Tag Archives: science

Let the children play, it’s good for them

I read this fascinating article by Alison Gopnik on Smithsonian.com and I wanted to share the main thrust of it because I think it reiterates the importance of play. “Walk into any preschool and you’ll find toddling superheroes battling imaginary monsters. We take it for granted that young children play and, especially, pretend. Why do […]

Clever Fools

Now, here’s a clever science game.  A game that actually generates valuable scientific outputs. Foldit is a game from Seth Cooper and his colleagues at the University of Washington where players score points by squeezing as many  proteins as possible into a chemically stable configuration.  Understanding how proteins can fold together is essential to establishing […]