Scientists are extra alert to the way science and scientists are presented in the mass media, fiction and film. We are hyper-critical of representations of labs (are the machines appropriate), questions and evidence (are the bugs found on the dead girl correct for that place and season?), is a scenario really feasible (can a spider-bite lead to a Spider-Man?). Sometimes though it is really neat and cool to discover, maybe even learn, new science in these media. I like the books of author, Amitav Ghosh, and have been enjoying his historical fiction series, “The Ibis Trilogy,” which seems like an Indian “Roots” because of the insights into the migrations of Indians out of India (my family came to the Caribbean from India between 1845 and 1915). In reading some of his other works, I was delighted to read so many correct details about the ecology of the Sunderbans and the Bengal tiger, along with people’s lives in the shifting channels of the Ganges Delta. The neatest tidbit I picked up concerned the local freshwater dolphins, Orcaella. I knew about the Amazon pink dolphins, genus Inia, of the Amazon River system, but the existence of two species of freshwater dolphins that range from Vietnam to Australia was completely new to me. It was equally wonderful to follow the work of the novel’s heroine, Piya, a cetologist. I am impressed that the author did so much research and wove an engrossing tale infused with accurate science.
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