There is little I enjoy more than good science writing. And as with nonfiction writing in general, I will easily expand “good” to include not just good writing, but any writing that succeeds in conveying the author’s genuine enthusiasm for the topic. The elegantly titled symmetry: dimensions of particle physics has its share of the former, but is filled to the brim with the latter.

Published 10 times per year by Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory and Stanford Linear Accelerator Center, symmetry is, as professed in the magazine’s first letter from the editor states, “a magazine about particle physics and its connections to other aspects of life and science, from interdisciplinary collaborations to policy to culture.” Science has rapidly evolved into a profoundly robust and complex model of ourselves and the universe, and symmetry’s aim is to cover the role of particle physics in that evolution.

More central to my love for the magazine, though, is something touched upon in the latest issue’s editorial:

This issue of symmetry is dedicated to the imminent switch-on of the Large Hadron Collider. It can only skim the surface but presents views of the science, technology, international collaboration, and humanity of the LHC.

More than anything, symmetry manages to pull back the boring, stale, stereotypical image of science to present its warm, entertaining, and deeply rewarding reality. Shown is not, to be honest, “interdisciplinary collaboration”, but “international collaboration”; globetrotting theorists, country-spanning particle accelerators, frisbee-playing post-docs.

And did I mention subscriptions are free?

All in all, the articles may amount to little more than dressed-up press releases, but that just means the writing is clear and poppy. The level of physics, and enthusiasm, makes symmetry a perfect fit for a high school physics classroom (at only a few dozen pages, the magazine “can only skim the surface” as it tries to be somewhat extensive). I don’t know if every field has a magazine like this out there, but they should if they do not. We need to get rid of the stuffy lab rat stereotype, and focus on portraying and defending the humanity of science.

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