Who are you?

I am a lay person with no science background and no connection to you. I am fascinated by scientific insights into the world. I appreciate people like you who write about what scientists are doing without getting too technical but with enough source references that I could tap into the technical stuff if I want.
--
Enjoy,

Don Berg

Site: http://www.teach-kids-attitude-1st.com
Free E-book: The Attitude Problem in Education

Rob Miller
Boise, Idaho USA
43 years old.

Left Hewlett-Packard in January after 21 years as a software developer. Returned to school to pursue a second undergraduate degree in Biology/Ecology. Currently focusing undergraduate research on Avian predator/prey relationship, particularly during migration. My research proposal: http://wolf21m.blogspot.com/2009/06/research-proposal-correlated-fall.h…

I expect graduate school is in order as well.

I love your blog, I may or may not have commented before. I also follow you on twitter.

Still reading since last time; I'm an aging computer-support geek at a state university. Your slogan "science for everyone" is very apt.

I'm a software engineer, but I enjoy reading well-written popular science articles on any subject.

Dustin Palmer
St. Louis, MO/Lowell, Indiana
21 years old
Undergraduate at Washington University in St. Louis, majoring in Political Science and American Culture Studies.

I see law school in my future, but every reading of this blog tempts me to switch my major and career path. Thank you Mr. Yong.

46 yr old company director based in Singapore; your blog brightens up lunchtimes in the office, especially when tropical downpours keep me inside.

Stranger, stay-at-home-mom, former research assistant in biomedical IT, European expat in North America. Following you on Twitter as well!

I'm a 20-something with a background in psychology and linguistics, now pursuing a master's in speech-language pathology.

I enjoy reading your clearly-written science articles across disciplines. As my dad once told me, it's easy to make complicated ideas sound complicated, it's incredibly hard to make them sound straightforward and intuitive. Please keep up the great work!

Coffee-pimp, blogger and father of three, in lovely Kiama in Australia. I work with Topic Maps (a shareable, standardized and open standard for knowledge representation) and framework development. I'm a Norwegian / Swedish / Czech hybrid, with even more mixed up kids, married to a Scotish / British Australian. I run exclusively Ubuntu (currently 9.04) Linux on my machines, I used to be a movie-maker and a musician who went with my hobby of computing when kids came along (in the business almost 20 years now). I speak, teach, coach, present and whinge as often as I can, and love science to atomic bits. Meddled in neuroscience, lots of psychology, do heavy bits of usability and UX, information architecture, and design computer systems based on human cognition. And congrats!

I'm a 38 yr old Dutch guy. Currently doing all computer related stuff at a small academic publisher.

I'm a 22-yo software developer and honour's student studying genetic algorithms (hoping to do a doctorate in the same subject next) in Australia.

Oh, yeah, and I didn't get around to posting anything last time, but congratulations!

I'm a 40 year old application manager from the Netherlands.

I'm 23 years old, and until very recently I was a science student, but now I'm just plain old unemployed.

I'm a 37yr old behavioural neuroscientist from Australia. Currently completely psych honours whilst working as a health economics researcher. I, too, enjoy the way you make complex papers easily digestible. Keep it up and congrats for the recent award.

:o)

24-year-old web developer in Utah. Found you via Bruce Schneier.

Retired ex-librarian (public and corporate), ex-information officer (electricity supply), ex-college IT manager. Interests are mainly literary and artistic - Chinese and Japanese primarily - but science, especially evolution, is a big interest too. Oh, in London, not far from Darwin's house.

Interested lay person- 45 year old mom of autistic triplets, so I've got an interest in good science.

animator, production consultant and visualization artist, passionate about non-photorealistic rendering and artistic interfaces. Science is for me an open-eyed look at the world around us and I marvel at the way scientists break down observation into wonderful modules of testable knowledge.

32yo Australian male, species may or may not be human. Tertiary education is bachelor of science with major in computing and a few bits and pieces on the side including creative writing and linguistics. First ScienceBlog I read was Evolving Thoughts (because I know John Wilkins from elsewhere online) but soon started reading more. Didn't initially take much notice of Not Exactly Rocket Science but started reading regularly after I noticed that it kept coming up every time I searched ScienceBlogs for more information on science news articles from PhysOrg etc.

Aged (very!) past researcher in biophysics living in Spain. Love the broad brush topics you bring up and your excellent writing style. Congrats on your award.

Philosophy Ph.D. student with no science beyond GCSE but fascinated by science. Took courses in philosophy of psychology, language, and biology as an undergrad so started to read up on some of the actual science. Playing catch-up ever since.

Artist-illustrator Canadian, soon-to-be-returning student who has trouble rendering extinct arthropods' anatomy correctly. I've loved good science writing ever since reading Bob Bakker's Dinosaur Heresies as a kid and your writing is lucid, fun and trustworthy. I don't comment enough.

Colin Bartlett
Evergreen State College
Olympia, Washington, Cascadia

I'm a queer student of Evolutionary Biology. I had decided to go to a school known for its remarkable environmental biology program to become some manner of ecologist employed be a biodiversity-focused nonprofit, but I ended up with a pair of professors who reawakened in me the whole reason I got into science to begin with: I love stories, and I love deciphering the stories of why various things are the way they are. So, now I'm on a track toward becoming a professor myself, to evangelize this love.

I came to scienceblogs for the Tetrapod Zoology; I stayed because of the remarkably talented writers like yourself who give me material to educate myself and my parents, friends, family, teachers, and classmates with.

I'm a French computer science researcher, but lives in Denmark and like reading scientific articles on various subjects (insects and psychology are of my favorites); so, thanks for your serious work on this blog.

