Magazines

For Political Reporting, Turn to the Times, Not Science News (2008-10-11)
In the weeks leading up to the 2008 election Science News editors have unfortunately embraced political reporting. 'In The Public Interest' type articles have appeared supporting presidential candidate Barack Obama. While I am certainly no fan of the aging John McCain, I, like many like me, did turn to Science News to escape the electioneering of paternalistic editors, however, this option is no longer available. Aren't candidates promises and comments simply made to win elections? Why hard science editors want to wade into this morass is beyond me.

ScienceNews Magazine (2008-10-09)
The only problem with buying magazines is the wait time until you get the first issue. Science News magazine was delivered two months after order date. The information in the first issue was kind of blah but was still informative. Would suggest it if you are looking to keep up on scientific issues.

It has changed in format, but it is still great... (2008-10-08)
This magazine writes for an audience that is somewhat informed about science. One needn't understand endless jargon or have an extensive background in any of the sciences to appreciate the magazine, but if one has the capacity of a high school graduate who payed close attention in his science classes, you will get a great deal out of this magazine. If you are a professional scientist, you can also benefit.

This magazine is designed to be released in quick installments and provide short overviews of exciting and important work being done in a wide range of both hard and social sciences. If you just want to know what is going on in the sciences, you will get exactly that. What is more, the subscription allows one access to the magazines website, where one will find a far greater number of articles that are updated far more regularly and that have much greater depth.

This is not the only science magazine to which I subscribe, but it is probably the one that best keeps me informed of advances being made in the scientific community. From theory to lab work, you'll find updates on it all. It is a great resource for people who aren't sure what interests them yet also. One is certain to find at least a few articles in each issue that capture one's imagination. From there, the website can guide you as you explore the topic further. It will give you the names of the important scientists doing work in the field and it will explore the nature of their work.

The price is right for such a frequently published periodical as well. As the pace of scientific progress accelerates, one will be increasingly grateful for the rapidity with which this publication is updated. Monthly periodicals do not stand a chance of being able to provide the same breadth of coverage. What is more, with each issue, one will find several more in-depth pieces. These are usually well selected and entirely engaging.

Science News is also a great publication for people who want to get their kids interested in science. It is accessible and the many quick-blurbs on the wide-array of topics that are addressed each month will be unintimidating for even grade-school children. They'll read the three to ten paragraphs on the topic and, when they find a piece that really grabs them, they'll want to learn more, and, as I said above, they'll be given the tools to learn more as well.

This is THE science magazine that will accompany a person from his days as a neophyte all the way through whatever path in the world of science he chooses, whether that be an avid observer or a Nobel Prize winning physicist. There's something here for everybody.

The best (2008-10-01)
The best science update for the layman. Succinct, yet complete articles covering a broad spectrum of science subjects written in lay terminology. Enjoyable means to keep abreast of the latest significant knowledge in your areas of interest in science.

The new SN disappoints (2008-07-31)
I've subscribed for many years, and am very disappointed by the recent changes made to this venerable magazine. It's now published only every two weeks, is dumbed down and glossed up, and presents roughly only half the information it provided in its earlier life. Many articles are truncated, and readers urged to go to the website for the rest of the piece while huge graphics take up valuable space.

I am at a loss as to why these changes have been made, and what sort of modern publisher can think these are improvements. Why would faithful subscribers want less information? My theory is that the responsible parties got into a tizzy about how to integrate the magazine with the internet, and fell for some half-baked notions about marketability in this new digital age.

Don't bother subscribing unless you are in a hurry, have a short attention span, prefer pictures over words, and don't mind having to check two sources to get the whole story. SN used to be the best show in town for pithy, frugal and smart science news. Now it is no better than any of its competitors out there, with many websites doing the same job for free.