Other blog posts
I’m incredibly excited to announce that my next book, a biography of Oliver Sacks, will be published by A.A. Knopf. I have exclusive access to the vast archive of The Oliver Sacks Foundation, and I have already found some new and intriguing information about Sacks’s life. Follow me here and on Twitter for updates on this project as my research continues.
I am thrilled and honored that the Leon Levy Center for Biography at the Graduate Center, CUNY, has selected me to be the first Leon Levy/Alfred P. Sloan Fellow in Science Biography for 2019–2020. I’ll be working on my biography of Oliver Sacks alongside fine biographers Abigail Santamaria, David Greenberg, Channing Joseph, and Matthew McKnight.
Happy New Year, from the midst of a Nantucket blizzard, where I am working on revisions to my new book! With luck it will appear in late 2014 or early 2015. Stay tuned!
What a great way to start the new year: seeing that I landed on the 20 Most Popular Books of 2013 from Science Book a Day!
I was honored to be the first author interviewed by Science Book a Day’s George Aranda in May.
In April, the TED Talk I gave at TED Global in Edinburgh in June 2012 was put online at TED.com; it’s now been viewed over 650,000 times there, and 1.3 million over all venues!
It’s been an exciting year! And I’m looking forward to 2014! Hope it’s a great year for everyone.
Giulia Forsythe drew this amazing pictorial summary of my TED Talk at TED Global 2012 for an upcoming TEDx event (TEDxUSagrado):
I think it’s fabulous! Thank you, Giulia!
From yesterday’s TED blog, a fun piece on seven groups of writers/artists/philosophers who transformed their world—and ours.
A nice piece on consilience is just out in Philosophy Now magazine. Written by Toni Vogel Carey, the article highlights the different views of consilience held by Whewell/Herschel on the one hand and E.O. Wilson/Stephen Jay Gould on the other. Definitely worth a look by anyone interested in scientific confirmation.
In honor of the anniversary of the publication of Darwin’s Origin of Species on November 24, 1859:
Footage of the moth that pollinates Angraecum sesquipedale, a Madagascar orchid, whose existence Darwin predicted 142 years ago. Because the nectar is so far down the neck of this orchid, Darwin knew that there had to be a species of moth with a “tongue” long enough to pollinate it. And now that moth has been found.
This is fascinating! Watch here.
Augusta Ada King, Countess of Lovelace
In honor of the day set aside to remember Ada Lovelace, friend and collaborator of Charles Babbage (and a major player in one chapter of The Philosophical Breakfast Club), I’m passing along two links: one serious, one a bit silly, but both apropos of Lovelace and her accomplishments.
First, the serious. A recent study by Yale University found that women in science are still discriminated against in classrooms and laboratories. How sad that perceptions of women’s abilities have not changed as much as we would like to think from Lovelace’s times in the 19th century. On this day we should remember that although women have come a long way since the 1800s, there is still much work to be done.
Next, the silly (but wonderfully so): a post on the relation between Ada Lovelace and her female friend and mentor, Mary Somerville by the talented Sydney Padua—who is writing a steampunk comic about Lovelace and Babbage.
Food for thought on Lovelace day.
I am very happy to announce that my first book, Reforming Philosophy, is now available in an inexpensive Kindle edition.
Some readers of The Philosophical Breakfast Club might be interested in a more detailed discussion of William Whewell’s philosophy of science, and its relation to his view of moral philosophy, economics, and politics. In this book I discuss these issues in the context of Whewell’s decades-long debate with the philosopher, economist and Parliamentarian John Stuart Mill.
Here’s what some reviewers said when the book came out:
“Snyder’s book is history of philosophy at its best”–Times Literary Supplement
“In this impressive study of two major Victorian intellectuals, Snyder displays both analytical acumen and historical sensitivity; she has written a book that will be read with profit and pleasure by anyone interested in the history of moral, political, and philosophical reflection on science.” — Isis
“Snyder’s impressive achievement is not only to register a significant improvement in our understanding of the technicalities of this debate over the proper method of scientific reasoning, but also to bring the debate alive in a way that illuminates the whole terrain of mid-Victorian intellectual life.” — American Historical Review
“This is the definitive work and must be on the shelves of any library with pretensions to completeness about the [Victorian] age.” — Journal of British Studies
You can purchase the Kindle edition of Reforming Philosophy here.
TED’s list of “essential reading” for Fall—books by TED speakers:
With summer dwindling to its last few days, it’s time to put away the beach reads and get the mind back in gear with heartier fare. Why not start with some of the amazing books writer by recent TED speakers? Here, some picks.
Moonwalking with Einstein by Joshua Foer
Retells the tale of a forgetful writer’s journey to becoming U.S. Memory champion, exploring the singular importance of memory in our lives along the way. Watch Joshua’s talk >>
Wired for Culture by Mark Pagel
For the past 80,000 years, culture has played an integral role in shaping the lives humans lead. Evolutionary biologist Mark Pagel explains the evolutionary processes that are so ingrained into our culture, and explores its effects on life today. Watch Mark’s talk >> Read more