Journalist and Web Developer, and founder of new worldwide collaborative student journalism project: New Science Journalism: http://www.newsciencejournalism.net/ The project is forming a part of PhD research into science communication. Interested in professionalism and global reach for aspiring young science reporters. Looking at collaboration and specialisation using new media tools with a 'dash of traditionalism' thrown in.

Personally, disillusioned by the pace of new media and the fact that we as journalists seem to be being dragged along by the new media machine. Why, because I think some of us still see stars in our eyes and not the real stories.

Nationality: Australian (with dual citizenship for UK)

Transhumanist, atheist, vegetarian. 25 years old, male, Germany. Layperson, no formal education.

Mike Sands, from Wellington, New Zealand.

I'm an interested layperson (well, I *do* have a science degree, but it's in computer science).

I appreciate the wide variety of stuff you write about.

Linguistics graduate working in new media, greatly enjoy hearing about interesting scientific discoveries and generally learning from well written articles!

An Open University Earth Sciences graduate, now working as an administrator to an ecology and palaeoecology research group at a Norwegian University.
I admire your skill at writing up science articles in an accessible way.
Congratulations on the award.

Emma Thompson
23 year old PhD student at the John Innes Centre, Norwich. Working on improving lodging resistance in Legumes. Have an undergrad degree in genetics and work on plants as they're big enough to see but don't bleed on me, making them perfect. I like this blog as it provides good coverage of important things I might otherwise not come across as they're outside my area of expertise.

I'm a science graduate and now a freelance writer/editor/science communicator type, working mostly with publishers and museums. I first heard about your blog during a talk at the Apple Store a couple of years back (you were on the bill with Ben Goldacre and a Nature Network blogger). Although I'm not a daily reader, I dip in and out - sparked mostly by your twitter links (as 'Mafunyane', I follow you on Twitter).

Oh and I also link to your blog (as one of several good examples) in an elearning course I have written for professionals, about 'Communicating Complex Ideas'.

Keep you the good work - and congrats on the ABSW prize!

I'm a 27 year old archaeologist working in the southeastern US with a layman's interest in other sciences. I like the variety of topics you touch on and the clarity with which you deal with them. I follow you on twitter as well. Enjoy what you say in both forums!

Hi, I'm Bec, a 24-year-old university student from Australia. I've got a degree in Classical Archaeology and now I'm back doing a Postgrad degree in Journalism. I'm a late-comer to science blogs but I have embraced them with aplomb, starting up my own palaeo/science/whimsical humour news blog at http://runningponies.com about 6 months ago. Blogs like Ed's and others such as Laelaps, SV-POW!, and Archosaur Musings have inspired me in such a way that I'm looking to pursue a career in science-based journalism. I think the future in that field is so bright with people like Ed at the forefront. Congrats on your award. :)

Hello,

I'm a 23yr old teenager, sort of a science groupie, who has a reignited passion for learning since education stopped being compulsory for me :-)

I also run a w00t science/philosophy blog for idiots like me, based around London Skeptics in the Pub talks (and occasional rants about stuff in general).

Cheers for writing such a lovely blog, it's great encouragement to an amateur blogger like me!

Carmen x

Science graduate, science & tech writer, ex-QI Elf, photographer, musician, dilettante... Very interested in computational neuroscience and applied epistemology; writing children's thriller on same. Came here from Pharyngula, and am a keen backer of the anti-anti-science agenda.

Keep up the great work!

Retired chemist, sometime science columnist, science classroom volunteer, avid follower of this and several science blogs.... and a fan. keep up the great work, and keep the comments coming.

20-something evolutionary biology phd.

Benjamyn Tan, 26 year old, previous science teacher now have an interest in Education, and Science. Working in PR trying to drive good stories out there to the public - with scientific and education related stories.

Great blog and congratulations on the award.

#34 Wow a real live (ex-) QI Elf! I had thought Mr Fry made you up out of modesty ;-)

I'm a 29 years old architect from the United Arab Emirates. I'm a frequent reader of this blog and the Pharyngula blog too.

English software engineer, maths graduate and life-long lover of all things sciencey. I came here via Pharyngula too.

Philosophy PhD. Recently become interested in science due to reading blogs such as yours and Ben Goldacre's. It's good to have someone writing clear interesting summaries of good research.

Mario Zelic
32 year old PhD in Earth sciences (geology-structural geology) from Croatia.
Fascinated by science!

Natural history curator and zoologist/palaeontologist with an interest in science communication. Soon to be an acquaintance through the Science Online London Session on 'Online communication of science by institutions and organizations'.

I'm me. If anyone knows any more details, please tell me.

I do know that I am stranger.

Tom Shilson
The "Sweetwater" comes from the Sweetwater Sea or Lake Superior, the largest freshwater lake in the world. I used to race on other people's sailboats on the lake. I am 64, recently retired and moved to North Carolina. I don't like the cold and snow. I have a general interest in science, esp oceans, cosmology, nuclear physics, ecology, and some others. I am still trying to figure out what to do in my next "career". (First career was as computer geek.) I don't golf or fish, so I might as well do something productive. :)

I'm a 40-year-old dual US/UK citizen currently living in Scotland, who has dabbled in an undistinguished fashion in multiple careers pretty much all over the map, and is currently retraining for bioinformatics for academia. I have some definite reasons for writing pseudonymously, but they sound weird when I put them into print. I have a husband who has very little sympathy for my hobbies, a family full of medical conditions, and an inordinate fondness for snails.

Currently a postdoc in Cognitive Science. Got my Ph.D. in Computer Science. Wandered over from god knows where but stayed. Congratulations on the award!

Used to be a paid-up bone fide scientists, now a science and science policy advisor. More influence - less fun! Also a fellow blogger, and your comments about having no idea who reads your blog rang very true. I feel like I'm working in a vacuum sometimes and churning out stuff than very few people pay attention to - then someone will come up at a meeting and say "I enjoy your blog" - reminding me that I have very little idea who my loyal readers are!

