How to be The Mann

How to be The Mann

By Hannah Uebele

Charles C. Mann has had quite the career – if being a New York Times best-selling author wasn’t enough, he’s also been featured in numerous respected publications such as National Geographic, and even had a stint as a writer for HBO and Law & Order.

Mann has written many different things for many different publications, but specializes on topics of science. In a time when effective science journalism and communication is more important than ever, I had the pleasure to learn about how Mann found his passion for science writing and to hear his advice for current students hoping to emulate his eminent career.

How does a Mathematics major from Amherst College become a contributor to the New York Times, The Boston Globe, The Washington Post, and a correspondent for Science magazine? Well it all started when Mann was first introduced to the environmental movement happening during his childhood.

“The new environmental movement, which started in the 60s and 70s, was actually all around me as I grew up. I grew up in a small town in Washington and there’s a tremendous number of environmental battles, and I could see them from where I lived,” Mann said.

When Mann took time after college to travel the world, he was astounded by the environmental degradation he encountered.

“I ended up living in Rome for two years and there the environmental movement hadn’t really taken hold, and I was horrified by the pollution around me in Rome,” he said.

Mann explained how that when he tried to talk to Europeans about this issue, he was met with indifference and lack of awareness, describing that he felt many of the citizens were clueless about the deterioration occurring to the environment around them.

Mann came back from Europe pursuing a career in science journalism since he always liked to write. He had studied mathematics but felt that continuing on this path, “just didn’t sound right to me for what I wanted to do.”

Mann described how he promptly found journalism to be a pleasure, as he was able to talk to a variety of people, while constantly learning new things.

Through his work he began to be interested and surprised to learn about the science behind the Columbian Exchange, which eventually led him to write his award winning book, 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus, a book which exemplifies the interconnectedness of science and the humanities.

Mann explained that through his research leading up to the book, he was shocked to find that much of what he had been taught in grade school about history was incorrect.

“I thought, wow, all the stuff that I believe, and some of it which I was taught, really amounts to an erasure of culture,” he said.

Mann officially realized he had a responsibility to write something when he saw what his children were learning.

“It really happened when my kids started going to school and they were learning the same stuff I learned which was wrong and outdated in the 1970s and was really really outdated now,” he said.

Mann realized that people had a large unawareness about the pre-Columbian world and so he sought to bring this matter to light through his book by using new findings in scientific research.

Mann’s book showed that using science and the humanities together can help to answer some important questions and bring forth conversation about how and what society teaches and chooses to emphasize.

Mann explained that giving advice to students aspiring for a similar career is challenging since conditions are so different.

“The student debt and so forth are just so unforgiving [for students today] that I think, oh God it’s so tough for you guys,” he said.

As for the secret to his success, Mann explained how a lot of it is just about being in the business long enough and gaining experience and connections.

“Unknowingly I was in a prime time [in journalism],” Mann said, explaining how there were many opportunities for journalists when he was starting out, quite different from today’s circumstances.

The good thing about today’s day and age according to Mann is that “it’s easier than ever now to get published.” Unfortunately, he added that, “what’s not easy to do is get paid.”

Mann stressed the importance of purely just going out there and trying, for those hoping to have a career similar to his, but that it depends on the person’s situation.

“My situation was fortunate. I came from a middle-class family…I had a place to go if I failed, but not everybody has that,” Mann said.

Mann said that he knew he had a duty to pursue what he loved after seeing poverty during his travels.

“After I went to Africa I thought, ‘Man, these people I’m meeting are broke, their lives are really constrained.’ I’m fortunate, tremendously fortunate by comparison. I would think they would think I was an utter shmuck if I didn’t at least try to do something that made me happy. And so that was important in my life, that I’ve been given these advantages, so I should at least try. I would say try, you know, if you’re in a situation where you know if you fail you won’t be destitute, then you should try. For me it’s better to try and fail than not to try.”

So here’s to trying.