Interview with Livia Blackburne, MIT neuroscientist

(Re-posted cause it’s just that good!!)

Last week we had Kristi Gets Fit (What? Dodging melon balls and pineapple wedges counts!) so now it’s time for another issue of Kristi Gets Smart, inaugurated by none other than Scientific American’s Steve Mirsky!

Who better to carry the torch than Livia King Blackburne: the 24^th Most Influential writer on Twitter according to We Follow, and voted Top 50 Female Science Bloggers by Online Universities.

Livia King Blackburne: (whispers) Tell them I can also hold a straw between my nose and upper lip.

Kristi: (hisses back) Stop bragging.

Livia King Blackburne: Jealous.

Kristi: (clears throat) Welcome, Livia King Blackburne! Please tell our readers what you do?

Livia King Blackburne: (smiles) I’m in my 5^th year of graduate studies at MIT in cognitive neuroscience.

Kristi: (has the blank stare of someone who hears only elevator music)

Livia King Blackburne: Which means I scan peoples’ brains for my experiments.

Kristi: How lovely – you experiment on people’s… brains? (wishes she’d worn that daffodil hat with the aluminum lining afterall)

Livia King Blackburne: (dissecting Kristi’s scalp with her eyes) Specifically, I’m interested in how the brain develops when you learn to read.

Kristi: Your lab rats must be able read? (smiles, relieved) Guess that leaves me out – I’ve been told I’m an illiterate idiot!!

Livia King Blackburne: Oh? Well, I study them as they’re learning to read…

Kristi: (starts to sweat, looks for nearest exit)

Livia King Blackburne: So I’m scanning kids at different ages to see how the brain changes as they get older.

Kristi: You experiment on children?!

Livia King Blackburne: Yes.

Kristi: Oh, thank God! (the colour returns to Kristi’s white knuckles) Say, I know some little brats, I mean adorable kids, if you need any lab brats? Er… rats?

Livia King Blackburne: No, thanks. We have plenty.

Kristi: I understand you’re a writer, too?

Livia King Blackburne: Yes, my other “gig” is as a writer and blogger.  I write fantasy stories for young adults.

Kristi: Why Young adults? What do you have against OLD adults?

Livia King Blackburne: Nothing, YA is a writing genre.

Kristi: Uh-huh, right. First you refuse to experiment on adults, now you refuse to write for anyone but the young…  Are you some kind of mad scientist inventing a World of the Young?

Livia King Blackburne: (shifty eyed) What?! No, the Harry Potter books are Young Adult Fantasy, too, but people of all ages read them.

Kristi: Damn! I was hoping to get in on this whole Young World thing.

Livia King Blackburne: Sorry.

Kristi: Your blog is extremely popular: A Brain Scientist Takes Writing.  Is the in-ability to write common among MIT brain scientists?

Livia King Blackburne: No – it’s called A Brain Scientist’s Take On Writing. It’s an analysis of writing from a brain scientist’s perspective.

Kristi: That’s what I said. Hey – are you trying to mess with my brain?!

Livia King Blackburne: No, of course not.

Kristi: (whines) I’ll never get in the Young World project…

Livia King Blackburne: There is no Young World project.

Kristi: (narrows eyes) Says you. So what do you like most about your work, other than messing with peoples’ brains?

Livia King Blackburne: Well, I think neuroscience is one of the big scientific frontiers right now. There is a lot of excitement and energy going into this research. It’s really fun to be in the middle of it all.

Kristi: The wild frontier, Yeee-Haaaaw!

Livia King Blackburne: And everybody’s interested in neuroscience.

Kristi: (not afraid to ask the tough questions…) Oh?

Livia King Blackburne: Everybody has a brain, so what I study is relevant to everyone.

Kristi: (…even in the presence of superior intelligence) I assume you have proof to back- up this “everybody has a brain” theory?

Livia King Blackburne: (eyes Kristi) I suppose there could be exceptions to the rule…

Kristi: What do you think is the key to scientific success?

Livia King Blackburne: I used to think being a good scientist was all about programming computers and having good technical skills, but really, a good scientist just needs to pay attention and ask the right questions.

