For the sake of argument

For the sake of argument

For the sake of argument Argument - a discussion for the purpose of making something clear. Sake - benefit. To introduce an idea 'for the sake of argument' does not mean bringing up an idea to…
Hot Topics And Mental Intertia

Hot Topics And Mental Intertia

Bad habits of ineffective science: Trends in Biochemical Sciences has a piece on Mental inertia in the biological sciences. I'm not quite sure what to make of it, but the piece does contain some…
Secular Revival Meeting Seeks Enlightenment

Secular Revival Meeting Seeks Enlightenment

Lapham's Quarterly has published a long essay, Secular Revival by Warren Breckman, editor of the Journal of the History of Ideas. The article starts by looking at the dream of the scientific…
Prediction Vs Understanding

Prediction Vs Understanding

Babylonian astronomy sounds a lot like some areas of omics/computational biology today: Looking back at Babylonian astronomy from the twentieth century, one is struck by two things: the care with…
The Structure of Water and Other Liquids

The Structure of Water and Other Liquids

Recently, I came across a review paper that shows a considerable amount, of progress in the last decade or so, in the understanding of the structure of liquids. That paper “The …