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Matt Kaplan

Goodreads Author

Website

https://www.somuchsciencesolittletime.com

Twitter

mattkaplan12

Genre

Science, Science Fiction, History

Member Since

August 2013

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/paleomatt

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I'm a retained science correspondent with The Economist and have been contributing to the newspaper on a weekly basis for more than a decade. Over the years, I've also written for National Geographic, The New York Times, Scientific American, Nature and New Scientist. Outside of my journalistic endeavours, I've long been intrigued by the ways in which our ancestors tried to explain mysterious aspects of the natural world with mythology. To this end, I wrote two books on the subject: Science of the Magical and The Science of Monsters. I was awarded a Knight Fellowship in 2014, presumably for writing well, and used the opportunity to study immunology at MIT and folklore at Harvard.

An unabashed geek,* I wrote the widely circulated From Gollum I'm a retained science correspondent with The Economist and have been contributing to the newspaper on a weekly basis for more than a decade. Over the years, I've also written for National Geographic, The New York Times, Scientific American, Nature and New Scientist. Outside of my journalistic endeavours, I've long been intrigued by the ways in which our ancestors tried to explain mysterious aspects of the natural world with mythology. To this end, I wrote two books on the subject: Science of the Magical and The Science of Monsters. I was awarded a Knight Fellowship in 2014, presumably for writing well, and used the opportunity to study immunology at MIT and folklore at Harvard.

An unabashed geek,* I wrote the widely circulated From Gollum to Avatar which explored how Hollywood made the technological leap from Yoda in the original Star Wars to Gollum in The Lord of the Rings and ultimately to the Na’vi in Avatar. I was also the voice behind many other Economist stories of technological evolution, including Stealing The Heat, an analysis of the fast developing field of heat recycling, The Coming Wave, an exploration of how wave generators on the coastlines came to be, and Superstructures, the story of how bridges, tunnels and buildings learned to detect danger and take action.

I am fascinated by the weird, wonderful and often less well respected members of the animal kingdom that have made life better for humanity on the whole. In How Illuminating I explored how the humble jellyfish has made it possible for glowing proteins to be inserted into the human body and used to track the behaviours of cancer cells so they can be better caught and destroyed. In Glue Bones I described how the saliva of the sandcastle worm, which builds the structures that its name implies, has made it possible for researchers to develop a glue that can hold bits of bone together in salty environments, like those found on bloody operating room tables. And in Electrical Potential I revealed that science is on the verge of creating a biological battery modelled after the cells found in the bodies of electric eels**.

I've written about how certain female spiders ooze sticky slime to capture the sexual organs of males so that they can better catch and eat their partners after reproduction (Sexual Appetite), how bats that build tents together out of palm leaves build better social relationships (Bats Building Bonds), and how bomb sniffing dogs are thrown off by the preconceptions of their handlers (Clever Hounds).

Outside of my work for The Economist, I've collaborated extensively with TED to create educational animations about the boundary between myth and science. Together The Science Behind Homer’s Odyssey and The Scientific Origins of the Minotaur have been viewed over three million times. I also annually donate several weeks of my time each year to guest lecture at schools that are keen to get their pupils jazzed about science. A palaeontologist by training, if you have read about evolution, ecology or dinosaurs in Nature, National Geographic or Scientific American, you have probably read my work***.

When not at my desk, I make a good effort at meeting the grim reaper for an early tea on expeditions in far flung regions of the world. I've hacked my way through the Alaskan bush, fended off tiger snakes in the bogs of Tasmania, nearly fallen into a crevasse in Switzerland and got my scuba respirator hose snagged on the sunken wreck of a British minesweeper.

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*Who, by the way, can recite huge chunks of Star Wars by heart and readily explain the differences between the Faerunian gods Kossuth and Lathander. (Just in case you were wondering, Kossuth's portfolio is solely fire while Lathander's includes the sun, warmth and vitality.)

**Shocking, I know.

***My personal favourite is How to Eat a Triceratops. ...more

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Matt Kaplan’s books

Average rating: 3.65 · 2,268 ratings · 396 reviews · 5 distinct works • Similar authors

	Medusa's Gaze and Vampire's Bite: The Science of Monsters 3.56 avg rating — 1,385 ratings — published 2012 — 10 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Science of the Magical: From the Holy Grail to Love Potions to Superpowers 3.69 avg rating — 841 ratings — published 2015 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	David Attenborough's First Life: A Journey Back in Time With Matt Kaplan by David Attenborough, Matt Kaplan (Goodreads Author) (Introduction) 4.31 avg rating — 139 ratings — published 2010 — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Victor's Legacy really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 2 ratings — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Side by Side: Exploring Your Neighborhood Through Intergenerational Activities 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Matt Kaplan's Blog

Buzzing without getting buzzed

Image courtesy of Sharp Photography.

Like people, animals like having a drink every now and again. Of course, they aren't sipping a glass of brandy or Chablis, they are feeding on fermented fruit, but the effects are the same. While alcohol is rich in sugars, being drunk presents a serious risk to wild animals and they avoid drinking to excess. Then there is the oriental hornet, a bug that loves

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Matt Kaplan wrote a new blog post Saving your morning coffee The coffee industry worldwide is concerned about the susceptibility of its crops to climate change for good reason. Coffee plants in general are very Read more of this blog post »
Feb 13, 2025 05:46AM · like

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Quotes by Matt Kaplan (?)

“People have always looked to the horizon and feared that which they did not understand. Initially, this horizon was the edge of the forest. Then, when forests became better explored and their dangers were realized as not actually being that serious, human attention turned toward the darkness of the sea. Then the sea became better explored, and the new horizon became the vastness of space. And now, with space getting ever better explored, a new horizon appears. . . in the form of the horrors humanity is about to unleash on itself.”
― Matt Kaplan

tags: creation-care, environmentalism, exploration, explore, fear, self-destruction, stewardship

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“the happiness that arises from being a noble soul brings improved immune system response and better protection against pathogens, while happiness associated with selfish pleasures brings less protection against pathogens and greater inflammation.III”
― Matt Kaplan, Science of the Magical: From the Holy Grail to Love Potions to Superpowers

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GdL Saggistica - Luglio-Agosto 2017. Scegli il titolo che vuoi leggere nel bimestre.

I bottoni di Napoleone: Come 17 molecole hanno cambiato la storia di Penny Le Couteur

26 votes, 19.5%

Dalla parte delle bambine di Elena Gianini Belotti

24 votes, 18.0%

Mein Kampf di Adolf Hitler

16 votes, 12.0%

Quiet: il potere degli introversi in un mondo che non sa smettere di parlare di Susan Cain

14 votes, 10.5%

In movimento di Oliver Sacks

13 votes, 9.8%

Un giorno della mia vita: L'inferno del carcere e la tragedia dell'Irlanda in lotta di Bobby Sands

11 votes, 8.3%

La O di Giotto di Serena Romano

9 votes, 6.8%

I marziani siamo noi. Un filo rosso dal Big Bang alla vita di Giovanni F. Bignami

9 votes, 6.8%

Scienza del magico di Matt Kaplan

6 votes, 4.5%

Autobiografia di Malcolm X di Malcolm X

5 votes, 3.8%

133 total votes

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