Postdoc in a biomedical engineering-related field.

I'm a mid 20's 4th year medical student in the midwest. I'm also a very obscure medical blogger.

I have spent my adult life reading and collecting books. I'm now retired, have been retired so long that I don't remember anything else. My interest in science is that it is the one true thing, relatively speaking. Your blog is among my favorites.

Sorry to disappoint you, but Toaster is not an actual toaster. Instead he's a young scientist between undergrad and grad schools with a strong interest in immunology. He also plays bass guitar. Toaster is a stranger.

Boston, Mass- Early 30's lawyer/grad student and blogger-wannabe.

Sheffield, S.Yorks. 58-yr-old IT business analyst with no formal science background outside computing. I've been a dedicated amateur of popular science writing since somebody gave me Bertha Morris Parker for my 5th birthday.

20, UK, just finished an undergraduate biology degree, going on to do a PhD.

29-year-old vertebrate palaeontology postgrad, soon-to-be FE college lecturer in biology, occasionally productive blogger.

:-)

I teach physics to deaf college students, using American Sign Language, and have done so for 31 years. Accessible science writing reminds me why I do this.

33, US, financial programmer

40-mumble software engineer at a major scientific institution, with an education in physics and astrophysics. Lifelong interest in science. At ScienceBlogs largely for the Dispatches and Pharyngula, plus Tet Zoo, but I enjoy your posts when I see them pop up on the "most active" list (along with Orac, Rosenhouse, and the occasional Greg Laden or Isis). Congratulations!

23, graduate student in Marine Sciences, focusing on toxicology.

Hi I am Rachel, I am a 22 year old Floridian moving to Pittsburgh in a month to start my PhD at CMU in evo-devo. I have heavy interest in bioinfoatics as well. I'm also an avid scuba diver and humanist who reads too much critical rationalism to be polite.

19, from northern England, studying Spanish and Russian (with linguistics) at Cambridge University.

39 year old - Toronto resident - IT professional

Stranger, 35, euro-expat software engineer, now in Cali.

Are you interesting lay-person

I'd like to think so... or did you mean "interested"? Yes, that too.

35, layperson with an inherited science/nature background. Amateur birder, geologist, botanist. Expat from Indiana, now living up in British Columbia. Working in customer service to support a habit of tooling around the forest service roads looking for interesting sights out in the wilderness.

Stranger, frequent reader, sporadic commenter. Field? genetics. Age? 40. Why do I keep coming back? Love the blogs, and always leave having learned something.

Hi Ed,
I'm John Gregson - a 23-year old music teacher and pro guitarist, with a big interest in science and all the associated gubbins which I sometimes feel prompted to blog about...
I really enjoy following your posts, always makes me feel slightly better equipped to understanding the world!

Hi Ed: Daily reader of this and a few other science blogs, mostly neuroscience, drug stuff. Occasional commenter.

I am a 35-year old female currently employed by "big" academia. I've spent my entire career as a veterinary technician, licensed in New York State and certified as a laboratory animal technologist. I've worked in small animal hospitals, corporate owned animal hospitals, academia big and small, and one small, private hospital... I'm currently on the regulatory compliance side of animal based research.

I wish that I could remember a few posts off hand I particularly loved, but I'd honestly say that it's your writing style that brings me back more so than topic. So kudos!

39 year-old software developer in Oregon. Masters degree in biology, leaving science after student teaching at the high school level.

I still miss science terribly and I try to assuage that ache by keeping up with the latest science news. Often it gets turned into dinner time conversation with the kids.

Former biotech lab technician fed up with being an underling but too much of a generalist to be interested in getting a PhD. Now trailing a PhD spouse to a rural US Midwest research station & considering blogging as a way to develop street cred for a career change. Enjoy learning about the world. Appreciate your "from the research" blog.

I am your SciBling, jealous of your prolific and high-quality science blogging. I wish I could do it (or a least more often than twice a year) as well.

I am a 36 year-old casino manager from California, currently living and working in Las Vegas, NV.

rss subscriber (that means i don't miss any post, though i might read it several days apart), total stranger, eastern europe, 29 yrs old, bsc in computer science, working as a software developer, reading your posts during lunch break or to cheer up during late hours. also finding innumerable subjects and inspiration in your posts, only to give up on them the following morning (for my bsc thesis in psychology which should have been finished last year). "not exactly rocket science" got the fewest deletions of posts before reaching the end of the article (that's another way of saying that it's one of the most accessible and interesting blogs i stumbled upon)

63 year old retired Ph.D. psychologist with background in clinical (early years) and administrative psychology (grant writing, IRB, etc.). Former manager of statewide unit for mental health statistical analysis and strategic planning.

Speedwell. 42, female, straight, atheist, libertarian, Texan, work as a software support specialist and trainer for a large competitor of Hallibuton's. Really interested in science and learning and in "liberty and justice for all."

I'm a 30-year-old full-time science writer and spare-time humorous biology/biodiversity blogger living in Boulder, Colorado. Won a AAAS Science Journalism award in 2007 and like to stay abreast of the work of colleagues. Have no idea how you are able to produce so much content on top of a full-time job! Keep up the good work. : )

Jennifer Frazer
http://theartfulamoeba.com

Middle aged chemist from the southwest (as in New Mexico, not Cornwall).

Retired airline captain, interested in neuroscience, marine biology, and literatrue. I enjoyed the book Not Exactly Rocket Science.

technically inclined stranger living in Holland, layperson, interested in science etc

30 year old educational software developer from WI. I subscribe to PZ Meyers' RSS, and noticed your blog in the sidebar, which has much more interesting entries on actual science. I especially like all of the articles on social insects.

