Why Sherman Writes About Science In His Columns
June 22, 2020 at 6:44 p.m.
By Max [email protected]
Although I receive few comments, I thought that others may also be interested. First, my career in the medical device and pharmaceutical industry working in regulatory affairs presented the opportunity to learn more about science, math, logic, rhetoric, strategy and medical writing. Therefore, I decided to use my curiosity, work experience and education after retirement to pursue a career in journalism. Second, I chose science because it is a broad subject and encompasses the structure and behavior of the physical natural world. I must say that I am still learning.
Rationale
There are a numerous reasons, other than financial to write a column. For one, it is to encourage young people to read more and to use the columns as a stimulus to learn even more.
Science, along with technology, engineering and math courses are sadly lacking in the United States and we fall well behind the rest of the civilized world. Most of my columns make recommendations for books to read. I try to cover topics most people are unaware of, including mentioning scientists who have made seminal contributions to all of us. In addition, I find publishing rewarding and enjoy the feedback from readers. Most important is to prove to my family that I still maintain my mental health and able to give something back to my community. If I were not writing a column, I would look for other means of expression, such as letters to the editor, blogs or articles to magazines or journals.
Topics
Selecting topics to write about is not difficult. I read the obituaries in the New York Times and Sunday Wall Street Journal notices and search out the deaths of luminaries in the field of science. I then do further research and use that information to write the column.
In addition, I look for news items like the coronavirus, a plague of locusts in Africa, vanishing insects, using leeches in plastic surgery or endangered animals and provide additional details. Insects are one of my favorite topics and I have written about tarantulas, spiders, bees, ticks and scorpions. Animals and fish are frequent subjects and I have provided columns about camels, alligators, giraffes, hibernating bears, zebra fish, octopuses and doctor fish. I have also written about body organs, the brain, pancreas and the liver. I wrote about each of the five senses and compared them by how valuable they are. By subscribing to the Science Journal and the New England Journal of Medicine, I find other fascinating stories. Science Daily on line is an excellent source for what is new in scientific research.
Nonfiction books are another avenue for new ideas. I used samples from books on Kindle to enhance my column about locusts. Dorothy Skloot’s book the “Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” was instrumental in writing about HeLa cells and their immortality. Bill Bryson’s new book, “The Body,” contained a number of anecdotes I followed up for columns. One of my columns contained information about diseases that mysteriously disappeared and about newly discovered parts of the human anatomy. I also went far afield and described the lives of two philosophers, Montaigne and Cicero and about my favorite poems.
Other Resources
For brief summaries of information, I recommend Oxford University Press, it publishes an entire series of small paperback books with the theme of “a very short introduction.” I have used a number of them for background information. Major resources for me include books or articles written by outstanding science writers. They include Sherwin Nuland, Lewis Thomas, Natalie Angier, Atul Gawande, David Quammen, Carl Zimmer and E. O. Wilson. Their style of writing is worth emulating.
The weekend edition of the Wall Street Journal has a remarkable books section. Many of reviewed books are about science and medicine. The New York Times publishes an electronic newsletter that is packed with current information about science. Oftentimes it contains a link to published papers. While not a fan of the internet or technologically savvy, I have become a Google-ite (if the word exists). It is an amazing source of information although not always the most credible. I use both Google and Google Scholar to initiate my research and try to take the advice of Richard Asher in an article he wrote 50 years ago. It included reference to “The Elephant’s Child,” a Rudyard Kipling poem:
“I keep six honest serving men
(They taught me all I knew)
Their names are What and Why and When
And How and Where and Who”
Remembering who will read the work and focusing how to make it plain, simple, accurate, orderly and complete are the keys to a clear writing style, conducive to providing an easily read and understood column. My columns are included in “Science Snippets,” a book just published and available on Amazon.
Max Sherman is a medical writer and pharmacist retired from the medical device industry. He has taught college courses on regulatory and compliance issues at Ivy Tech, Grace College and Butler University. Sherman has an unquenchable thirst for knowledge on all levels. Eclectic Science, the title of his column, touches on famed doctors and scientists, human senses, aging, various diseases, and little-known facts about many species, including their contributions to scientific research. His new book “Science Snippets” is available from Amazon and other book sellers. He can be reached by email at [email protected].
