None of the more-qualified front pagers here seem to have mentioned the 2010 MacArthur Fellows, the list of whom was released earlier this week. I am not ashamed to admit that I can’t begin to understand an “Optical Physicist working at the intersection of fundamental photonics and nanofabrication engineering to design silicon-based photonic circuits that are paving the way for practical optical computing devices” (Michal Lipson), or to judge whether a “Quantum Astrophysicist linking optics, condensed matter, and quantum mechanics in research that enhances our ability to detect and quantify gravitational radiation” (Nergis Mavalvala) is worthy of an being part of this august fellowship. (Although the short videos on each Fellow’s biographical webpage are mostly informative.)
But, hey, David Simon! — of Homicide: Life on the Street, and The Wire, and now Treme. And Annette Gordon-Reed is writing a sequel to The Hemingses of Monticello, which I can’t wait to read…
Anybody care to speculate as to the merits and potentials of this year’s honorees?