27-year-old aspiring translator turned watchmaker from Finland, currently living on the Isle of Man. Have commented once or twice, read daily, a very interested layperson, I keep tabs on about 50 or so science-related blogs. Probably won't have nearly as much time to read in future, though, as I'm moving back to Finland soon to start my own workshop and our first child is due in late August.

45 years old,Interested lay-person.I have no formal background of science. I live in a remote town in South India. Our town got internet connection only 2 years back. Since then I am following your blog and occasionally posting my comments. I am feeling as if I have taken some online science course and you, PZ, Couternix, Carl Zimmer,
Greg Laden and others are faculty. I occasionally write about science in my mothertongue 'Kannada'. I really appreciate your effort in communicating science to laypersons like me. Thank you.

Professionally, I'm an Administrative Assistant for a commissioning firm in Boulder, Colorado who is seriously considering returning to school next Fall to obtain degrees in Biology and Secondary Education.

Personally, I'm a mother of two (a neurotypical eleven-year-old girl, and a high-funcitoning Classically Autistic ten-year-old boy); an Atheist; activist; writer and sometimes blogger; gamer, Internet, English, Biology, Physics and Sociology geek; web cartoonist; and all around defender against the forces of woo.

Nice to meet you all. *smiles*

- Tanya

Originally a quantum chemist, later a software engineer, now retired.

I enjoy reading your wide range of science postings.

20 yo Brazilian Computer Science undergrad.
Been lurking for a while; this blog is awesome.

I'm a 75 y.o. Ph.D. in physical chemistry, retired after 42 years teaching. Now I'm playing duplicate bridge, gardening, traveling, studying elementary number theory, reading. I only recently found your blog. My wife reads Science and Chemical and Engineering News and tells me what is interesting and new in science. She's a Ph.D. in English and Linguistics. I read Language Log and keep her up on it.

We have one daughter (trained as a geologist, now working in another area at Sandia) and two grandchildren. We got an excellent son-in-law (through no efforts on our part, he's a Ph.D. in Physics, also at Sandia.) They live 920 miles from us, so we see them about 3 times a year.

Congratulations on the award.

I'm a 30-something mom-to-be, adoption blogger, animal rescuer, amateur environmentalist, aspiring nature illustrator, and big fan of Scienceblogs in general. I mostly lurk, unless directly invited to comment. Hi!

Scientist (background in molecular biology), entrepreneur, software trainer on genomics tools. Voracious reader and prefer science, politics, and history to spend time on between other tasks. Love blogs for that.

42 year old American Chemical Engineer. I worked in automotive paint research and technical service for 15 years before retiring to be a stay-at-home mom of 3.

I enjoy reading your blog because I am interested in current events in biology (and science in general), but lack the vocabulary to read the hard-core biology articles and blogs.

57 year old lawyer; educated as a Princeton rocket scientist (BSE, aerospace) (really); did work for the gov't on fission weapons earlier in life; enjoy all science as a cheerleader and voyeur..

Academic librarian

Im a 22 year old Pakistani Canadian girl with no academic experience in science whatsoever but just love to learn about cool science stuff on my time. I have a degree in Political Science and have yet to figure out what im going to do with that degree. I just love this blog for all the cool stuff that I am enlightened with on a daily basis.

I'm a Finnish mathematician in my mid-forties, also interested in languages, computers and science in general, roughly in this order.

I'm a 23-year-old student, recently graduated from the U of Pittsburgh with a bachelor's in neuroscience and psychology (with a chem minor! :D), soon to start in a Ph.D. someplace much warmer.

Totally agreeing with everyone else above: Your science writing rocks. I share your articles with my non-scientist friends on Facebook fairly often.

I am a graduate student at Colorado State University. I am in my 5th year of studying MeCP2 as it interacts with an in virto chromatin template. I specialize in purifying proteins or bits of proteins, running the analytical ultracentrifuge, operating the Circlar Dichroic spectrophotometer and running more gels than I would like to. I do enjoy your blog more than most. I author y own blog at www.tomepainesghost.com.
-Cheers

I'm a 30-year-old usability researcher with a cognitive psychology background. I love reading about consciousness and cognition in humans and other animals, especially from writers who can pass along research findings in a concise and logical manner. Well done, Ed!

I'm female, 33 years, post-doc researcher in evolutionary ecology. I like your blog a lot, am impressed how you always cover the articles I find in my inbox I find intriguing, but don't have the time to read. Thanks a lot!

38, full-time home educator, part-time translator, part-time Open University Student in Art History. Reader of Sci Blogs generally, and occasional commenter. Oh yes, and British living in France. Who needs compartmentalisation?

No one of consequence. 50 years old, in Springfield, MO (USA). Receptionist/data entry. Long-time science groupie.

Assistant Professor, Hydro-geologist. Enjoy reading your clear explanations of things well outside my usual field, but I also appreciate that when you do blog on geology, you get it right. Much better than the run-of-the-mill news reporting.

I'm a 58 year old semi-retired glass artist, backyard naturalist since I was five, interested in most sciences until they get up to more than fifty percent math.

I love these blogs.

32 yr old Editor for Nature handling neuroscience. Total lurker.

I used to do social science research in the healthcare field, also managed a clinical trial site, then motherhood/family issues intervened. Currently I work in communications. Given how many folks commenting here have described themselves as atheists, I now consider myself your token religious reader. I live in the U.S. and enjoy clear, engaging writing which draws on solid research. Found your blog about a year ago via a link from Andrew Sullivan ("The Daily Dish"), and kept reading.

28 year old Mechanical/Automation engineer, mom to a toddler, Torontonian, MA student (in Higher Education theory/policy), lurker, lover of cool science.

Unix Sysadmin, Indianapolis IN. 38yo male
Science junkie from birth. Highschool dropout, but continue self-education daily. Thanks for sharing.

