What Does ‘Neutral’ Mean in the Chemistry Lab?

Words Are the Major Currency in Scientific Communication—We Should Get Them Right

Can we, and should we, ever really be neutral? In a new series, Zócalo explores the idea of neutrality—in politics, sports, gender, journalism, international law, and more. In this essay, chemist Paul G. Jasien considers what “neutral” means in the lab and beyond.

The meanings of certain words can be less clear-cut than one might expect when they appear in different contexts. In Lewis Carroll’s classic book Through the Looking-Glass, for instance, the following conversation takes place between Alice and Humpty Dumpty:

“When I use a …

by Paul G. Jasien | May 22, 2024

Public Health Experts, They’re Just Like Us!

It’s Easy to Forget That Our Scientific Community Is Learning About COVID in Real Time, Too

by Kavita K. Trivedi and Valerie M. Deloney | February 9, 2022

A friend recently reminded Kavita, a physician epidemiologist, about a text exchange the two had shared in February 2020. When he asked how worried he should be about SARS-CoV-2, then …

Hello (Bonjour) From Your Friendly TV Translator

I Hope You Enjoy My Subtitles and Dubs—Then Forget I Exist

by David Buchanan | September 29, 2021

If you don’t notice my work, it means I’m doing my job properly.

I’m an audiovisual translator, which means that I—and others like me—help you understand the languages spoken on screen: …

Brenda Barnes

L.A.’s Classical Radio Maven Doesn’t Need to Turn Up the Volume. In Fact, KUSC’s President Is Just Fine With Silence.

by Sarah Rothbard | April 23, 2014

On our way over to happy hour drinks from her downtown office, Brenda Barnes marvels at the glut of construction projects on South Hill Street. “Change,” she tells me, “is …

communications