Geek Cruise
For most people, a Caribbean cruise is an opportunity for sun-splashed daydreaming, guiltless beach reading, and lackadaisical dips in warm, shimmering waters—in other words, complete mental repose. But when Stanford Linear Accelerator Center's Bebo White and Tom Abel boarded the MS Veendam in January, they and their shipmates had a slightly different agenda.
With the help of four other scientists and two editors from Scientific American, White and Abel filled the days on board the Veendam with stimulating lectures, turning it into the challenging intellectual environment known as a Geek Cruise. The 25 lectures covered a wide range of topics, from White's computational science and Abel's astrophysics to evolution, virtual reality, and archaeology.
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| Photo courtesy of Tom Abel, SLAC |
“It's a really fun experience,” says White, who lectured on his first Geek Cruise, called Website Waves, a year and a half ago. “One of the best things about these cruises is that between lectures you talk with everyone at dinner, on deck, and during day trips, so you really become a close-knit group.”
The first Geek Cruise, Perl Whirl, embarked in 2000. Most—for instance, Linux Lunacy, Mac Mania, and Chess Moves—have been quite focused. “With those cruises,” says White, “you need to teach a skill. There's nothing like that on this one. We're trying to appeal to their curiosity, and make the subject interesting enough so if they want to know more they can pursue it further.”
The January cruise, called Bright Horizons, was Abel's first—Geek or otherwise—and he was excited about bringing his lectures to this unique environment. “It's always great to have a chance to share the fun science you do with the public,” he says.
The western Caribbean's cultural richness and tropical charm could not, of course, be ignored by even the geekiest of minds. Cruise participants enjoyed full-day excursions in Key West, Belize City, Santo Tomás de Castilla, and Cozumel, participating in activities as diverse as zip-lining through the rainforest canopy and climbing the ruins of the Mayan temples of Tikal.
“All the talks and programs are during the period at sea,” says White, “so when you get to the ports, everyone can play tourist. That way, the lectures really only cut into your casino time.”
Lizzie Buchen
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