A little over two years ago, I began blogging as a means of connecting with other knitters. Shortly after that, the Moss and I were invited to join an amazing scientific collaboration, spanning four laboratories and two continents. Collaborations are intricate by nature, and tend to promote self-awareness, ready or not. When engaging in such a collaboration, you give up autonomy and control. You also bet some chunk of your ego that you will reap proportional glory.
The blog, on the other hand, is a very different sort of collaboration. I write, you read, some occasionally comment, and it continues. Some comments provoke subsequent posts, though the core of the blog draws from a solitary creativity. Admittedly, at the outset, I thought I might achieve some popularity or notoriety from the blog. Over time, I realized that I am neither wild enough to become notorious, nor accessible enough to become popular. The best that can be said is that on my bandwidth, I call the shots.
The blog will dissolve when monetary and temporal costs exceed its use. The thing I create with keyboard and server is by its nature fleeting, and the only thing that might endure is miles of privately held code. Contrast scientific publication. When in grad school, I flipped through a fifty year old volume of Nature, found it antique, but at the same time realized that science proceeds lineally from those distant publications. Every once in a while, there are landmark papers that change the direction of science broadly, and that maintains even if the specific papers are no longer read.
Two posts ago, a few of you gathered that I was waiting to hear from a journal editor. Since last Halloween, two manuscripts produced by our vigorous collaboration have been going through the peer review process. The shorter paper features me as a minor author. The longer paper, into which I poured so much of myself, features me as one of three primary authors.
As of today, these papers have been accepted at Nature. I'm glad I took that bet two years ago.
Having been off line for a good while I'm pretty late commenting, but anyway: Big congratulations from me, that's awesome!!
Posted by: BerlinBat | 07 April 2008 at 05:05
Nature! Wow. Good work!
Posted by: tove | 07 March 2008 at 04:38
Congratulations! Woohoo!
Posted by: Jen | 05 March 2008 at 12:06
Late to the party, but Congratulations none-the-less!! How exciting for you!
Posted by: Manise | 04 March 2008 at 21:04
this is really exciting! i'm very happy for you. NATURE!
it's nice when good things happen to good people.
maybe your frogged wool was just too excited for you to relax. i'm not really for anthropomorphising animals, but their hair, fur, skin is fair game. nothing's cuter than a bit of leather with a cutesy voice and a name like Hello Tanny.
Posted by: IHateToast | 03 March 2008 at 18:14
I can't believe I'm just catching up with this news! Congratulations on the paper. Here's to taking the big risks, and here's to doing the hard work. Great job!!!!
Posted by: mishka | 01 March 2008 at 20:03
CONGRATULATIONS and many hugs!!! Nature - how VERY cool!
Posted by: Claudia | 29 February 2008 at 20:23
Congratulations!
big hug!
Posted by: Erich Schwarz | 29 February 2008 at 15:50
You wonderful wonderful Renaissance Woman !
Scienrist, Artist and Chef !
My heartfelt congratulations !
Posted by: Judy | 29 February 2008 at 14:37
That is so exciting! Congratulations!
Posted by: omly | 28 February 2008 at 22:45
Awesome!!!!!!!!!!!
Congratulations!!
Posted by: Dorothy | 28 February 2008 at 00:32
Wonderful! A primary author Nature paper! That is quite an accomplishment. What are you going to do to celebrate?
Posted by: Emily L | 27 February 2008 at 21:07
Woo hoo, shriek, OMG, and hooray having been used already, let me offer up a hearty YEE HAW! Nature's no small deal...
Posted by: Danielle | 27 February 2008 at 20:37
Congratulations, Suzanne!!
Posted by: diana | 27 February 2008 at 20:08
That is great news! Congratulations!
Posted by: brenda | 27 February 2008 at 16:40