Tell me a story. Tell me a story and you are sharing with me a part of yourself, an experience enlivened by your unique perspective. Tell me a story and you are partaking in humankind's most enduring pastime: conveying not just factual information but also the circumstances under which it was gained and the inspiration that gave it life.
Science often misses out on the non-factual component. The peer-reviewed literature is, appropriately, shorn of anecdote and circumstance. It provides the essential mine of information on which other studies can build. But the peer-reviewed literature shouldn't be the only way to record science. What happens at lab benches under the hands and in the minds of researchers, each one of whom brings different perspectives, insights, and motivations is much more textured and complex. The day-by-day struggle for knowledge needs to be more widely studied and appreciated. It is our culture and ...
