Introducing Synapse!

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I wanted to share a little bit about why I started Synapse. After deciding in college that I wanted to be a scientist, I quickly learned that one of the many hats that good scientists wear is a professional writer. From grants to papers to news articles, many scientists are writing all of the time and it encompasses a major portion of their job. Moreover, scientists spend their entire life committed to discovering new facts about the world—so what a shame it would be if they couldn’t communicate it!

Coming out of college, I decided quickly that I wanted writing to be a major part of my training to be a full-time scientist. Not just academic papers, but science communication for all. The evidence around us is only growing that our society has a misconstrued view and mistrust of science and I believe that good science communication from scientists can only help that problem.

The only way to get better at writing is to, well, write! So enter Synapse: a weekly newsletter about neuroscience!

What makes Synapse different?

When I try to find interesting things to read about neuroscience, I usually find two different types of experiences: academic papers and news articles. Reading academic papers is laborious and not accessible if you are not committed to the field, so many people are often left with news articles. Yet, I’m often troubled by news articles’ click-bait headlines, lack of citing evidence, and hyperbolic view of research. I haven’t found many people trying to write thoughtfully about neuroscience in a way that doesn’t fall victim to the typical pitfalls of pseudoscience or pop psychology. I hope that Synapse can fill this niche.

My goal for Synapse to discuss interesting topics in neuroscience with the kind of nuance and smart analysis that goes on in academia, but is largely unseen by the general public. Synapse will be accessible for everyone yet have enough depth to interest enthusiasts. The kind of person that will love Synapse is someone who can appreciate science writing with more depth and less click-bait than is typically found in newspapers.

As always, this newsletter is a work-in-progress for me and will only get better as time goes on!

The best part about Synapse is that you don’t have to remember to visit a blog or go to a low-quality website. All of the content lives in your inbox as a weekly email every Sunday—and it’s 100% free.

If you’ve made it this far and are interested, subscribe now!