Spreading the Word About Science and Math

(Bloomberg Opinion) -- The Simons Foundation was looking for a new editor for an existing magazine. They had reached out to Thomas Lin, digital editor at The New York Times, for suggestions.

Lin thought about who might be right for the role, but instead, came up with a different idea. Knowing that the foundation’s benefactor, James Simons, has an interest in improving math and science curricula in schools, Lin proposed a new magazine and webssite covering breakthroughs in fundamental sciences. The foundation liked the idea, so Quanta Magazine was born. The award-winning, editorially independent science and math news site is published by the Simons Foundation, which itself is funded by Simons, founder of the hedge fund Renaissance Technologies.

In our conversation, Lin describes the tools needed to be a good science writer — an appreciation for math and science and the ability to communicate complex issues in plain English.

Lin has written two anthologies on math and science: Alice and Bob Meet the Wall of Fire: The Biggest Ideas in Science from Quanta; and The Prime Number Conspiracy: The Biggest Ideas in Math from Quanta. He studied physics in college, originally planning to become an engineer, but was also attracted to journalism. He ended up on the national desk of the Times before moving to the science desk.

His favorite books are here; A transcript of our conversation is available here.

You can stream or download the full conversation, including the podcast extras on Apple iTunes, Bloomberg, Overcast and Stitcher. All of our earlier podcasts on your favorite host sites can be found here.

Next week we speak with Professor Scott Galloway of the New York University Stern School of Business, discussing his new book, The Algebra of Happiness: Notes on the Pursuit of Success, Love, and Meaning.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Jonathan Landman at jlandman4@bloomberg.net

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.

Barry Ritholtz is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist. He founded Ritholtz Wealth Management and was chief executive and director of equity research at FusionIQ, a quantitative research firm. He is the author of “Bailout Nation.”

©2019 Bloomberg L.P.