What are some of the tricks and techniques of writing about science for nonscientists?
Good science writing is no different than any other sort of good writing. You must be clear. Other techniques that are particularly important in science writing: be specific, give examples, use analogies, and whenever possible, imagine the invisible thing as it might be if it were visible. For example, I asked a biologist what a cell would look like if it were blown up big enough to place on her desk. Her extremely vivid reply: snot. Q: You interviewed dozens of scientists for this book. Whom did you find to be the most engaging? A: I loved going out in the field with the geologist Kip Hodges and getting very, very chilled while perching on a big boulder that looked like a giant chunk of chocolate chip cookie dough and that dated back half a billion years. I loved hearing about the universe from astronomer William Blair, who used a roll of toilet paper to illustrate the passage of time. In retrospect, I even loved it when Scott Strobel tried to force me to learn to play Mastermind, and