Kristi: (beams) Like I do!

Livia King Blackburne: Um…sort of…would you mind turning that off?

Kristi: (turns off portable tractor beam) What else?

Livia King Blackburne: You need to keep plugging away when the first 10 tries don’t work.

Kristi: Yep, I know that all too well.

Livia King Blackburne: As a writer yourself, I imagine you do. Science is very similar to getting published on that last aspect.  Many writers have trouble with the idea of spending years on something with no guarantee of success, but that’s just business as usual in the lab.

Kristi: And in stalking.

Livia King Blackburne: (desperate to stay on topic) In science and writing, there’s lots of creativity involved.

Kristi: Stalking, too! So how do you come up with your ideas?

Livia King Blackburne: Um… I tend to be a pretty spacey person – one of my friends called me Oblivia because I’m always in my own little world.  But it’s when I’m off daydreaming that I come up with new ideas.

Kristi: There’s where we’re different. If I space out and start day-dreaming behind the bushes, under a window or hiding in someone’s dirty clothes hamper, I’ll totally miss my opportunity.

Livia King Blackburne: (wide eyed) I can imagine.

Kristi: You’re obviously a highly skilled scientist. Does this come naturally?

Livia King Blackburne: For the necessary skills – observing, understanding, and asking good questions- definitely not.  These are aspects that I’ve grown into over the past few years.

Kristi: Have you done anything other than neuroscience?

Livia King Blackburne: Yes, my undergraduate degree from Harvard was in biochemical sciences. After graduation I worked for a year with a Harvard psychology professor, who was instrumental in helping me apply to graduate school.  I was also an intern at Sandia National Laboratories for four summers, in the computational physics and biology departments.

Kristi: You mean the national laboratory that has developed science-based technologies that support national security so that 300+ million Americans can have peace and freedom?

Livia King Blackburne: (bowled over) Yes! It was fun because I got to run simulations on one of the world’s fastest supercomputers.  I also got to wear a security clearance badge and say things like “The government has forbidden me to speak about my current project.”

Kristi: Wow! Can I borrow the badge?

Livia King Blackburne: No.

Kristi: And lastly, any life experiences you’d like to share?

Livia King Blackburne: I’d say the critical thinking skills that I’ve picked up in my training. They are really useful for all aspects of my life.  I’ve learned to think for myself and investigate things before I believe them.

Kristi: Like I do?

Livia King Blackburne: (politely notices spot on ceiling) And as for the blogging and writing, that’s just fun!  After five years at MIT, it’s nice to interact with people in the real world. It keeps me sane, and reminds me that not everyone thinks jokes with mathematical punch lines are funny.

Kristi: Why was 6 afraid of 7? (loud snickers) Because 7 – 8 – 9! (cackle) Get it?? 7 ate 9? (snort)

Livia King Blackburne: (blank stare of someone who hears nothing but animal noises)

Kristi: Thank you Livia, for sharing your fascinating life on the neuroscience frontier, and as always –Thank You for Playing!!

(Originally Posted June 14, 2010)

Interview with Steve Mirsky

Those who know me, know I am very excited about this next interview. Today’s Guest Star received a Knight Science Journalism Fellowship from MIT, is a member of the board of editors of, writes the very popular Anti Gravity column for, and hosts the Science Talk and 60 Second Science podcasts of a certain magazine…

Kristi: Here he comes!! (Steve walks by on busy NYC street) Steve Mirsky from Scientific American!!

Steve Mirsky: (smiles, nods, heads for coffee shop)

Kristi: (blocks entrance with clipboard) Imagine ME talking to Scientific American’s Steve Mirsky on March 14^th, Einstein’s birthday!

Steve Mirsky: And Pi day.

Kristi: No, thanks. I’m on a diet.

Steve Mirsky: I’m sorry, have we met?

Kristi: (shakes Steve’s hand vigorously) Kristi. How Did You Get There.

Steve Mirsky: Steve. I walked. Look, is this a poll or something? I’m sorry, but I just have enough time to grab a coffee.

