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What Does the Public Need to Know About
Science? by Bruce V. Lewenstein
Nobody understands science, fret the statistics-watchers. But
things really aren't so dire. The true problem is scientists'
unreasonable expectations of the public, and of themselves.
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Emissaries to the Stars: The Astronomers
of Ancient Maya, by Anthony F. Aveni
Ancient astronomies have lessons to teach modern astronomy.
In Maya as today, astronomers were a social elite defined by
possession of abstruse knowledge and supported by the faith
of their society. |
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Bullion and Billon: The Astronomical
Images on Old Coins, by Carlson R. Chambliss
Ancient Roman coins used to buy stylish togas and late-model
chariots. Nowadays, these and other coins allow astronomical
numismatists to trace the history of astronomy. |
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Galaxy or Fuzzy Patch? The Meaningful
but Meaningless Language of Science, by James C. White II
Astronomers are caught in a quandary. The language they speak
binds them into a community and allows them to speak precisely
about complex phenomena. But the jargon turns laypeople off
from science and from scientists. |
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A Walk Through the Astronomy Village,
by Stephen M. Pompea and Craig Blurton
How can teachers communicate the social process that is science?
With NASA's new Astronomy Village multimedia software,
they can let kids experience it for themselves: observing runs,
image processing, even a press conference. |
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1994 Annual Fund Drive |
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Departments
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2 |
Editorial,
by George Musser |
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Letters to the Editor |
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Society News |
6 |
World
Beat: Israel, by Sara
C. Beck
Israeli astronomers face the problems of science in a part-developed,
part-developing country. |
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Echoes of the Past, by Katherine Bracher
Were it not for the dedication of laypeople, astronomy would
barely function. Charles Hitchcock Adams was proof of that.
The father of Ansel Adams ran the ASP from his kitchen table.
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Point-Counterpoint,
by Stuart Appelle, Donald W. Goldsmith and Tobias C. Owen
Should we discount the extraterrestrial hypothesis for UFOs?
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