Philosophy & Ethics
Women in science get awards for teaching and service proportional to their numbers but not for research, according to a new Association for Women in Science study funded by the National Science Foundation.
"Using data in the public domain on 13 disciplinary societies, we found that the proportion of female prizewinners in 10 of these was much lower than the proportion of female full professors in each discipline," they write. Well, that doesn't really tell much of a story since it is a snapshot - but there is no equivalent Association for Men in Science to argue that men are…
Hank |
We'd like to believe the political blogosphere, and certainly the political populace, has confrontational overtones science does not, but who are we kidding? If you get on the wrong side of a science blogging mullah's pet position, they will whip the faithful into a militant frenzy that would make any cult leader proud.
It's the science way; science is about clarity and facts and that means going after someone if they are wrong (and sometimes just if they disagree but that is less common) - the downside to that is it means everyone thinks they can tee off on scientists, including if…
Hank |
Science and religion have always been in something of a conflict. Science seeks to explain the world according to natural laws while religion leaves larger questions as articles of faith. There is some overlap - 40% of AAAS member scientists in their recent survey are also religious - but AAAS covers a broad cross-section of scientists whereas biology is ground zero for a conflict with religion over man as we exist today and how we came to be. So there is less overlap in the life sciences but there have been ongoing attempts to reconcile the two camps, usually with…
Being human sucks.
I mean, being a kid is quite alright. You play, you eat, your mama tucks you in at night. That is, unless you're unlucky enough to have abusive parents. Or a serious illness. Or you live in some country were you're likely to starve or die in some other gruesome way.
After -and during- childhood, there are many ways in which your life can get completely screwed, and most of the times our beloved Mother Nature doesn't even give a warning. Out of the blue, you're left with nothing. All you need is a car accident. I'm sure you can think of other examples.
Pain is not optional.…
payaljs |
The lure of the far-off land, the thrill of crossing the seven seas, the dream of studying in a foreign university is still the most sought after by many Indian students and scientists. Indian students who pursue their academic dreams overseas need to be mentally prepared to rough it up.
Most importantly, they need to follow a legitimate path in pursuit of money, excellence, and exercise necessary precaution to avoid getting duped, lest they have their wings clipped, their beaks bent, claws tagged, ankles radio-tagged and their flight monitored by immigration authorities.
Recently, the news…
Hank |
Is a lack of diversity in science writing a bad thing? Yes and no. Obviously if science writing relied on conservatives and the free market where people will only work for what capitalism will bear, Science 2.0 could not exist. Academics, progressives or liberals in America (I have made the case that they are quite distinct in America, however - see Like Freedom? Thank A Scientist - How Science Made America Possible), both famous and non-famous, have contributed here for no reason other than a desire to communicate science.
But outside that (well, never completely outside…
When the shootings in Arizona occurred, various pundits in the media jumped on 'right ring radio' and 'culture of hate' (meaning conservative news programs) despite the fact that the shooter was not political and did not even watch shows like Fox News.
If your prism is left, you tend to view even the center as the right, so mainstream media can be somewhat forgiven for demonizing all qualities they dislike as being right wing (it happens in science also - various scientists and bloggers have no idea there are left wing anti-science positions but can recite entire volumes of anti-science right…
A section of the people .... made capital out of their own ignorance.
When I read this I immediately thought of a certain British commentator who denies the anthropogenic contribution to climate change and has attracted a large following.
What may surprise you is that this comes from Abu al-Hasan al-Ash'ari, founder of the more ‘conservative’ (to give it a label) branch of Islamic philosophy. This is as opposed to what we might consider the more ‘liberal’ wing, the Mu'tazilites. The quote packs even more punch when read in context:
A section of the people (i.e., the Thahirites and…
There are exceptions, of course - some athletes will never be ethical no matter how much coaching they receive and not all coaches are ethical, but overall coaching helps athletes become more than better athletes. New survey data from Concordia University says coaches exert moral influence over athletes and how athletes respond.
The study garnered data from 17 elite coaches who had once been athletes themselves and found what they term compelling evidence that coaches can provide important moral guidance for their athletic charges. "Coaches have a unique relationship with their…
Obsession with duality
In the west we like to think in terms of dualities. Well known examples from diverse fields ranging from philosophy to physics included the physical/metaphysical duality in philosophy, the mind/brain duality in psychology, the genes/environment duality in biology, the enthalpy/entropy duality in chemistry, and the particle/wave duality in physics. We have our founding father of western philosophy, Plato, to thank for this obsession with dualistic thinking. He started it all by dividing the world into two realms - the ideal world of perfect forms on…