Science is Culture: Seed Magazine

As we all know, I have a little bit of a problem when it comes to subscribing to magazines. Even when I try to cut down and not renew some of my subscriptions (recently I've given the axe to Gourmet, Martha Stewart Living, and National Geographic), I somehow find new magazines to subscribe to. Often my new finds aren't worth writing home about and pretty much cover the territory one might expect. In this case, though, I think I've found one that you really might want to check out: Seed Magazine.

Seed describes itself as "the magazine that connects science and society" and I think it does a pretty nice job of that. It has a mixture of wee sound bites and more in-depth articles on scientific topics that assume the reader is an interested and intelligent person that may not have a lot of detailed scientific knowledge. Complex topics aren't brushed over, instead they are explained in an understandable and relatable way. The magazine also has a neat layout, lovely color photography, and a sense of humor about its geekiness.

Even if you don't want to shell out the $20 bucks a year for a subscription, the magazine's website has a ton of full-length articles, as well as lots of interesting links and sciencey-type blogs to explore. My new favorite just-discovered navigation tool is the Phylotaxis. Go ahead and run your mouse through the wavering dots at the top of that page (it is also found on the main Seed page). Now click somewhere in there. You get more wavering dots and a sliding scale that can be moved between science and culture. Move the scale around a bit and click somewhere in the dots. Bam, an interesting article appears for your reading pleasure! I could spend hours playing with those quivering dots.