25 MAY 2015 by ideonexus
Brian Christian: Scientific Knowledge Should Be Structure...
In my view, what's most outmoded within science, most badly in need of retirement, is the way we structure and organize scientific knowledge itself. Academic literature, even as it moves online, is a relic of the era of typesetting, modeled on static, irrevocable, toothpaste-out-of-the-tube publication. Just as the software industry has moved from a "waterfall" process to an "agile" process—from monolithic releases shipped from warehouses of mass-produced disks to over-the-air differential ...Folksonomies: peer review
Folksonomies: peer review
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notes21 JUN 2014 by ideonexus
CBN, Science, and Politics
When viewed closely, however, CBN‘s and Robertson‘s openness to science seems less about a conservative Christian paradigmatic shift and more about CBN‘s relationship with the public. CBN‘s devotion to engagement with mainstream culture inevitably requires engagement with science because science is inextricably interwoven into the secular realm, which Robertson hopes to influence. CBN is a mix of fundamentalist, evangelical, charismatic, Catholic, and Protestant Christians brought tog... 1 notes
notes15 NOV 2013 by ideonexus
Observations are Grounded in Language
What are observations? Some philosophers have taken them to be sensory events: the occurrence of smells, feels, noises, color patches. This way lies frustration. What we ordinarily notice and testify to are rather the objects and events out in the world. It is to these that our very language is geared, because language is a social institution, learned from other people who share the scene to which the words refer. Observation sentences, like theoretical sentences, are for the most part senten... 1 notes
notesNot senses.
21 JUN 2012 by ideonexus
Marxism and Freudianism are Not Science
The difficulties connected with my criterion of demarcation (D) are important, but must not be exaggerated. It is vague, since it is a methodological rule, and since the demarcation between science and nonscience is vague. But it is more than sharp enough to make a distinction between many physical theories on the one hand, and metaphysical theories, such as ' psychoanalysis, or Marxism (in its present form), on the other. This is, of course, one of my main theses; and nobody who has not unde... 1 notes
notesMarxism did not allow itself to be tested, Freudianism was so flexible as to have an explanation for everything.
05 JUN 2012 by ideonexus
How Science Really Works
It is often held that scientific hypotheses are constructed, and are to be constructed, only after a detailed weighing of all possible evidence bearing on the matter, and that then and only then may one consider, and still only tentatively, any hypotheses. This traditional view however, is largely incorrect, for not only is it absurdly impossible of application, but it is contradicted by the history of the development of any scientific theory. What happens in practice is that by intuitive ins...Folksonomies: scientific method hypothesis
Folksonomies: scientific method hypothesis
1 notes
notesThe scientist focuses on certain details, then hypothesizes, the hypothesis that holds up becomes theory.
21 SEP 2011 by ideonexus
Creationism Resistance to Evolution
Why does the public care so passionately about a theory of biology?
Because people sense intuitively that there’s much more at stake than a
scientific theory. They know that when naturalistic evolution is taught
in the science classroom, then a naturalistic view of ethics will be
taught down the hallway in the history classroom, the sociology classroom,
the family life classroom, and in all areas of the curriculum.Folksonomies: creationism
Folksonomies: creationism
1 notes
notesBecause they feel more is at stake than a scientific theory.
21 SEP 2011 by ideonexus
Evolution Threatens Creationists Sense of Values
At this point I could simply say, “I’ve given the evidence, and it shows
that evolution is true. Q.E.D.” But I’d be remiss if I did that, because, like
the businessman I encountered after my lecture, many people require
more than just evidence before they’ll accept evolution. To these folks,
evolution raises such profound questions of purpose, morality, and
meaning that they just can’t accept it no matter how much evidence they
see. It’s not that we evolved from apes that bother... 1 notes
notesResistance to evolution is less about the theory and more about its moral implications.
06 SEP 2011 by ideonexus
Model, Experiment, Theory
Model-making, the imaginative and logical steps which precede the experiment, may be judged the most valuable part of scientific method because skill and insight in these matters are rare. Without them we do not know what experiment to do. But it is the experiment which provides the raw material for scientific theory. Scientific theory cannot be built directly from the conclusions of conceptual models. 1 notes
notesModels, the creative part of science, is neccessary to know what experiments to perform, and experiments lead to theories.
28 AUG 2011 by ideonexus
Karl Popper's Conclusions About Good Theories
It is easy to obtain confirmations, or verifications, for nearly every theory — if we look for confirmations.
Confirmations should count only if they are the result of risky predictions; that is to say, if, unenlightened by the theory in question, we should have expected an event which was incompatible with the theory — an event which would have refuted the theory.
Every "good" scientific theory is a prohibition: it forbids certain things to happen. The more a theory forb... 1 notes
notesSummarized by the criteria of falsifiability, or refutability, or testability.
08 JUL 2011 by ideonexus
Nature is a Teaching Machine
Nature seems to act on us as a teaching machine. When a scientist reaches a new understanding of nature, he or she experiences an intense pleasure. These experiences over long periods have taught us how to judge what sort of scientific theory will provide the pleasure of understanding nature. 1 notes
notesScientists experience intense pleasure from studying nature.
