Saturday, June 14
3 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Registration at Ghost Ranch Santa Fe. Pick up your room key and registration packet at the front desk.
5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. Reception followed by buffet supper at Masonic Lodge, just east of
Ghost Ranch Santa Fe. (Directions will be in your registration packet.)
Meet the students and
instructors.
Sunday, June 15
7:30 a.m. to 8:15 a.m.
Breakfast at Ghost Ranch Santa Fe.
8:30 a.m. Meet in front
of the building for a ride to the Santa Fe Institute.
9 a.m. to 10:15 a.m. "The Art and Craft of Science Writing." Using the current week's issue of Science Times, the instructors, joined by New York Times Science Editor Cornelia Dean, will deconstruct several stories, showing how they were assembled and reviewing the rules of the game (which are sometimes made to be broken).
Coffee break.
10:30 a.m. to 12 noon. First press conference. Presentation by John Miller of the Santa Fe Institute and Carnegie Mellon University on complex adaptive systems and social behavior.
12:15 p.m. to 1:15 p.m. Box lunch on the portal of the Santa Fe Institute. Students will meet with their group for the first time.
1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. Second press conference. Presentation by Susan Crockford
of Pacific Identifications Inc. on a
controversial new theory about the role of thyroid hormones in human evolution.
3:15 p.m. Return to Ghost Ranch Santa Fe.
3:45 p.m. to 5 p.m. Students will meet again with their
instructors to discuss the morning's sessions and the mechanics of
turning the talks into good stories. (Beginning students will use the
press conference as the basis for their writing assignments -- a good,
strong introduction and an outline -- which will be critiqued during the
workshop sessions. Advanced students will bring other material for
discussion. See the FAQ
for details.)
Everyone will have the rest of the day to work on their
assignments or wander around the Plaza.
Monday,
June 16
7:30 a.m. to 8:15 a.m. Breakfast at Ghost Ranch Santa Fe.
9 a.m. to 10:15 a.m. "All the Science That's Fit to Print."
Cornelia Dean talks about how the New York Times decides what science stories to
cover and how to present them to readers in an informative but
arresting way.
10:30 a.m. to 11:45 a.m.
"The Rise and Fall of Element 118."
When scientists at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
announced the discovery of the heaviest
element yet in the periodic table, there was talk of a Nobel Prize. Then everything
unraveled. Hooking his laptop to a digital projector, George Johnson
traces the development of the story, from email to edit to final
publication.
12 noon to 1:15 p.m. Lunch at Ghost Ranch Santa Fe.
1:30 p.m. to 2:45 p.m. "Billions and Billions . . ." Keay Davidson tells
his saga of researching and writing a
biography of Carl Sagan, one of the best known
and most temperamental scientists and science writers of the 20th century.
3 to 5 p.m. Workshop session. Students will break into groups and meet with their assigned instructor.
6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Public readings of works-in-progress by
the instructors. Collected Works bookstore will sell copies of the
authors' books.
8 p.m. Explore the Plaza; forage for
dinner.
Tuesday, June 17
7:30 a.m. to 8:15
a.m. Breakfast at Ghost Ranch Santa Fe.
9 a.m. to 10:15 a.m. "Who is Science Writing For?" The collective readership for Scientific American and Discover magazines constitutes about 1.7 million people, less than one percent of the U.S. population. Readership statistics reveal that they are overwhelmingly over 40, well-educated, and male. What about the other 99%? Who speaks to them? In this talk Margaret Wertheim will discuss the statistics of science readers and consider some strategies for getting science out to the other 99%.
10:30 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. "Why Science Writers and Scientists Can Never Really Be Buddies."
Erica Goode looks
at the murky, pothole-strewn relationship between reporters who
cover science and the sources they rely on. How do you
handle those awkward moments when your source/acquaintance wants to pick
up the lunch check? What do you say when a scientist refers to you in
public as his field's "friend"? How does a science reporter avoid
becoming an advocate for science? What are the five most common
misconceptions scientists have about journalism? Is it possible to talk
the talk without also walking the walk?
12 noon to 1:15 p.m. Lunch at Ghost Ranch Santa Fe.
1:30
p.m. to 2:30 p.m. Workshop session. Meet with your instructor.
3 p.m. Meet in front of Ghost Ranch Santa Fe for a field trip
to the Bandelier National Monument. Bring
sunscreen, hat, water, and (depending on the forecast) rain gear.
4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Explore the ruins.
6:30 p.m. to
9:00 p.m.
Dinner at
Rancho de Chimayo in the mountain village of Chimayo, N.M.
9:15 p.m. Return to Ghost Ranch Santa Fe.
Wednesday, June 18
7:30 a.m. to 8:15 a.m. Breakfast at
Ghost Ranch Santa Fe.
9 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. Meet for the final time with your group.
12 noon to 1:15 p.m. Lunch at Ghost Ranch Santa Fe.
1:30
p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Freelancing discussion. Margaret Wertheim and Sandra Blakeslee
will give advice on establishing a
career as a freelancer.
3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. Each
instructor will be available to meet informally with students from all
groups. Meanwhile relax and prepare for the week's big event.
5:30 p.m. Meet in front of Ghost Ranch Santa Fe for a ride to the
barbecue at Sandy's desert hideaway.
6 p.m. to whenever.
Barbecue at Sandra Blakeslee's house.
Thursday, June 19
7:30 a.m. to 8:15
a.m. Breakfast at Ghost Ranch Santa Fe. Please check out before attending
the final session. Luggage can be left at the front desk.
9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Closing discussion and farewell.