There are certain math/science sites, writers etc. that I especially look forward to visiting. They deserve special recognition! And we all love awards ceremonies, right, so without further adieu... the awarding of Sheckies!: ;-))
1) For popular science writing in a magazine format.... the Sheckie goes to: Quanta Magazine
https://www.quantamagazine.org/
Of the dozen or more online sites I follow offering regular science writing (with a strong math/physics bent) in a magazine-like format, Quanta is almost in a league of its own, for clarity, consistency, visual appeal, and a stable of superb writers. So Quanta Magazine, and all those associated with it, CONGRATULATIONS, and keep up the fab work!
2) For popular mathematics publishing.... a Sheckie for: Princeton University Press
http://press.princeton.edu/
The more I read, the more I appreciate the behind-the-scenes work of good editors, who really make the books we enjoy so enjoyable! They too-often go unsung. Several major presses regularly publish popular math works, but for consistency, presentation quality, and engaging the reader, Princeton readily tops my list here, and I often wonder, when reading math volumes from other publishers, what could Princeton have done with this!
3) For science and thought-provoking writing in a blog.... this 2016 Sheckie to: Shtetl-Optimized (Scott Aaronson)
http://www.scottaaronson.com/blog/
I get feeds for ~200 math and science-related blogs that I regularly enjoy (a small sampling of what's out there)... still, there are only a few blogs that stand out consistently for their overall quality, range, depth, sincerity, insight, novelty, stimulating discussions and comments (and I say that even though there is plenty Scott writes about that I can't even comprehend). There is no blog I look forward to more than Aaronson's Shtetl-Optimized.
As an honorable mention here though I'll also note Brian Hayes' quirky, unpredictable, fun and always-interesting "Bit Player" blog: http://bit-player.org/
4) For establishing a niche blog serving a long-needed function (reporting on fraudulent, plagiarized, erroneous, and otherwise retracted research; i.e. trying to keep science honest!), and doing it so well.... a Sheckie to Ivan Oransky and his Retraction Watch team:
http://retractionwatch.com/
This one will be no surprise to long-time readers:
5) Specifically for popular mathematics-writing.... a Sheckie to: Keith Devlin
For wonderful shorter pieces, two of Dr. Devlin's main blogs are here:
http://devlinsangle.blogspot.com/
http://profkeithdevlin.org/
And a list of his prolific books over the years at Amazon here:
http://www.amazon.com/Keith-Devlin/e/B000APRPC6
(he's also the math-guy on NPR radio as well)
Sometimes I feel I become an even bigger fan of Keith's with each new piece of his that I read. Maybe when Steven Strogatz or Jordan Ellenberg have a dozen+ books under their belt my choice will shift, but for now, once again for clear, incisive, instructive, thoughtful, logical math communication a big appreciative nod to Dr. Devlin.
6) Finally, an easy one to give out, for popular presentation of mathematics in a video format.... this Sheckie to those wonderful folks at Numberphile:
https://www.youtube.com/user/numberphile/featured
They just keep churning out good, varied, high-quality, entertaining, educational math videos... really an outstanding body-of-work!
Anyway, applause for everyone! (next year I'll try to get Billy Crystal to host)
... and what prizes will all these fine winners receive:
....drrr-r-r-r-r-r-r-rumroll.....
uhhhh, bragging rights to recognition from this teeny corner of the blogosphere....
(and, a Sheckie may be in the mail... or, NOT)
But seriously, so much great stuff out there; had to take a moment to recognize some of it!
[pics via WikimediaCommons]
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