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Most writers understand what they’re getting into when they pick a beat. Breaking news is fast and furious; entertainment and culture needs events and variety; and sports does whatever it is sports do. But a STEM kid wandering away from the highly predictable world of research and into science journalism is facing a chaotic new challenge mostly devoid of peer review, ultraefficient systems and the comfort of absolute facts.
Continuing science education is usually focused on following meticulous directions and connecting the preformed dots. Meanwhile, the artistic counterparts endeavor to cause others to think differently. Many people see the values of art and science as compatible as oil and water, which makes science journalism an alarmingly paradoxical task.…