35-something interesting lay-person (or so I hope). Have devoured pop science in book- and magazine form for almost as long as I could read; but no academic science background. Have "worked with computers", support and programming. Took some engineering courses at university and should probably finish that some day. Also interested in language, SF, "hacker culture" and a million other things.

Oh, and:

24-year-old web developer in Utah. Found you via Bruce Schneier

...I've pimped your blog over at Schneier's too. :-)

university dropout. shortly into my university education i realized i wasn't cut out for a career in the sciences, so i quit. i'm still interested in learning the sciences, however, so i read books and blogs.

38 year old, single, Canadian, female with a Master's in Medieval Studies (specializing in the history of religion). Currently work from home for an independent publisher of fiction. Love science.

By day, I'm in communications for a university. By night, I'm a grad student in liberal studies. I'm researching how fiction affects bioethical discussions as well as the public's perception of science. I have no science background but I'm a total science groupie. I'm very interested in the "third culture" discussion: getting scientists to be better at communicating to non-scientists and getting the general public to seek out a deeper understanding of science. As long as I'm commenting, I should tell you that I often site your writing as an example of excellent science communication. I'm not just trying to suck up - it's true!

23 yrs old
Baccalaureate in Psychology and Biology (Specializing in Genetics and Ethology [animal & human]), and headed towards a Mastery in both.
Wanted to be a paleontologist when I was a kid, but I found adaptive behavior to be a heck of a lot more fun, but you have to study people first to get some sort of relatable grounding. Then I discovered the effects of genetics in behavior and had to look into that as well.
May possibly go into environmental and animal Law, or become a wild animal veterinarian & behaviorist... or really have fun and become a copy-editor.
I also enjoy Catholic Apologetics, Pharmacology, Culture Studies (with emphasis on Eastern cultures and mythology), Anthropology & Human evolution trends, Linguistics, Coding (learning PHP5 now), Cajun cuisine, Sci Fi novels, MST3k-style mocking of bad movies and spitz-breed dogs. I also lurk compulsively.

Sorry, apparently I mucked up my URL. I'm trying again. And hi there, Bob O'H!

UC Santa Barbara PhD student in Materials Science and Engineering in my late 20's. I follow your links from twitter whenever something catches my eye.

A strange lizard-human hybrid.
A compulsively snarky and insatiably curious autodidact trying not to let her schooling interfere with her education.
Also, a 25 year old *mumble*-year PhD student studying innate immune responses to malaria, a la signal transduction biochemistry.

Amber
22yrs old from Denver, CO
Just graduated with a biomedical engineering degree from GWU in DC. I am now working as a PRA doing lung cancer research in Denver. I plan on getting my PhD and eventually becoming a professor. I am obsessed with blogs and have been reading your for at least a year (i forget). I think that they have a huge place in science!!

Double degree, linguistics and philosophy. Candidate, MA in Digital Anthropology, UCL. Was a journalist; abandoned journalism for a couple of years to study web editing (yes, codes are poetry!) and animation; now a journalist AGAIN, but still dreams of returning to the bosom of social sciences. Your blog is cool.

39 year old from the Toronto area, BA in psychology, currently working on my MSc in Clinical Nutrition. Married 12 years to the best guy in the world. No kids, one dog, one cat.

From Brisbane, Australia, science degree graduate (ecology), currently unemployed, 46 years and we've never met.

23,New Zealand, BSC in ecology and Marine Bio - google reader thought i might like this blog - and i do!

Hi Ed! Although we follow each other on Twitter and FB, you're absolutely right that we don't know each other all that well! This should be corrected, hehe. Well I know all about you and what you've been up to courtesy of your blog, so here's a few things about me.

I'm 30, live in London, and used to work in a bank and went back to University to get a Masters in Cognitive Neuropsychology. That was on top of my Bachelors in Psychology. Right now I'm interested in a change of career so I'm looking around for a good job as a Research Assistant or something so as to gain at least a year's worth of clinical experience before I apply for a DClinPsy. After that, I expect to take a specialist course in clinical neuroscience and aim to treat patients with brain injuries and/or interesting neurological conditions.

Recently I met up with Mo, Vaughan and Natasha Mitchell, it was very enlightening. Hope to meet up with you too one day.

You have a great blog here, very enlightening.

I am a layman, a landscape gardener, with a penchant (if not the brains) for science. I appreciate the scientific mindset because it provides a legitimate way to understand the world around us. I find the biological sciences most interesting, especially when combined with history. I run a few blogs on my interests which you may have come across occasionally.

I'm a 35 year old civil servant policy analyst, with a masters in social science research methods, a liberal protestant, which is private, I value good data or you know SCIENCE in decision making but I haven't set foot in a hard science class since I took geology to finish my gen ed requirements in college.

I'm an evolutionary geneticist (postdoc) in Wellington, New Zealand, and a fledgling blogger. Your blog was one of the first I came across when I started to get interested in science blogging, and its still one of my favourites.

I'm a 22-year-old undergraduate at the University of California, studying neurobiology. I love to browse and learn new things about science--whether they are in my field or not. I'm looking to graduate soon, and will then pursue a Ph.D. in neuroscience, most likely.

Retired technical writer, former zookeeper, rabid environmentalist, natural science junkie. Now I write zoo mysteries, e.g., Night Kill. Thanks for your blog. It's a lot of work, a good job, a great service to the rest of us. Portland, Oregon

Middle-aged autistic female who has never attended university as a student. Also a researcher affiliated with a University of Montreal autism research group. Also one of the few autism researchers on the planet who blogs.

I'm a computer-chair Paleontology/aerodynamics/physics expert who lives in Washington State. I also draw Dinosaurs, and believe I'm reasonably good at it (although you are free to draw your own conclusions!).

On top of that, I manage to read your blog in between Deviantart and Gmail.

