THE HANDSTAND

JUNE 2002

The feature "The Social Psychology of Modern Slavery" in the April 2002 issue of Scientific American is one reason why one would still buy this magazine. It reports an informative investigation of a highly topical, social and psychological phenomenon. True to the style of Scientific American it is written by an expert in the field, with complementary illustrations, and plenty of further references.

However a comparison with the May 1978 issue shows some worrisome trends in this stalwart publication. For instance the magazine is much shorter with 84 pages compared with 172. The focus of the May 1978 volume is on 8 substantial articles by reputable scientists covering a wide range of scientific interests. The April 2002 edition has 6 shorter articles, 2 of which are written by staff writers rather than scientists directly involved in research.

A more detailed comparison of the Physics articles "Ripples in Space time(April 2002)" and "The Cosmic Background Radiation and the new Aether Drift(May 1978)" shows up differences in approach. The "Cosmic Background Radiation and the Aether Drift" article is classic Scientific American - a dissemination of recent research results by an actively involved scientist to a wider audience. The paper starts with an outline of the background to the research and its significance. It describes the experiment and the practical problems that had to be overcome. It presents the results and their analysis in the context of other peoples work in this field. The structure is familiar to most scientists and is analogous to say the sonata form in a piece of music. By comparison the "Ripples in Spacetime" article is akin to a comtemporary composition consisting of a juxtaposition of elements. It is written in journalistic fashion by a senior writer attempting to glamorise the topic. There are good illustrations, quotes from personality scientists and information boxes but the introductory scientific background and progression is missing to some extent.

The overall impression of the new Scientific American is that the target audience and their expectations for this publication have changed. Horever the magazine certainly mirrors the impact of technology on our lives today with subjects headings such as information technology, biotechnology and health. But sadly the numerous information bites organised in columns reflect the shorter attention span and more superficial requirements of our information overload condition.

Anonymous, Text received at THE HANDSTAND.