LATFOB: Science writer K.C. Cole
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As a preview for the L.A. Times Festival of Books, coming April 24-25, Jacket Copy is talking to some of the authors you can see there. Science writer K.C. Cole -- formerly of the L.A. Times, now a professor at USC -- answered my questions via e-mail. Ask Cole questions about her book ‘Something Incredibly Wonderful Happens: Frank Oppenheimer and the World He Made Up’ or about how the universe works at her panel ‘Science: The Universe Revealed,’ at 1:30 p.m. on April 24.
Jacket Copy: What do you plan to see or do at the festival this year?
K.C. Cole:
Visit bookstore booths ... especially Skylight!JC: Frank Oppenheimer, the subject of your book ‘Something Incredibly Wonderful Happens,’ once said of teaching, ‘If I can succeed in making understanding seem like fun, then I believe that the student will want to understand many things, that is, he will become curious.’ Do you think that this could also apply to science writing?
KCC:
Absolutely ... once people realize that learning about nature is just one ‘oh wow!’ moment after another, they get hooked; it makes you feel more confident in your abilities to understand just about anything, and delight even more in everything from snails to stars.JC: Does Los Angeles have anything that compares to the Exploratorium that Oppenheimer founded in San Francisco?
KCC: Yes, indeed. Categorically Not! -- which is an art/science/politics/whatnot series of events at Santa Monica Art Studios. It’s a direct outgrowth of the Exploratorium.
JC: What are you currently reading?
KCC:
Marcelo Gleiser’s ‘A Tear in the Edge of Creation: A Radical New Vision for Life in an Imperfect Universe’ and Michael Gazzaniga’s ‘Human: The Science Behind What Makes Your Brain Unique.’JC: Do you have a favorite book or movie about Los Angeles?
KCC:
Steve Martin’s ‘L.A. Story,’ of course. Oh, and the TV series ‘Six Feet Under.’-- Carolyn Kellogg