Ph.D. student in electrical engineering, specializing in analog and mixed-signal circuit design. Greatly enjoying your writing, Ed - keep it up!

I'm a computer science student at Victoria University in New Zealand. Particularly interested in computational neuroscience but haven't done enough prerequisites to actually study it (although in my spare time I'm writing a neural network algorithm which does a few unique things). Also very interested in science generally and I've enjoyed reading your blog for about a year.

24 year old in a Computational Neuroscience PhD program in Boston. I studied Mathematics as an undergrad and have a master's in theoretical computer science. Your blog is an excellent read - congratulations on the award!

Practicing geologist (environmental consulting work), living in northern California. A stranger. Love your blog! I mostly frequent political blogs - but yours is one of two Science blogs I visit regularly.

Still here.

http://scienceblogs.com/notrocketscience/2008/07/spread_the_word.php#co…

I'm a scientist from Spain working on molecular modelling and computer simulations. Want to start writing about science.

Cheers

Practicing scientist stranger based in Australia, with PhD and working in R&D in the biotech/pharmaceutical industry. Enjoying reading this blog, as well as a few others that I randomly stumbled across and subscribed to, including Molecule of the Day, and Neurophilosophy. Also getting into the In Vivo Blog. I have to say, yours is one of the best I've seen, and the incredible frequency of your postings always exhausts me as I strive to empty my inbox each day.

I'm a stranger. I'm a Seattle-based electronic / hip hop artist and I write songs about nerdy and sciencey things. I have very little formal education, so your blog is very useful to me.

35 yr old nursing student (with a useless philosophy degree) and a morbid curiosity about the freaky facets of existence... like traumatic insemination!! So cool.

British student currently studying Chinese, moving into social anthropology next year. This blog is one of the most fascinating on Scienceblogs, and it's the best one to read whilst having a cup of tea and Shreddies in the morning. Shreddies, PG Tips and beetle cock.

But seriously, very enjoyable writing and interesting subjects. What more could you want?

24-year-old two-time college dropout (engineering and computer science) with a love of all things creative and expressive.

Will eventually finish compsci degree and focus on graphics, but not before escaping the economic crush and getting entry-level work in IT.

Thanks for publishing such a well written blog that conveys scientific information and news in a compellingly readable format. I'm a one-time lawyer now a mediator who is a science junkie (despite the fact that my studies in the sciences in college were limited to courses like "Physics for Poets"). Science teaches us so much about the world around us and gives us insights into human nature - thanks for making it accessible to laypeople like me.

I'm a 27 yo electrical engineer. I love learning about everything. I'd like to be a professional student but, since I can't afford that, I read everything I can in my small amounts of spare time instead.

Heya Ed,

36 year old computer programmer, musician, and writer. I have an Autistic daughter and found the site based on one of you articles on autism. Since then I've come back every few days. There's usually at least one or two stories that interest me.

As a writer, it's always good to collect bizarre nuggets of information to use.

Wow! Talk about a range and breadth of folks! I am 53, a groundwater consultant living on a small island in British Columbia, who gets online (high speed- even in the bush!) every morning before commuting 100 metres to my office and checks out all my "feed buddies". Geologist by training, I read general science, neuro-everything, geo, bio, evo-devo. I have commented before but rarely. Recent books - Evil Genes, How We Decide, DNA (by Watson)
Keep up the great words!

47-year old, stranger, mom to 2 young men (who introduced me to Scienceblogs) who are studying mechanical engineering and mathematics, senior lecturer in English at a small liberal arts college, community news columnist and director of a small non-profit in a former life, life-long interest in science, about to go back to school for another degree. Volunteered to teach science classes to elementary school students for the local summer reading program for 12 years--science should be fun and accessible!

28 year old Mechanical Engineer in Washington DC.

Keep up the good work.

I am your target audience - nonscientist who wouldn't generally read science blogs, but finds your tone and breadth charming. I've lived all over (including london for months) & now in texas, getting my masters degree in business; liberal arts undergrad.

We have never met (to my knowledge) and I can't even recall how I was directed to your site, but I stop in once or twice a week to see what fascinating (and well-researched) information you've come across lately.

Like everyone else has said, you rock. Don't doubt your work is appreciated. It's superfantastic :)

Evolutionary Biologist / Ecologist...postdoc at UC Davis. Love the blog, congratulations on the award.

A campaigner for a coalition of non-profit organizations here in Vancouver, Canada working to change the harmful net-cage salmon farming industry. I'm not a scientist, but am interested in most of the topics you post about -- thank you!

Production manger for an academic publisher. My degree is in history, but I've always loved science. I stumbled onto your blog via Pharyngula, and now you're in the linky bar at the top of my browser (along with the IMDb and icanhascheezburger, for points of comparison).

I love all different fields of science, and you do a wonderful job of presenting a broad spectrum of interesting topics with enthusiasm.

32 year old soil scientist for the US Forest Service. Turned on to your blog by my husband, a carpenter with a big brain and an appreciation for good writing. Sometimes I read it over his shoulder.

Atheist from birth, as best I can remember, and Ohio native. Learner by nature, casual experimenter by consequence, Captionist by vocation for a community service agency that provides services to Deaf clientele. My job is amazing: when school is in, I go to college to caption classes for clients (in the class, real-time), and learn stuff without the obligation to classwork. When school is out, I am super-bored, stuck at the office, and end up reading a hundred hojillion sciencey articles. Happened to read a lot of them at NotRocket today, figured I'd weigh in on this thread, since given the interesting nature of the content I've seen today alone it's likely I'll be keeping this URL in my bookmarks-to-check-daily.

34yr old lady from Bristol, UK who loves computers and gadgets, with no science education (apart from GCSE level) at all but who wants to learn more, and your blog is the best by far, straight-forward and fun to read.