(Steve smiles good-bye, enters coffee shop)

Kristi: Great idea! (follows Steve inside, chattering) I can’t believe I’m interviewing a REAL Scientific American. Are you as excited as I am?

        Coffee Shop Kid: Coffee?

        Steve Mirsky: Yea, thanks.

Kristi: In fact, I’m introducing a new category in your honor. Literary, Arts/Music, Fashion, Kristi Gets Fit, and now– Kristi Gets Smart.

Steve Mirsky: (suddenly notices that annoying chatter was Kristi, who’s still behind him) Wait – you mean I agreed to do an interview…? With you?

Kristi: Just a second ago. I said, “Are you as excited as I am” meaning about the interview, and you said, “Yea, thanks” meaning for inviting me to be interviewed on your amazing blog because it’s the funniest thing ever, in fact I’m hoping to get humorous tips from you for my Anti Gravity column.

Steve Mirsky: Really? hm… (thinks this may be the perfect follow-up piece to ‘Out of This World, One UFO Expert Says That Aliens Don’t Get Around Much Anymore, But What If That’s Just What They Want You To Think?’*) …Sure, why not.

Kristi: Great! Before we start I take mine black, one sugar.

Steve Mirsky: Oh. (reluctantly hands over own coffee)

Kristi: You’re not having any?

Steve Mirsky: (smiles politely) I’m trying to cut down.

Kristi: Wow, what an inspiration – me too! (tosses fresh coffee in trash) So tell us what you do as an editor and columnist at Scientific American.

Steve Mirsky: (KNEW he should’ve brought more cash!) Well, I go to editorial meetings where along with the other editors we decide what to put in the magazine, what articles to commission, which ones to actually publish once they’re written… and I make trouble when I can.

Kristi: Make trouble meaning in your “allegedly humorous” Anti Gravity column? How long have you been writing that?

Steve Mirsky: Since December 1994, and I became a Scientific American staff writer in late 1997.

Kristi: This whole Anti Gravity is extremely popular with Scientific American readers. How do you keep your feet on the ground?

Steve Mirsky: Well thanks, I have fun with it. I like to write it like a jenga tower. If you take one piece out it will fall apart, drives my editors crazy!

Kristi: Do these crazy editors refuse to believe in Gravity, too, or is it just you who’s anti gravity?

Steve Mirsky: Wait – do you mean Gravity as in seriousness or The Law of?

Kristi: The Law?! What did they tell you? Cause I didn’t do it.

Steve Mirsky: (suspicious) Do what?

Kristi: (wide-eyed) What? …do you like most about being a science journalist?

Steve Mirsky: (decides to let that one slide) The big thing for me is that I’m always learning something new. It’s like always going to school and having a term paper due, which for a lot of people is the worst possible fate they can imagine, but for some of us it’s actually fun. And in my column I get to perform a little, get to be a little bit of a ham.

Kristi: Where did you get your inspiration for that?

Steve Mirsky: I watch a lot of TV—

Kristi: (imagines room full of scientists eating popcorn, watching narrated Earth Science programs from the 70s) Oh?

Steve Mirsky:  I really like comedy. I like sitcoms, I like Mel Brooks, Seinfeld, the Marx Bros. There’s a wonderful writer named Jean Shepherd, who wrote the now classic A Christmas Story, and another terrific humor novelist named Peter De Vries. Also, the great Donald Westlake who wrote The Dortmunder Caper Comedy Crime books, all these people inspired me. I was a wise cracking little bastard always.

Kristi: I’m sure all the wise cracking little bastards out there are dying to know how they too might become as successful as you. Can you give us an idea of the path you took?

Steve Mirsky: Going backwards it all makes perfect sense, but going forward it looked haphazard as hell.

Kristi: Either direction will do.

Steve Mirsky: I wanted to be an actor and went to acting school. But after I did some professional theatre, I wanted to be a chemist.

Kristi: You must’ve had great chemistry with your acting partners. (snort) GET IT?

Steve Mirsky: (blank stare, sound of crickets chirping) Anyway, after acting  school I enrolled in college as a freshman and the chemistry professors were really good. They were funny, loved baseball, so I decided to major in chemistry.

