Through the magic of hyperlink surfing I came across Celia’s blog post today on the Discovery of Global Warming – a hypertext history. As she writes:
“The American Institute of Physics has done what scientists should do more often on important public science issues: explain to non-scientist citizens how science works, the steady accretion of evidence, the voicing of theories to explain it all, the further accumulation of data, and the testing of the theories. You can read chapter by chapter online or buy the book, or just start with the Summary of the History of Climate Change Science.”
Science does need to be more accessible to the public. That’s why I love that this is a website about a book. It enables access and exploration beyond what is in the book. The history of climate change is complex and has ties to multiple factors, not just a few major events or revelations in understanding – which seems to be the way science is explained historically. This hypertext model approaches the reading of this history with a model that is appropriate to the subject.
The hyperlink arrows are one of my favourite features. Clicking forward arrows show what the topic you are reading about contributed to other topics. Back arrow reveal the relationship between the topic you are reading about and the events which preceded it. And to top it all off, the site is searchable. My recommendation is starting with the introduction or tips for using the site and explore from there. The only thing I would have added would be a timeline of major events a la Adam Bohannon.
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