6/22/00. We were very sorry to learn late this week that an emergency at the New York Times has caused Cory Dean to cancel her trip to Santa Fe. Because of a scheduling problem, the Science Desk has apparently found itself seriously understaffed just as it confronts the forthcoming announcements on Monday about the Human Genome Project. John Noble Wilford will be giving the talk Sunday morning on "The Art and Craft of Science Writing." In place of Cory's Saturday evening presentation, we will be showing , after the reception, the hour-long film "Are We Alone?" This is part of Timothy Ferris's PBS documentary "Life Beyond Earth." On Wednesday at 3:30 p.m., the producer, Linda Feferman, will discuss the making of the film.
6/20/00. Reminder: Please bring 10 copies of any material you would like your group to critique.
6/19/00. More homework: Here is the piece I will dissect on Monday in my talk, "Story of a Story": Physicists Finally Find a Way to Test Superstring Theory Science Times cover story. April 4, 2000.
6/15/00. We have an addition to the schedule. Many people in this and past workshops have said they'd like to learn more about writing for the Web. On Wednesday afternoon, while the individual consultations are under way, we'll have a panel discussion by some of the students coming from the Internet world. It will be led by Christine Soares, a second-time Santa Fe participant who works in Manhattan as a freelance science/medical writer (currently under contract with DiscoveryHealth.com.) Everyone is invited. Here's her description of the event:
Writing Science for the Web. The unique opportunities and constraints of science journalism in cyberspace. How do interactivity and hyperlink relationships affect our editorial role? What is our role anyway, now that readers can go directly to original sources online? Do scientists take our medium seriously yet, or are they still holding out for that call from The New York Times? Updates and corrections -- how should they be handled in the medium that's always "on"? And that big asteroid heading our way, "convergence": What impact will it have on what we do?
6/9/00. Plaza Resolana tells us that all their rooms are filled. Because a number of people have chosen to enroll as commuters, we have been able to accept some extras, bringing total enrollment to 44. We can take one (or possible two) more people, if they can find lodging elsewhere. We're also asked to remind everyone that full payment is due before the workshop. If you have any questions call Sue Rundstrom, whose number is on the FAQ.
Here's a weather link to use if you'd like to start following the local conditions.
5/24/00. Dinner on Tuesday has been moved to Rancho de Chimayo in the mountain village of Chimayo, N.M. Here is a review.
5/19/00. We've posted the class list. Please take a look and let me know if we've described your affiliation incorrectly. We're less interested in your official title than in a one- or two-word description of what you do. (In a few cases we've left out titles because we were unsure.)
5/19/00. We have one opening left, with the possibility of a cancellation creating an extra space.
5/16/00. We have five openings left. The class list includes, in addition to a number of freelancers, people associated with the following places: Stanford University Medical Center, Argonne National Laboratory, University of Michigan, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Batelle Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, University of Alabama, NIMH Laboratory of Neuropsychology, Nature Neuroscience, University of Chicago, Marshall Space Flight Center, National Institutes of Health, Lawrence Livermore, Discovery.com, Fermilab, Popular Science, Department of Energy, Space.Com, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Los Alamos National Laboratory, University of Tennessee, Computerworld, University of New Mexico, BrainConnection.com, and Wisconsin Public Radio.
5/16/00. I've been delayed from responding to applications because of obligations to help with the coverage of the Los Alamos fire. I hope to go down to Plaza Resolana today. -- GJ
5/9/00. The broken link to the L.A. Times story has been fixed.
With six weeks to go, we have about eight openings left.
5/5/00. Homework. On the Monday morning of the workshop, in a session called "Times vs. Times," the instructors will compare how the two Timeses -- Los Angeles and New York -- took very different approaches to a recent breaking story about the discovery of a new state of matter. One buried it while the other put it on page one.
Before the workshop, please peruse the rather extravagant press site about the discovery and the stories in the L.A. Times and New York Times.
5/5/00. An addition to the schedule: Tim Appenzeller, an editor at U.S. News and World Report and formerly with Science, The Sciences, and Scientific American, will talk about science writing in the magazine world.
5/3/00. There are still some openings. We'll take applications until we're full.
4/25/00. We're almost 3/4 full now, leaving 10 openings.
4/4/00. We have now replied to all the applications that had arrived as of yesterday. If you applied and didn't hear back, please let us know. The five instructors' sections are filling up at about the same rate, so all still have openings. Plaza Resolana asks us to remind everyone that the few single rooms are going fast. (The other option, if you don't want a roommate, is to stay in a bed and breakfast; see the FAQ.)
3/31/00. I'll be going down to Plaza Resolana in a few days to pick up the latest applications. With a little less than three months to go, enrollment is approaching the halfway mark, which is where we were last year at this time. As has happened every year, we expect to fill up by June. That's plenty of time but please apply early if it's important that you get a particular instructor.
3/16/00. The second scientist at the press conference will be Doyne Farmer of the Santa Fe Institute. He'll talk about how ideas in physics are being used to try and predict financial markets. (Some people call this phynance.) He is one of the founders of Prediction Company and the subject of two books by Thomas Bass: The Predictors and The Eudaemonic Pie.
3/13/00. One of the two scientists giving press conferences at the beginning of the workshop will be Charles Stevens, a neuroscientist at the Salk Institute, who will talk about how synapses send signals in the brain.