Greetings from London, where I’ll be situated for the next few days.  I’m here to attend the Science Online London 2010 conference on Friday and Saturday, representing PLoS.

I’m happy to announce that yesterday we announced the launch of a grand new endeavor, a scientific blog network, PLoS Blogs.  As the resident community manager (and avid in-house proponent of PLoS getting into the blogging scene), I’ve been tapped to manage this group as well.

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Copernicus and Galileo had it easy.

Those two lived during the middle of the European Renaissance, a time when creativity and curiosity were norms in society.  Sure, the church came down hard on their views on where the earth stood in relation to the rest of the universe.  But, basically, the church simply disagreed with the details of their argument.  (Well, I guess calling someone a heretic is slightly more than disagreeing with someone, but you know what I mean…)

The scientific minds who really had rough run-ins with the church lived during the fourth century, under the moral guidance of Augustine, the Catholic archbishop of Hippo.  At that time, science was a sin, as Augustine likened inquisitiveness to a form of lust.  Not a “lust of the flesh”, but more of a “lust to find out and know”.  According to author, William Eamon, Augustine saw no difference between people-watching at the circus or the piazzas and enduring the rigors of scientific study.  Check out the rest of Eamon’s fascinating analysis here.

In a recent post, I talked about the dangers of celebrities promoting pseudoscience.  Well, maybe the celebrities have redeemed themselves.  GQ featured a pictorial of scientists kicking it with rock stars such as Joe Perry and Sheryl Crow, aimed to raise public awareness of important medical and scientific research.

Not since will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas appeared via hologram (seriously) to talk to CNN’s Anderson Cooper during the 2008 Presidential Election, has the rock & roll establishment nerded-out so much.  But I applaud this effort to break down the stereotypes of scientists.  Despite common misconceptions, we too have a sense of humor and can have fun.  Enjoy.