Kristi: Baseball + comedy = chemistry. I’m Getting Smarter by the minute!

Steve Mirsky: (Thinks Einstein might say it’s relative)

Kristi: What happened next?

Steve Mirsky: After graduation I attended grad school at Cornell, which was where I happened to see an announcement for a summer Science Journalism Fellowship through the American Association for the Advancement of Science. I’d always liked writing and performing, so when I was awarded the Fellowship they put me in a TV station.  Then, after completing my Masters degree, I left Cornell to work at the TV station, which opened some doors.

Kristi: And people say TV is bad for you! Then what?

Steve Mirsky: I was inspired by Jean Shepherd, a famous short story writer who also did a lot of radio. On his show, The Brass Figlagee, he had no guests or calls from listeners. He would just talk for 5 hours.  So I got a job in radio in Oneida, NY.

Kristi: Why did you leave radio?

Steve Mirsky: I was tired of getting up at 3:30 in the morning. I also wanted to live in a more cosmopolitan environment, so I moved to NYC, where I got a lot of print work. I found that I liked working alone for extended periods. I like research, putting it on paper.

Kristi: And hosting the podcast?

Steve Mirsky: After I’d been writing for Scientific American for almost 10 years on staff and longer as a freelancer, the management decided they wanted a podcast presence.  They looked through the staff and saw that I had radio experience.

Kristi: And now you’ve interviewed everyone from Nobel Laureates to Alan Alda. Can we listen to them?

Steve Mirsky: Yes. We have over 200 of the weeklies archived on our website, which we started in February 2006, and just under 900 dailies published, started in September 2006.

Kristi: What an impressive body of work. Any life lessons you’d like to share?

Steve Mirsky: Be ready to wind up doing something you didn’t think you were going to do. There are people you meet, or things that you stumble on which may change your career or even your life trajectory. Take full advantage of everything you have at your disposal. You don’t want to be in a row boat, but a sail boat, so you can track your path to some degree, but still have the wind to blow you somewhere new or unexpected.

Kristi: One last question, how can such an easy going, good-natured guy who’s as smart as you are, be Anti Gravity?

Steve Mirsky: (confused) Not the law?

Kristi: The Law?! Yikes, I gotta go. Thanks so much for the interview, Steve, and as always – Thank You For Playing!!!

* “Out of This World, One UFO Expert Says Aliens Don’t Get Around Much Anymore, But What If That’s Just What They Want You To Think?”, p. 105, Anti Gravity, (the book) Allegedly Humorous Writing from Scientific American, by Steve Mirsky.  (For a real laugh I highly recommend Anti Gravity the column, and the book)

© Kristi Thompson 2010

(Originally Posted March 15, 2010)

Interview with Dr. William A. P. Thompson

Ever wonder if Aristotle’s Ideas about Women’s Rights and Slavery were “benighted” for his Times? Me too!

Curious about Witchcraft in Colonial Connecticut?

Wouldn’t you love to know what Cicero had to say about Natural Law, Property and Factionalism?

My next guest, with a background in fields as varied as science, history and political science, has published papers on all that and much more.

Let’s see what he’s up to right now!

Kristi:               Welcome to How Did You Get There, Bill. Please tell us what you do.

Bill:                   I’m retired from a 51 year career as a full time professor of both high school and college, and now keep busy teaching two popular biography courses I’ve designed for the university level.

Kristi:               Wait.  So you retired from teaching NOT to sip margaritas by the pool or travel but to…teach?

Bill:                   Initially my lovely German wife and I lived in in Munich for a year. We also enjoy our annual hike with friends in Big Bend, and spend Thanksgivings at our beach house.

Kristi:               And all this good German beer, yodelling in the mountains and frolicking in the surf drove you back to work?

Bill:                   I suppose so.

Kristi:               How could this happen!? It couldn’t have been the scenery. Was it being forced to wear socks with your sandals–or the Lederhosen? I bet it was the Lederhosen.

Bill:                   I don’t wear Lederhosen.

Kristi:               I know– (Kristi slaps her hand to Bill’s forehead) It’s the age old I’m-Having-Too-Much-Fun-For-My-Generation affliction. I’m lucky my generation’s immune to that.

