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Eyes Wide Open: Scanning the Literature |
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Fred Bernard Wood was an avid reader for his entire student and adult life. Even in his junior and senior high school years, Fred Bernard read broadly the literature within and outside of his school classes. This trend continued into his undergraduate years at the University of California at Berkeley. Fred Bernard majored in electrical engineering, a demanding curriculum that did not allow much room for electives in the social and behavioral sciences and humanities. He compensated for this limitation by reading broadly on his own the so-called soft science literature. Even in these formative years, his interests in the full spectrum of science, technology, and society were reflected in his readings habits. If spending is an indicator of priorities, then journal and newsletter subscriptions were a high priority for Fred Bernard Wood. His annual personal operating budget always had a category for subscriptions, as well as for book purchases. Even in his later years when money got tight, he protected his subscriptions as much as possible. Journals and newsletters, and books, were key parts of his information lifeline that he felt were essential to keeping his eyes wide open about tracking and understanding local, national, and global trends. Fred Bernard’s main sources of literature included journals or newsletters associated with organizations in which he maintained membership, and from groups and organizations advocating issues that he identified with. The topics reflected the wide range of his interests, and included science, engineering, sociology, climate and environment, peace, religion and spirituality, and futurology. A sampling of the journals and newsletters that he read regularly is illustrated below. For each publication, the front cover of a typical issue is shown (click on each thumbnail for a full-sized image), along with a link to the publication’s web site if available, for those publications still active. Science and Engineering PublicationsFred Bernard maintained a lifelong membership in several science and engineering organizations that have regular publications. Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers,
IEEE
Transactions on Information Theory Social SciencesFred Bernard viewed the social sciences as a key component of understanding the social impacts of science and engineering. He was especially attuned to papers and theories of social change and transformation, as well as writings on overall societal trends in the US and globally.
Phi Beta Kappa, American
Scholar Futures StudiesFred Bernard viewed the physical and social sciences with a very open mind, and subscribed to various futurist and alternative thought publications. These types of publications included numerous articles on future projections, scenarios, and impacts of the use of science, technology, and engineering.
World Future Society, The
Futurist Spirituality and ScienceFred Bernard was a life time member of the Unitarian Universalist Association, and attended Unitarian churches or fellowships in Boston, MA, Berkeley and San Jose, CA, and Flagstaff, AZ. The UUA philosophy is consistent with his own. The UUA generally offers an open minded, flexible, and progressive approach to religious and spiritual philosophy. This provided Fred Bernard with a supportive environment for his efforts to link science and engineering with social and religious concerns.
Unitarian Universalist Association, UU
World
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