American, but that doesn’t give me access to the articles in electronic form (even though I’m registered on their web site as a print subscriber). They require I pay a second subscription to access the same content that I’ve already paid for (I couldn’t cut and paste Michael Shermer’s comments, above, so wound up retyping and paraphrasing – both sub-optimal practices).
New Scientist is even worse: there is no way to get their electronic content without also receiving the print magazine. Period.
Given the carbon footprint, not to mention the cost, of printing and delivering hundreds of thousands (possibly millions, in SciAm’s case) of magazines, you’d have thought these science- and tech-savvy pubs would be leading the charge into the networked world.
I am quite happy to pay both pubs whatever the going freight is to sustain their editorial operations – indeed I’ve been a life-long subscriber to SciAm. Both publications’ editorial pages certainly stood up strongly against the seriously misguided ‘environmental policies’ of the previous two American administrations. So, what’s up with their e-delivery? A case of ‘Do as I say, not as I do?’… 7:19:18 PM
Still trying to figure out where the day goes… it’s almost 1 PM and I’m just getting to the blog. Of course we have done a 90-minute workout at the Y, followed by stops at Sigona’s, Schaub’s, Long’s and Safeway, Add in the drive time, unloading car, putting things away, etc. and poof! – the morning’s gone. Next up, the (full) to-do list… 1:00:23 PM
Just finished the brain exercises: we only have 4 sessions left and, after almost 3 months, I think I’m remembering and hearing better. In any case, I’ve ‘passed’ many of the program exercises. Currently I’m struggling to remember semi-random strings of six similar-sounding syllables. Next up, a big project to organize receipts and fill in forms forms for insurance and other claims – a big part of my life these days. Thank goodness for the typewriter tool in Acrobat… and it’s almost 3:00… 2:53:24 PM
According to Malcolm Gladwell, one quality that very successful people as diverse as Bill Joy and Gordie Howe and Yo-Yo Ma share in common is that they were able to amass 10,000 hours practicing their craft by the time they were young men, ready to compete for the top positions in their field.
!0,000 hours, and not intellect, talent or other factors, seems to be the single most important factor in success, according to Gladwell. The second most important? Timing. After that comes culture (I’m paraphrasing a bit, here). Interesting… from Gladwell’s book, Outliers… 9:31:34 PM
