Rooted Words Bring Poetry and Prose Back to Earth Science

It wasn’t long ago that scientists such as Reginald Daly, William Davis, and John Hack communicated their research with lofty prose. Earth was magnificent to behold, and its processes could only be described with metaphors that read like Greek poetry. But it seems that with each passing generation, metaphor and ambitious descriptions have been continuously expunged from scientific articles. On Wednesday, February 24, a group of scientists, writers, students, and local community members joined together at the O’Donohue Family Stanford Educational Farm to share excerpts from their own writing and, in some small way, bring poetry back to Earth science.

The ongoing series, Rooted Words, is organized by Professor of the Practice Thomas Hayden and a small group of others in Stanford’s School of Earth, Energy & Environmental Sciences. “We are trying to create a gathering place for a community that loves science, and loves the words we use to talk about science,” said Hayden.