Although I receive few comments, I thought that others may also be interested. First, my career in the medical device and pharmaceutical industry working in regulatory affairs presented the opportunity to learn more about science, math, logic, rhetoric, strategy and medical writing. Therefore, I decided to use my curiosity, work experience and education after retirement to pursue a career in journalism. Second, I chose science because it is a broad subject and encompasses the structure and behavior of the physical natural world. I must say that I am still learning.
Rationale
There are a numerous reasons, other than financial to write a column. For one, it is to encourage young people to read more and to use the columns as a stimulus to learn even more.
Science, along with technology, engineering and math courses are sadly lacking in the United States and we fall well behind the rest of the civilized world. Most of my columns make recommendations for books to read. I try to cover topics most people are unaware of, including mentioning scientists who have made seminal contributions to all of us. In addition, I find publishing rewarding and enjoy the feedback from readers. Most important is to prove to my family that I still maintain my mental health and able to give something back to my community. If I were not writing a column, I would look for other means of expression, such as letters to the editor, blogs or articles to magazines or journals.
Topics
Selecting topics to write about is not difficult. I read the obituaries in the New York Times and Sunday Wall Street Journal notices and search out the deaths of luminaries in the field of science. I then do further research and use that information to write the column.
In addition, I look for news items like the coronavirus, a plague of locusts in Africa, vanishing insects, using leeches in plastic surgery or endangered animals and provide additional details. Insects are one of my favorite topics and I have written about tarantulas, spiders, bees, ticks and scorpions. Animals and fish are frequent subjects and I have provided columns about camels, alligators, giraffes, hibernating bears, zebra fish, octopuses and doctor fish. I have also written about body organs, the brain, pancreas and the liver. I wrote about each of the five senses and compared them by how valuable they are. By subscribing to the Science Journal and the New England Journal of Medicine, I find other fascinating stories. Science Daily on line is an excellent source for what is new in scientific research.
Nonfiction books are another avenue for new ideas. I used samples from books on Kindle to enhance my column about locusts. Dorothy Skloot’s book the “Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” was instrumental in writing about HeLa cells and their immortality. Bill Bryson’s new book, “The Body,” contained a number of anecdotes I followed up for columns. One of my columns contained information about diseases that mysteriously disappeared and about newly discovered parts of the human anatomy. I also went far afield and described the lives of two philosophers, Montaigne and Cicero and about my favorite poems.
Other Resources
For brief summaries of information, I recommend Oxford University Press, it publishes an entire series of small paperback books with the theme of “a very short introduction.” I have used a number of them for background information. Major resources for me include books or articles written by outstanding science writers. They include Sherwin Nuland, Lewis Thomas, Natalie Angier, Atul Gawande, David Quammen, Carl Zimmer and E. O. Wilson. Their style of writing is worth emulating.
The weekend edition of the Wall Street Journal has a remarkable books section. Many of reviewed books are about science and medicine. The New York Times publishes an electronic newsletter that is packed with current information about science. Oftentimes it contains a link to published papers. While not a fan of the internet or technologically savvy, I have become a Google-ite (if the word exists). It is an amazing source of information although not always the most credible. I use both Google and Google Scholar to initiate my research and try to take the advice of Richard Asher in an article he wrote 50 years ago. It included reference to “The Elephant’s Child,” a Rudyard Kipling poem:
“I keep six honest serving men
(They taught me all I knew)
Their names are What and Why and When
And How and Where and Who”
Remembering who will read the work and focusing how to make it plain, simple, accurate, orderly and complete are the keys to a clear writing style, conducive to providing an easily read and understood column. My columns are included in “Science Snippets,” a book just published and available on Amazon.
Max Sherman is a medical writer and pharmacist retired from the medical device industry. He has taught college courses on regulatory and compliance issues at Ivy Tech, Grace College and Butler University. Sherman has an unquenchable thirst for knowledge on all levels. Eclectic Science, the title of his column, touches on famed doctors and scientists, human senses, aging, various diseases, and little-known facts about many species, including their contributions to scientific research. His new book “Science Snippets” is available from Amazon and other book sellers. He can be reached by email at [email protected].
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