27 JUL 2018 by ideonexus
Four Mertonian norms
The four Mertonian norms (often abbreviated as the CUDOS-norms) can be summarised as:
communalism: all scientists should have common ownership of scientific goods (intellectual property), to promote collective collaboration; secrecy is the opposite of this norm.
universalism: scientific validity is independent of the sociopolitical status/personal attributes of its participants
disinterestedness: scientific institutions act for the benefit of a common scientific enterprise, rather than for t...01 JUN 2011 by ideonexus
Cannabis Insights
I can remember the night that I suddenly realized what it was like to be crazy, or nights when my feelings and perceptions were of a religious nature. I had a very accurate sense that these feelings and perceptions, written down casually, would not stand the usual critical scrutiny that is my stock in trade as a scientist. If I find in the morning a message from myself the night before informing me that there is a world around us which we barely sense, or that we can become one with the unive...Insights under the effects of cannabis seem crazy, but there are also perceptual enhancements that are verifiable to the sober mind.