Bill:                   You think so? But, I like teaching.

Kristi:               That’s what they all say. (Kristi pulls out a thermometer) Open up.

Bill:                   It’s famimaming—

Kristi:               Stop talking.

(sound of clock ticking…Kristi checks thermometer)

Bill:                   I said, I enjoy reading biographies. It’s fascinating to discover intriguing details about figures in American History. I focus on one per class, everyone from Ben Franklin, Abigail Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Frederick Douglass, Harriet Beecher Stowe to Mark Twain, Henry Ford, and even Elvis. I analyze the course their lives took, and what affect they had on the rest of us. Next semester I will focus on the first decade of the 21^st century with a biography I’m writing on Obama.

Kristi:               Huh. No fever.

Bill:                   My students enjoy my classes, too.

Kristi:               Really? (Kristi looks profoundly perplexed; Bill looks like he wants to grab her by the throat)

Bill:                   I’ve been awarded Outstanding Teacher three times in my career.

Kristi:               Intriguing… details about people’s lives, huh? Give us an example.

Bill:                   I don’t know. (flat glare)  It may be Too-Much-Information-For-Your-Generation. I’m lucky my generation doesn’t have that affliction.

Kristi:               Excellent point… Say—isn’t that what I’m doing here, on How Did You Get There?

Bill:                   Only in a half-assed, satirical sort of way.

Kristi:               By George, you’ve got it!

Bill:                   (Imagines himself strangling Kristi, but smiles quietly instead)

Kristi:               I’d love to take your class– which is a huge compliment because I thought Everything I Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten.

Bill:                   I can tell.

Kristi:               Did you get, that? It’s the title of a book. I actually read it, too.

Bill:                   Your subtlety and tremendous wit wasn’t lost on me.

Kristi:               Why thank you, Professor! So tell us about the early days of your career?

Bill:                   In the beginning of my career I travelled the US, starting two College Preparatory Schools, and was headmaster of four Independent Schools.

Kristi:               What do you enjoy most about teaching?

Bill:                   I really enjoy my students. I enjoyed starting a popular Chess Club at Roosevelt—an inner city high school in Dallas, Texas—where I taught for 20 years. We inspired most of the schools in the Dallas area to have chess teams; Roosevelt placed number three city wide. As a result, I was on a TV program which dramatized inner city kids playing chess. Roosevelt’s team was sponsored by the University of Texas at Dallas Chess team, which is currently the number one University Chess team in the U.S.

Kristi:               Outstanding.  Any more interesting tidbits surrounding your career?

Bill:                   Bishop College, where I was Chair of History and Government, was one of the oldest African American colleges, until it closed in 1988. It was established in 1881, after the Civil War, by a New England philanthropic movement.

Kristi:               And finally, what qualities, developed or innate, have helped you in your career?

Bill:                   I’m rather eclectic; I like a rounded approach. But I think the real key for me has been the result of extensive, and continual self education.

Kristi:               And you obviously have a terrific sense of humour–thank you for sharing your wonderful experiences with us Bill, and as always, thank you for playing!

Interview with Sarah E. Allen, MD

Terrified of Swine Flu, or simply enjoy a good Michael Crichton version of death by a thousand diseases? Sarah E. Allen, M.D. is the woman you want to meet. Her television appearances during the Hantavirus outbreak include the McNeil Lehrer News Hour, and she has a delightful book, Africa Letters, recounting her experience as a visiting professor at a medical school hospital in Kenya, working on the “male ward”!

“…medical eyes see clinical, village and urban life…intertwined with humor.” Steve Walsh MD, University of California, San Francisco, about Africa Letters

 Kristi:        Welcome to How Did You Get There, Sarah. Please tell our readers what you do for a living.

Sarah:         I am a physician, currently working at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. My area of expertise is Infectious Diseases and internal medicine. I care for patients with HIV, Cystic Fibrosis, Staph infections, and infections related to cancer treatment, tuberculosis.  I am also very interested in immunizations and other preventative health interventions.

 Kristi:       Infectious Diseases? What made you interested in a field that most people associate with apocalyptic obliteration?