34yr old lady from Bristol, UK who loves computers and gadgets, with no science education (apart from GCSE level) at all but who wants to learn more, and your blog is the best by far, straight-forward and fun to read.

Patrick, 29
Live in westminster Co
work as a business analyst.

I don't have a background in science, but I have a college degree in math.

I'm very interested in science and what is true generally. Most of my free time reading is spent reading sciencey blogs, science books, etc.

Enjoy your blog, especially when you post on spiders. I have a thing for spiders.

I'm from Seattle, now in Texas, changing careers from research tech to science communication/illustration. My degrees are in biochem and genetics, but I'm interested in almost any aspect of science, especially life and social sciences. I follow this blog on and off as part of my continuing personal quest to understand what humans are, how they work, and the stories they tell themselves.

I'm 18 and from Cleveland and living in West Virginia, where unfortunately science takes a back seat. The people around here are decent enough, and the terrain is spectacular. I am fascinated by interesting things, and have little patience for things that are not. Your blog falls under the former. I'm starting school in the fall, with an undecided major. Why choose between microbiology, psychology, physics, economics, or neuroscience when I can try them all first?

Wow,

What a wonderful mixture, every facet of human society & study all momentarily on the same trajectory.
If only we get our respective governments onto the same wavelength! Cynicism aside, humanity is a spectacular organism in so many ways.

Lex Pelger
a 26 year old from lancaster, pa (home of the amish)
a degree in biochem and some time doing stem cell research before taking off for india for a year. Just finished a six month hitchhiking trip around the states and now getting ready for a year trip from SE asia hitchhiking to europe.

I love your blog because you write so clearly on so many fascinating topics. You're my favorite science blogger. Keep up the great work. Maybe I'll look you up when I get to london.

40 year old classical musician from Chicago, IL. I consider your blog part of my ongoing science education :)

I've enjoyed your blog for several years but have not posted before. We have not met. I followed a link here from "Tetrapod Zoology", I think. I've loved all science since discovering Scientific American as a child in 1965. I've got a master's in geology, but now work at a public library near the capital of Michigan. You pick interesting topics and you write well. I'll be back.

33 years old, French PhD student (1st year) in experimental psychology at the University of Birmingham, UK.
Discovered NERS last year when doing my M.Sc (in France), I think by looking at Science Blogs directory. I can't remember how I discovered scientific blogging, but the day I did a whole new way of keeping in touch with research opened to me, and today I just can't imagine how researchers were doing before internet (including to procrastinate). I am the kind of readers who more rarely than sometimes comments, but I think I haven't done it yet on yours.
I am mainly a reader of your blog, Cognitive Daily and Of Two Minds, within the family of Science Blogs. Out of this family, I am reading the British Psychological Society blog essentially. It's very targeted, and I guess the plus when reading yours is that I can be tempted to go out of my frame.

I'm a stranger, 42 years old, scientist/management in a small biotech in the Northeast USA. My background is in chemistry, neurobiology and genetics. I'm an information junkie, dancer and sculptor in my free time. I don't recall how I first found your blog, but wandered over one day and never left. :)

Stranger, lurker, Sb fan, writer. Genetics PhD drop-out who struggled as project manager for cancer lab and big pharm consulting firm before finding a niche in science education and advocacy.

Retired Jill of all trades, nature blogger, BCer, "interesting lay-person" (as you put it). Some science training, 'way back when. Badge wearer.

I'm a software engineer in upstate New York. I think I ended up here following a link from mentalfloss.com and keep coming back for more.

Middle aged Toronto blog lurker. Teach sociology and philosophy at a couple of universities. Biology undergrad; life-long nature buff. Having tried my hand at the kind of thing you do, Ed, I know how hard it is to do well (even just once a month!).

Lorinda
51 yrs
City Council Assistant living in Southern Californa, gardening geek. Have always been interested in nature and science. Greatly enjoy reading your work.

60 something Accountant from Texas.
I love nature, science and,
I really enjoy your articles.

21 yr old aspiring physicist at San Francisco State University who randomly stumbled upon your site just a few weeks ago and has been a huge fan ever since.

I'm an evolutionary anthropologist and am planning to defend my dissertation in September. I study contemporary human courtship from an evolutionary perspective, incorporating anthropology, psychology, biology, and economics; I also get pretty excited about parasite-mediated sexual selection and reproductive ecology. I'm a little stressed about putting myself on the academic job market in this climate, but I'm going to give it a shot and see what comes up. In the meantime, I'm working as the resident statistician and researcher for a nonprofit in children and family services. We haven't met and I don't have a public, science-oriented blog, but that's subject to change.

BA in biology a long time ago, but didn't pursue an advanced degree, and don't work in biology now. My fascination with the field--and the natural sciences in general--has never waned, however, and all my spare time goes to wildlife photography, and attempting to learn as much as possible about my subjects. First arrived at NERS via a link from PZ at Pharyngula on the occasion of the Ida rollout, and have been a regular reader ever since.

Mid 50s - animal husbandry major but my job is teaching Russian and Ukrainian, and translation thereof. I still love biology, and also astronomy.

Assistant professor in biology at a teaching college in Wisconsin, came here from Pharyngula and have checked back in semi-regularly ever since. You provide a lot of interesting information outside of my own area of knowledge that I enjoy sharing with my students. Congrats and please keep up the good work!

28yr science writer from Amsterdam, the Netherlands. regulary check in on science blogs to keep up and to come with new ideas.

I'm a 22 year old college graduate (BA in psychobiology)with a background in neuroscience basic research. I've mostly researched mechanisms of sleep and alzheimer's disease using rat and murine models. I'm currently working as a clinical research assistant for a musculoskeletal research group. I find myself missing the theoretical/basic research side as I trying to figure out what to do next, what degree to pursue, etc. I browse science blogs to feed that hunger and try to narrow my future plans.

