About TSS

Introduction
The Smart Set...scientific society or sassy trendsetters? Well, both. The Smart Set (TSS) is a a blog by, for, and about people with a passion for science, design, and culture shaping our future.

Many people around the world can tell you this year’s winning World Cup Team, the new black in Paris Fashion Week, or recite a list of their favorite actors. But few can name more than a handful of the world’s best and brightest scientists, designers, and cultural leaders – the people who affect our lives and shape our future in thousands of ways every day. TSS will change that by making science, design, and culture ‘irresistible’ to people from all walks of life and by focusing on the people behind cutting-edge science, design, and culture - turning scientists into celebrities, designers into international idols, and cultural leaders into pop icons. We read headlines about wars, natural disasters, and global epidemics, hear news stories about global warming, poverty, and injustice, but rarely are we informed about the work being done to solve these problems. The fields of science, design, and culture have long been leverage points for change throughout society by providing ideas, information and tools that shape the world in which we live and provide solutions that address some of society’s most pressing challenges.

The idea of TSS was inspired by the early 20th century literary magazine, Smart Set, that helped launch such authors as Dorothy Parker and F. Scott Fitzgerald. Given they considered themselves "a magazine of cleverness", we hope to live up to their well respected, sassy, and clever reputation.

People
Behind every great blog there are a lot of talented people. You can find all the great people behind TSS in The TSS Team.

History
TSS was started in 2006 by social entrepreneur Sean Schmidt with the idea that the fields of science, design, and culture needed some good PR. With stereotypes like 'scientists are geeks', 'designers are snobs', and 'our cultural leaders are out of touch with mainstream society', Sean felt like it was time to change those misconceptions. Furthermore, as a person concerned about the many pressing economic, social, and environmental challenges facing our world, Sean felt that the fields of science, design, and culture could help provide solutions to these challenges, particularly when professionals from these fields work together. So Sean started meeting with friends from science, design, and culture fields to conceptualize ways to do exactly what TSS has now set out to do: increase interest, literacy, and involvement in the fields of science, design, and culture.