The Birds and the Bees

I've developed a serious (layperson's) interest in science recently, after years of bewildered suspicion on the subject.

So when I hear about ways that science intersects with my own topic, small business, I like to explore them.

This week, I write about a new book from National Geographic senior editor Peter Miller. He believes that the collective intelligence of "The Smart Swarm" can inform entrepreneurs in management decisions.

That's Awesome

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have been studying the list of New York Times "most emailed articles" for the past six months.

The surprising result: Science articles did much better than expected; among the top most-popularly-shared items.

What researchers have concluded is that writing that sparks a sense of awe is more likely to be passed along.

Awe-inspiring stories tended to be large in scale and to require the reader to view the world in a new way. Once the reader changes her outlook in response to new information, the researchers theorized, she's more likely to send it to other people to talk about it with them or enlighten them.

I doubt that small business advice regularly inspires awe. But any writer who's looking for a popular response probably would do well to keep the awe-effect in mind.