The Myth of ‘Dumbing Down’
One of the pleasures I enjoy as an editor at The Atlantic is bringing the work of scientists and scholars to our pages. From the Object Lessons series on the ordinary lives of everyday things, to the Metropolis Now project on technology and urbanism, to our regular coverage of science, technology, and health, I have had the privilege of editing hundreds of academics, writing on topics as varied as Google’s push into smart cities, the ethics of throwing away your kids’ art, how the microscope changed scientific knowledge, and why Americans love the suburbs.
I’m hardly alone in this effort. Today you can read scholars in their own words all across (including in the new section, helmed by , a historian who from academia to journalism). Those newcomers join an august cohort of writers of the to , and a venerable group of contemporaries who are also academics, from to .
