Science – Scott J. Pearson’s Book Review

Medal Winners: How the Vietnam War Launched Nobel Careers

By Scott J. Pearson | September 16, 2026September 16, 2026 by Scott J. Pearson

Doctors graduating medical school during the Vietnam War had several options. Most went to serve medically in the war theater. A few went into other smaller niches like the Public Health Service. A select few were drafted into a program to train in research at the NIH; these were subsequently known as “yellow berets” – an epithet turned point-of-pride among its recipients. Over the years, those who trained in this Clinical Associates program ended up…

Biography-Memoir Healthcare Science

My Stroke of Insight: A Brain Scientist’s Personal Journey

By Scott J. Pearson | September 5, 2026September 5, 2026 by Scott J. Pearson

What is it like to go through a stroke? Additionally, what’s it like to observe your own stroke if you’re an elite brain scientist? Those two storylines are what Jill Bolte Taylor offers in this short memoir. For those not yet exposed to the internals of how the brain works, it offers an accessible tutorial. Many readers are not accustomed to understanding how different regions of the brain function together to provide a coherent experience…

Healthcare Research-Education Science

Practical Implementation Science: Moving Evidence into Action

By Scott J. Pearson | August 9, 2026August 9, 2026 by Scott J. Pearson

With the Internet, the world has become glut with information, and the domain of scientific knowledge is no exception. The challenge, however, has become implementing that knowledge into healthcare practice. Papers are published, read a few times, cited by other authors, and often die in scientific journals. Those journals are great, but the pipeline to practice (the clinic and patient lives) needs to open up more. Translational science and implementation science aim to do just…

Science Writing-Communication

The Narrative Gym for Science Graduate Students & Postdocs

By Scott J. Pearson | June 25, 2026June 25, 2026 by Scott J. Pearson

Communication to the wider non-scientific world is a constant challenge to scientists. We rely on the public for funding, and we aim to contribute to their lives. Yet our communication sometimes can get into a rut by communicating to a small inner circle of scientific colleagues instead. So the authors suggest applying a simple framework to enhance the reader’s ability to communicate by focusing on the crux of effective communication. The authors focus on graduate…

Science Writing-Communication

Don’t Be Such a Scientist: Talking Substance in an Age of Style

By Scott J. Pearson | May 25, 2026May 25, 2026 by Scott J. Pearson

Family members of STEM types will relate deeply to this book. Their STEM-working family member can live in a different world that’s distinct from the world everyone else lives in, and they must learn to relate back to the “real world.” The problem, however, penetrates deeper than that. The public admires those in STEM fields for the braininess required for entry, but the public’s communication styles do not relate to theirs. Memes, movies, and social…

Management-Business Science Software-Technology

Our Future is Biotech

By Scott J. Pearson | April 25, 2026April 25, 2026 by Scott J. Pearson

From the title, this book seems like a social pitch to get on the biotech bandwagon. However, its central point doesn’t address social policy or health policy. Rather, it’s a pitch for investors – particularly in Europe – to invest to create a biotech industry on that side of the Atlantic. Andrew Craig points out that the scientific infrastructure is strong, particularly with England’s Oxbridge, but the ability to translate insights and knowledge into companies…

Presentation Visualization

Better Data Visualizations: A Guide for Scholars, Researchers & Wonks

By Scott J. Pearson | April 21, 2026April 21, 2026 by Scott J. Pearson

“A picture is worth a thousand words,” or so the old saying goes. When portraying data, its visualization is often worth more than a thousand words. Indeed, in some contexts, it’s the only way that the data are accessible. In this book, Jonathan Schwabish provides a comprehensive look at visual options available to portray data. True to his background as an economist, He provides examples mainly from governmental concerns and social-science fields. As a scientist,…

Humor Science

What If? Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions

By Scott J. Pearson | December 20, 2025December 20, 2025 by Scott J. Pearson

We know enough about the physics of earth and the universe to be able to predict what’d happen in absurd situations, like a neuron star hitting the earth, flying a plane on Uranus, or experiencing a Richter magnitude -2 earthquake. Of course, we don’t talk about it because most of us aren’t physics geeks. Fortunately, Randall Munroe is, and he has a great sense of humor dealing with the absurd. He runs an online blog…

Poetry Science

The Universe in Verse: 15 Portals to Wonder through Science & Poetry

By Scott J. Pearson | December 13, 2025December 13, 2025 by Scott J. Pearson

Poetry and science are often placed opposite each other because they describe different things. One describes the human soul; the other describes nature. That’s unfortunate because they can complement each other vividly. The natural world and the vast universe are sources of unending wonder. It’s a shame that too many people are put off by science as intimidating. In truth, it’s awe-inducing and humbling. Maria Popova brings these lessons to life with 15 poems by…

Humor Science

How To: Absurd Scientific Advice for Common Real-World Problems

By Scott J. Pearson | November 18, 2025November 18, 2025 by Scott J. Pearson

Ever wonder what it takes to land a plane on top of a train? Or what’s the best way to send nuclear waste to the sun? Or how to take a selfie with yourself and the moon? Well, Randall Munroe has answers, filled in a humorous tone. The beauty of how science generalizes – particularly, physics – is how it applies to all sorts of absurd situations. Munroe understands how to create such situations in…