I'm a forty-five year old former manual laborer, currently a multimedia art student. I've got a strong layman's interest in the sciences, particularly the life sciences.

My strongest field is paleontology -- some of my reconstructions are at the University of Bristol DinoBase website right next to the big boys, and I'm an affiliate of the Art Evolved blog.

My main focus, however is writing fiction.

Software guy with an interest in science. Found your blog via some other blog pointer to your hilarious take on how Ida fossil will change the world. Stayed on for the smart posts always laced with humor. And the word-play, of course (even though some may call it cheesy)

Hi! I'm in Durham, NC, US. I'm 43 y.o., an architect/geographer with a latent love of science. I found your blog through a weekly email of compilations of online science writing.
Cheers!

32 yearold postdoc in Chemistry. Did a minor in Biochem in ugrad. Love reading your synopsis of stories, some of which I've already seen in big journals.

Multicellulate...

PI of a developmental biology lab in Japan. The writing here is excellent, and you do a great job bringing out the main point of a paper.

23-year-old reporter from Canada. Currently working for a weekly newspaper, but planning to go back to school for a second degree in science. Found this blog through Mind Hacks and stayed because the writing is excellent.

I'm a young scientist in the field of quantum information theory. I recently began reading your blog on the recommendation of a friend. I'm a stranger from Boulder, Colorado, USA.

My name is Sandra, I'm from New York but live in Ecuador. I'm a part-time jewelry maker, part-time science student, part-time web monkey, possibly a writer, age 22. I sell my work online at http://www.caipocha.com . I found scienceblogs.com by accident and this is now the blog I visit the most.

I'm a stranger to you, one in the southwest US. 25 year old almost rocket scientist (female), disabled by a neurodegenerative disease. No more background in science school-wise but what is common to an engineer, but I'm interested beyond that and in most of the entries of yours that I've read (which is back to the beginning of the year, I believe). I came here from another one of these blogs maybe a month ago, but I don't remember how. May just have been the "Now on ScienceBlogs" at the top. Never commented here before. Vaguely wonder if you could make rocket science not rocket science. Perhaps we've established that I really am something else.

Student (humane discipline) from germany.

I found out about this blog through a link on Ben Goldacre's excellent Bad Science blog. I don't work in anything sciencey but find this subject fascinating, especially when it's as well written and clear as this. I'm always interested to read about it here then hear about it on the news a day or two later.

I'm a 20 something female entrepreneur pursuing a Master's degree in Engineering. I live in Canada and like to read up on topics out of my field for inspiration. I found your blog through other science related blogs.

I just came across your site today when my friend sent me a link to the article about how cats control us! ha! AndI love how you write. I'm a graphic designer by training, and I own a marketing agency, but I also have a computer programming technical background and a love of all things scientific.

Almost 20y/o Australian student doing a Bachelor of Biotechnology. I was linked here thismorning off slashdot.org. I am still reading though your work but have found many things that interest me. I enjoy reading science articles to see what is happening in the field of science. I appreciate the work you must be putting in to find and explain interesting science articles. I've had to do this once for an assignment and it was hard!

I'm a webdesigner/programmer from The Netherlands with an interest in science. I try to read as much as I can about topics I find interesting and your blog helps me to keep track of new developments.
Keep up the good work!

Hi Ed, I am a 25 year old student at the University of Wyoming in America. I will be graduating with my Bachelor's of Science in Biology in December, and I have no idea what I want to do with my life. I just know that I would love to stay involved in the biological sciences somehow. Infact, i think that you have a pretty cool job!
I think that it is great that you are facilitating people who have an interest in science, and even those who may not in deciphering the findings and research of journal articles (which do take a certain talent to be able to fully understand, by the way.)
Kudos to you!
I will definitely be a return reader!

I am a university teacher of 35 years. I have a rather varied teaching assignment and am always looking for good examples for my lectures. Your blog is a time-efficient way to learn something new that might make an interesting example for my students. You also write very well, so I just enjoy your site.

I am a musician and multi-media artist. I've always loved science and I really enjoy this blog.

Hi Ed! I love your articles and writing style! I'm a 23 y.o. art-lover from the SF bay area who researches with viruses at a vaccine company while figuring out what to do with the next segment of her life. Congrats on the prize, and keep up the good work. :)

Post-doctoral chemist/microfluidics engineer at a UK uni. Been reading your blog for about 2 years now.

I'm a 30 yr old with a (biomedical, mechanical, and computer) engineering background. I love your writing style and content. Congrats, and thanks!

I am a 23 year-old, recent college graduate with a background in environmental biology. I currently work on water pollution issues with a non-profit, but I also have interests in ecological design, wetland science, and I have a mild obsession with marine invertebrates. I thoroughly enjoy your blog, it's always an entertaining and informative read. Thanks!

34, F, Photographer in Ohio, USA. I just found you today, but I will be back. The last time I even thought about science (aside from watching Finding Nemo), was my delight to find I passed my Chemistry class (by one very generous point) in high school. I find myself drawn to your humorous and simple writing style. Youâve engaged me, sir. Well done.

I'm a 50ish USAn, teaching chemistry and biology in Ohio. I have an MS in microbiology, and did research in virology and plant physiology for a number of years. One day I woke up and said to my wife, "I'm not sure this is fun anymore." She knew what I meant -- while the science itself was exciting, the academic politics and the constant chasing after grant money as part of a team was beginning to wear. So she, wise woman, said "how about teaching?" So that's what I do now.

Your blog allows me to bring new, exciting and relevant research to my students in terms that they can, with a little explaining, understand and appreciate. It goes a long way to answering the eternal question "What good is all this science stuff, and why should we learn it?

Congratulations, and please keep blogging!