Science & Society
antunes |
While you sit there, I am simultaneously providing this blog post, this podcast, and this AGU talk. All on the same topic-- how can we get scientists to provide science for public consumption.
The podcast poses these problems for you, the readers of science:
Who writes the science on the web?
What is their agenda?
Why don't scientists write it?
From the other side, my AGU talk tries to solve it for scientists. It's rooted in the way that science careers are made and lost.
Proposals -> Research -> Papers -> Proposals -> ...
This is the Carnot Cycle of Research Work…
While Christmas shopping today with my sister and little 3 year old niece, I noticed something that rather disturbed me. And as difficult as it is for me to say this—it was Barbie.
OMG. So many Barbies!
First, let me say that I loved Barbies as a young girl. I mean, I REALLY LOVED Barbies. I had so many Barbies, I lost count. I had a Barbie townhouse, a cottage, sports car, horses, boy-friends (Ken), etc, etc. I had so many clothes for Barbie, I had a huge trunk to keep them all in. As a wee lass, I spent pretty much all my time divided between reading encyclopedias and playing Barbies (what…
Lisa Rudy posted "Misinterpretation of Autism News Can Cause Serious Confusion" over at About.com's autism site, and the comments have gotten interesting and clearly demonstrate the growing gap between what consumers know and believe and what researchers have determined. This is something I've written about before, more at the beginning of the blog back in 09 than recently. This growing gap, coupled with the confidence that consumers have that their assessment of what autism is, what is known about it, and what treatments should be used (think the…
vongehr |
The pharmaceutics industry, too many science bloggers, “skeptics” - they all tell us that we should trust science and that all those who speak out for “natural” solutions are none other but religious idiots, or even monsters, criminals who do not refrain from harming your child for financial benefit. They try to bang it into our heads: Also nature is just chemistry; the often not applicable always-been-there-anyways-argument.
As I explained with help of the example of the vitamins E and D, the “tree huggers” often get it right plainly by staying “natural”. “Natural” basically means to, when…
The three problems of humanity were outlined in a talk by Nick Bostrom (of Oxford University, UK) at TED in April 2009.
In this piece I will continue to examine the "big" problems identified in the TEDTalk. It is this third point that begins to illustrate what the underlying objective of all the other pieces truly is.
Problem #3: Life Isn't Usually as Wonderful as it Could Be is a BIG problem
In this final section, we begin to considering the basic notion that why can't life be wonderful all the time. Certain points are made regarding how we might feel at particular…
This blog is in response1 to Patrick's excellent M.A.D. 2.0 article. It started as a comment, but I thought, what the heck, let's make it my first blog. I've got to make the leap at some point instead of just lurking and hijacking!
I've come to the conclusion that there is only one thing worse than running out of oil - and that is NOT running out of oil. As the prospect of continuous but ever depleting reserves of hydrocarbons seems quite likely, it becomes even more essential we find alternatives to our current toxic habits. As Patrick clearly articulates, we will be up to our ear-balls in…
In October an official from NASA leaked a military secret. NASA is doing a study intended to launch military star ships toward other nearby stars. The leak caused a lot of speculation in the news. In recent years the US military has tested a number of new space vehicles. At the same time NASA had to struggle financially just to support the old programs.
DARPA the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency issued a confirmation of the leak with little additional information.
http://www.darpa.mil/news/2010/starshipnewsrelease.pdf
About 10 years ago NASA had a program for Break Through…
The three problems of humanity were outlined in a talk by Nick Bostrom (of Oxford University, UK) at TED in April 2009.In this piece I will continue to examine the "big" problems identified in the TEDTalk.
Problem #2: Existential Risk is a BIG problem.
In this section the emphasis shifts to humanity in general, with consideration for the future (potential) of humanity as a species. While admitting that there are no realistic studies and that any probabilities are ultimately guesses, the conclusion drawn is that there is somewhere between 20% and 50% probability that the human…
antunes |
Anyone can be skeptical about a scientific result. It's good to state your skepticism, to make your view known. But are you done once you speak your view? Is that all it takes, a quick skeptical wrench and we shut off the flow of science? Guest writer Dan Krimm neatly captures the useful role of skepticism in the scientific process, below.
AlexTuesdays at The Satellite Diaries and Friday at The Daytime Astronomer (twitter @skyday)
'Skepticism about Skepticism', by Dan Krimm
The skepticism inherent in the scientific method itself is what keeps it strong as our best collective approach (not…
vongehr |
The title, “The 2010s will be to the 2060s what the 1960s are to us today” is in a sense the most uplifting quote I have heard in a long while (yeah, I know about all the bad things, too, whatever). Since the 60s also stand for quite some influence of psychoactive substances onto later influential, if not revolutionary science and technology that made especially the "2.0" of Science2.0 possible at all, and since indeed the 2.0 part is taking off right now (as is a new wave of psychoactive activity above and underground), I found these quite fitting to add to the topic of Science2.0. I know,…