Science Is Culture

April 18, 2011
In 2001, Bly, founder and editor-in-chief of Seed magazine, was convinced that we were at the cusp of a scientific renaissance that would transform our culture. For him the vitality of the anti-science movement, which opposes the theory of evolution, is a cause for optimism because it is a futile attempt to hold back "the imminent rise of a cultural shift" that will bring necessary changes to how we view the world. This collection of 22 conversations, first published in Seed, brings together a community of artists and physicists, writers and designers, architects and geneticist. The eclectic group discusses a wide range of topics: Cognitive scientist Steven Pinker and novelist Rebecca Goldstein reject the cultural relativist argument that morality is merely a social convention; writers Janna Levin and Jonathan Lethem explore the relationship between metaphor and fantasy in imaginative writing; eminent ecologist Thomas Lovejoy and Mitchell Joachim, co-founder of Terreform ONE, argue the merits of cloth versus plastic diapers. Joachim explains that energy comparison by DuPont were flawed because of the assumptions that cloth diapers would be machine-dried; Lovejoy humorously retorts that in practice the choice between cloth and plastic diapers may be different for Joachim when his wife gives birth to their first child. An animated and engaging discussion of important ideas.