The Best American Science Writing 2006 - Top Science Articles Collection | Perfect for Students, Researchers & Science Enthusiasts | Great for Classroom Use & Personal Learning

This collection of exceptional articles comes out annually in the fall, as does its competitor, "Best Science and Nature Writing, 2006." I eagerly anticipate the publication of them both. Guest editor Atul Gawande made the final selection of 21 essays from 10 different periodicals and one book. "The New Yorker" had the most selections with six. Three essays were picked for both books.H. Allen Orr - An unusually non-polemic critique of intelligent design. Orr's analyzes the arguments of ID's two main advocates - Behe and Dempsky. Both of them have grudgingly admitted that once the cell was in existence, evolution by random mutation and natural selection could have done the rest.Richard Preston - The author joins Steve Sillett (botany professor and advanced tree climber) in exploring redwood canopies 300-375 feet above ground. To accomplish entry, they shoot an arrow from a powerful hunting bow over a low branch, perhaps 200 feet up. A fishing line is tied to the arrow, and is used to pull the 600 foot climbing rope back over that branch. That's the easy part.Frans B. M. de Waal - The author always enjoyed being tuned to his environment, watching people in action - especially their body language. During thousands of hours as a graduate student in the 70's, de Waal watched chimps, and found that Machiavelli was a better guide than his texts. Chimpanzee politics was like human politics - a matter of individual strategies clashing to see who came out ahead - of course the chimps were much more transparent. The author began to see people around him in a different light.Tom Mueller - Computers have triumphed at chess not by aping human thought, as most artificial intelligence experts had expected, but by playing like machines. Now they are playing subtler, more imaginative chess than the humans they've been designed to emulate. Programmers say, "This is an emergent phenomenon, not something I put into it." A growing number of cognitive scientists and philosophers see no fundamental distinction between computers and human brains.Michael Chorost - This article is one of my favorites and is one of three that appeared in both books. The author was born almost deaf and didn't learn to talk until he got hearing aids at age three and a half. At age 15 he somehow got hooked on the "Bolero," a famous orchestral piece known for its dynamic crescendos. From that time on, he judged each new hearing aid by listening to his favorite rendition of "Bolero." Then for unexplained reasons he became completely deaf at age 38. The story of how a cochlear implant brought back his hearing ranges through engineering, computer science, physics, ear physiology, and the continued use of "Bolero."Gardiner Harris and Anahad O'Conner - Analysis of the conspiracy theory that says the mercury preservative that used to be in vaccines has caused autism. Despite the opposition of overwhelming scientific consensus, Dr. Mark Geier and his son, David, lead the very successful movement. Mark has served as a witness in as many as ninety trials. Scientists say the Geiers' research is tainted by faulty methodology. Geier (and others) say Public Health officials are "just trying to cover it up."Charles Mann - This great article also appeared in both books. Pills that increase longevity may be just around the corner, but the consequences may not all be good. The author discusses the intergenerational personal and political warfare that will most certain come to the table - should the elderly refuse to die.D. T. Max - Horizons of Darwin's theory have broadened recently - from biology to psychology, and now to interpretation of great literature. For one example, from the very first page, "Pride and Prejudice" is chock full of life's-passage moments that resonate with meaning in the field of Evolutionary Psychology. E. O. Wilson might be the father of this movement and is thrilled to think that science and the humanities have united.The rest of the essays are just as fascinating as the ones I've mentioned above. Readers will most likely come away with a deep appreciation of the work done by scientists and the journalists who write about them - and with a deeper appreciation of science itself.