Sarah:         Infections aren’t really scary if you understand how to prevent transmission. Also, an infectious diseases specialist has to know the whole body, not just a single organ.  I liked being able to keep up my general skills. 

Kristi:        Excellent answer. I feel calmer already. How long have you done this?

Sarah:         I graduated from medical school in 1985—that’s when I was officially a doctor, or “MD.”  But I then did several more years of training in internal medicine and infectious diseases.  However, all those years, you are really working as a doctor. 

Kristi:        I totally understand. I watch House. Which intern were you? Let me guess. Cameron?

Sarah:         Um, not sure. I finished my official training in 1991 and became a university faculty member where I see patients, as well as do research and teach.

Kristi:        What do you like most about being a physician?

Sarah:         It’s interesting, it’s fun, it’s touching.  Medicine is a clash of basic science and humanism.

Kristi:        I knew it– Cameron!

Sarah:         Sorry?

Kristi:        Nothing.

Sarah:         I feel like I teach patients about their health and help them understand what is happening to their body, what they can do to prevent problems in the future.

Kristi:        What do you think makes you suited to this particular specialty?

Sarah:         I’m a somewhat obsessive person.  I always liked to make lists of things to do and cross them out when I completed a task.  Being a doctor involves getting the story from the patient, looking at test results, making a list of problems and possible solutions and then keeping track of all of it.

Kristi:        OMG! Just like House’s white board!

Sarah:         Unlike House, if you insist on going there– I like to think I’m friendly and put people at ease. I like it that patients feel comfortable sharing very personal parts of their lives with me.

Kristi:        Right. You’re like House, only human. You’re the anti-House.

Sarah:         If that’s your only frame of reference…

Kristi:        I definitely want you as my doctor. I’m writing House today to tell him to take me off his waiting list.

Sarah:         You mean the fictional character?

Kristi:        Excuse me?

Sarah:         Anyway. The patient-doctor relationship is very interesting. We don’t know each other when we first meet, but have an understanding that we will tell each other everything about the patient’s medical problems and be completely honest.  It’s a good foundation for any relationship.

Kristi:        Do you do couples therapy, too?

Sarah:         No.

Kristi:        Damn.

Sarah:         I feel very passionate about preventing disease.  When you see people suffer, it makes you want to prevent it from happening to someone else.  So I’m constantly trying to keep up on prevention, or to catch diseases early.  An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Kristi:        Did you develop your philosophy of communication, and passion for patient care, on the job or was it innate?

Sarah:         I think a little of both. For example, I have learned how to communicate with patients and families over time. I am much better now at talking about death and dying, delivering bad news, or talking about scary issues than I was when I started.

Kristi:        Did you work elsewhere before you became a physician?

Sarah:         I did secretarial work for temp agencies before I went to medical school, during and after college.

Kristi:        Did that in anyway lead to you being a physician?

Sarah:         Being a secretary actually taught me a lot about various fields, though did not lead directly to my decision to become a doctor. 

Kristi:        What inspired you to go into the medical field?

Sarah:         A conversation I had with my parents, in particular something my mother said to me.  I had been interested in becoming a doctor, but I was very intimidated by the idea and didn’t feel I was smart enough.  I went to a big, competitive college and had trouble keeping up with basic science classes and math, even though I had excelled in these fields in my public high school.  My confidence was low.  Looking at the table of contents of a human anatomy text book convinced me there was no way I could memorize all that stuff.

Kristi:        What tipped the scales?

Sarah:         Just before my third year of college, I was bemoaning my situation and told my parents I wished I could start college all over again, and try for medical school.  Of course they encouraged me, but it was something my mother said that was the turning point.  Getting out of her chair at the end of the conversation, she said, “I hope that’s what you do, because that’s what I wish I had done.”  She did not feel sorry for herself, but it had a profound affect on me.  I didn’t want any regrets in my life.  I decided to go for it. 

As it turns out, I’m a very good physician.  It was hard work in medical school, but it isn’t all memorization.  Some things are just unforgettable.

Kristi:        This interview was unforgettable, Sarah. And as always thanks for playing along!