19 DEC 2020 by ideonexus
Mathematicians as Birds and Frogs
Some mathematicians are birds, others are frogs. Birds fly high in the air and survey broad vistas of mathematics out to the far horizon. They delight in concepts that unify our thinking and bring together diverse problems from different parts of the landscape. Frogs live in the mud below and see only the flowers that grow nearby. They delight in the details of particular objects, and they solve problems one at a time. I happen to be a frog, but many of my best frien...Folksonomies: science science culture
Folksonomies: science science culture
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notes06 JAN 2018 by ideonexus
Border Crossings into Science Culture
Learning to communicate in and with a culture of science is a much broader undertaking than mastering a body of discrete conceptual or procedural knowledge. One observer, for example, describes the process of science education as one in which learners must engage in "border crossings" from their own everyday world culture into the subculture of science.^ The subculture of science is in part distinct from other cultural activities and in part a reflection of the cultural backgrounds of scienti... 1 notes
notes23 MAR 2013 by ideonexus
The Argonauts
You are part of a scientifc techno-progressive movement
that seeks to solve transhumanity’s injustices and
inequalities with technology. You support universal
access to technology and healthcare, open source
models of production, morphological freedom, and
democratization. You try to avoid factionalism and
divisive politics, seeing transhumanity’s splintering as
a hindrance to its perpetuation.
2 Fictional organization in the Eclipse Phase universe that is pro-science and technology as a means to justice.
13 APR 2012 by ideonexus
The Lunar Society
In 1764, the Lunar Society (so named because they met for dinner on the Monday night nearest the full moon; they called themselves the "Lunatics") was formed it in Birmingham and promoted new scientific and technological ideas. The original founders included Erasmus Darwin (Charles Darwin's grandfather), William Small (Jefferson's mentor), and the industrialist Matthew Boulton. Soon the "Lunatics" included many of the great minds in Britain (including Benjamin Franklin when he visited). In Sc... 1 notes
notesReferred to themselves as "Lunatics" and included many famous Americans and scientists.
28 JAN 2012 by ideonexus
Every Region is the Scientist's Fatherland
And when statesmen or others worry him [the scientist] too much, then he should leave with his possessions. With a firm and steadfast mind one should hold under all conditions, that everywhere the earth is below and the sky above and to the energetic man, every region is his fatherland.Folksonomies: politics science culture
Folksonomies: politics science culture
1 notes
notesA quote from Tycho Brahe urging scientists to move away when politicians or other authorities pressure them.
02 JAN 2012 by ideonexus
Humphry Davy Accepts and Award from France While England ...
Some people say I ought not to accept this prize; and there have been foolish paragraphs in the papers to that effect; but if the two countries or governments are at war, the men of science are not. That would, indeed, be a civil war of the worst description: we should rather, through the instrumentality of men of science, soften the asperities of national hostility. 1 notes
notesHe says that while their countries may be at war, their men of science are not.
19 APR 2011 by ideonexus
Respect is a Scientific Virtue
The society of scientists must be a democracy.® It can keep alive and grow only by a constant tension between dissent and respect; between independence from the views of Others, and tolerance for them. The crux of the ethical problem is to fuse these, the private and the public needs. Tolerance alone is not enough; this is why the bland, kindly civilizations of the East, where to contradict is a personal affront, developed no strong science. And independence is not enough either: the sad his...Mutual respect, building ideas on other ideas, is crucial to how science works.
19 APR 2011 by ideonexus
Scientists Create and Thrive in a Stable Civilization
I take a different view of science as a method; to me, it enters the human spirit more directly. Therefore I have studied quite another achievement: that of making a human society work. As a set of discoveries and devices, science has mastered nature; but it has been able to do so only because its values, which derive from its method, have formed those who practice it into a living, stable and incorruptible society. Here is a community where everyone has been free to enter, to speak his mind,...Folksonomies: science culture science virtue
Folksonomies: science culture science virtue
There's a question of cause and effect in considering Bronowski's observation.
15 APR 2011 by ideonexus
Rules in Science and the Loss of the Brontosaurus
A hundred years earlier, a very popular dinosaur mistakenly got named twice. The first time it was called "Apatosaurus" or "deceptive lizard" and nobody much cared, because the name was dull and the fossil wasn't all that spectacular, but later discoveries were more dramatic and looked different enough that scientists mistakenly thought they'd found a new dinosaur. They called it "Brontosaurus" (meaning "thunder lizard").
Brontosaurus stuck, in part because of the cool name, plus the Sinclai...Folksonomies: science facts science culture
Folksonomies: science facts science culture
1 notes
notesThe story of the Apatosaurus and the Brontosaurus and how one was lost as a dinosaur because of some, fabled "rule" of science. Are there really rules of science? Aren't they just cultural conventions of scientists? Why not adhere to broader cultural norms?
