Illuminate the Opposition
Memes on communicating science and rationality to the masses in a way that is honest and genuine.
Folksonomies: spiritual naturalism communication
Memes
03 MAR 2014
How to Explain Science
As nearly as I can see, the only secret in popularising
science (or anything else) is remembering what thinking went on
in your head when you first really understood whatever it is
you're now explaining: especially (1) what misunderstandings
needed to be cleared away, (2) what metaphors and analogies
proved helpful, and (3) what reassurance had to be offered. The
effort involved is slight, the benefits great. Among the
potential pitfalls are oversimplification, the need to be sparing
w...
1 
Remember what was going on in your head when you first understood the thing.
24 DEC 2013
Conversation is the Nemesis of Scientific Thinking
The archenemy of scientific thinking is conversation, as in typical human conversational discourse, much of which is BS. I have become rather fed up with talking to people. Seriously, it is something of a problem. Fact is, folks are prone to getting pet opinions into their heads and thinking they’re true to the point of obstinacy, even when they have little or no idea of what they’re talking about in the first place. We all do it. It’s part of how the sloppy mind-generating piece of mea...
1 Gregory Paul on how conversations are prone to falshoods and equating opinions with facts.
20 DEC 2013
The Revolt Against Science
One response to the loss of control, for example, is a revulsion against intelligence.
Science first gave man a sense of mastery over his environment, and hence over the future.
By making the future seem malleable, instead of immutable, it shattered the opiate religions
that preached passivity and mysticism. Today, mounting evidence that society is out of
control breeds disillusionment with science. In consequence, we witness a garish revival of
mysticism. Suddenly astrology is the rage. Zen,...Nostalgia and pseudo-science are a revolt against what they perceive as the strict rules of science and central planning, but the lack of rules and planning results in putting people at the whims of chaos, which is even more limiting.
26 SEP 2013
Popular Science Shuts Down Comments
Comments can be bad for science. That's why, here at PopularScience.com, we're shutting them off.
[...]
...even a fractious minority wields enough power to skew a reader's perception of a story, recent research suggests. In one study led by University of Wisconsin-Madison professor Dominique Brossard, 1,183 Americans read a fake blog post on nanotechnology and revealed in survey questions how they felt about the subject (are they wary of the benefits or supportive?). Then, through a randoml...Comments on articles erode the public's trust in science.
06 AUG 2012
Definition of a Philosophe
Reason is to the philosopher what grace is to the Christian.
Grace causes the Christian to act, reason the philosopher.
Other men are carried away by their passions, their actions not being preceded by reflection: these are the men who walk in darkness. On the other hand, the philosopher, even in his passions, acts only after reflection: he walks in the dark, but by a torch.
The philosopher forms his principles from an infinity of particular observations. Most people adopt principles witho...Folksonomies: enlightenment philosophy
Folksonomies: enlightenment philosophy
Quoted in its entirety, this short essay capture the full essence of what it means to be an Enlightenment Scholar, to study the world and cherish civilization as sacred above all else.
12 JUN 2012
Ink VS Gunpowder
Printer's ink has been running a race against gunpowder these many, many years. Ink is handicapped, in a way, because you can blow up a man with gunpowder in half a second, while it may take twenty years to blow him up with a book. But the gunpowder destroys itself along with its victim, while a book can keep on exploding for centuries. Folksonomies: books
Folksonomies: books
Gunpowder can only explode once, books explode for centuries.
29 MAY 2011
Meme Strategies for Replicating into Minds
In addition to the survival-oriented memes that are still with us, there are some more types of memes that don't seem to particularly help or hurt our survival, but by their very nature are fit to spread effectively-these are memes that are fit simply because they are variations on the idea Spread this meme:
- Tradition. A strategy-meme to continue what was done or believed in the past is automatically self-perpetuating. It doesn't matter whether the tradition is good or bad, important or ir...The strategies memes use to promote themselves.
29 MAY 2011
Evangelize Evangelize Evangelize
It's interesting that once you have the shell of a successful mind virus set up, you can just plug in any agenda you have as long as it doesn't interfere with the virus's primary function of self-replication. There are many examples of such virus shells in modern life:
- Political campaign organizations. These often use the same basic formula: renting a vacant shell of office space, calling people and asking them to volunteer, and then having those volunteers call still more volunteers. The v...Promote the memes you support and tie them into memes about improving the quality of life.
28 MAY 2011
Darwin Didn't Sound Like a Scientist
"At least at the outset," wrote the journalist Malcolm Jones, Darwin "was hardly even a scientist in the sense that we understand the term—a highly trained specialist whose professional vocabulary is so arcane that he or she can talk only to other scientists. Folksonomies: science communication darwin
Folksonomies: science communication darwin
His terminology was down to earth, not complex.
18 MAY 2011
Scientists Must Practice Communicating Science
Why should it be hard for scientists to get science across? Some
scientists, including some very good ones, tell me they'd love to
popularize, but feel they lack talent in this area. Knowing and
explaining, they say, are not the same thing. What's the secret?
There's only one, I think: don't talk to the general audience as
you would to your scientific colleagues. There are terms that
convey your meaning instantly and accurately to fellow experts.
You may parse these phrases every day in your...And apply the scientific method to their efforts to determine what works.
19 APR 2011
Science Tames Nature by Understanding
Man masters nature not by force but by understanding. rhis is why science has succeeded where magic failed: because it has looked for no spell to cast over nature. The alchemist and the magician in the Middle Ages thought, and the addict of comic strips is still encouraged to think, that nature must be mastered by a device which outrages her laws. But in four hundred years since the Scientific Revolu tion we have learned that we gain our ends only with the laws of nature; we control her only ...Contrasted with comics, fiction, and religion, where nature is subdued by force and magic.
07 MAR 2011
Advice for Dealing with Trolls
What to do instead
So what should we do instead. It's very simple:
Ask him what he means. ; interrogate him:
"Why do you feel that Python is so bad? What do you find wrong with it?"
Agree with him (but use a softer language):
"Yes, Perl is a nice language, and I agree that Python has its downsides and/or trade-offs in comparison to Perl."
"It's OK to prefer Perl, we'll still accept you here."
This will make the troll lose steam and help you find a common ground.
And eventually nego...An interesting take on the issue, which borrows a page from Wikipedia's suggestions for debate.
07 MAR 2011
Advice for Communicating with Trolls Properly
Some Advice for Communicating with Trolls Properly
Relax: don't worry if you don't get everything exactly right.
Communicate clearly: write in the best spelling, grammar, punctuation, capitalisation, idiomatic speech, etc. that you can, no matter how bad the troll's messages were in this respect.
It may be a good idea to avoid too high or complicated words, because many foreign speakers of English often have poor English vocabulary.
Don't criticise what he says directly or the way he...Things to keep in mind and practice when arguing with Trolls.
05 MAR 2011
Coffee Party Civility Pledge
As a member or supporter of the Coffee Party, I pledge to conduct myself in a way that is civil, honest, and respectful toward people with whom I disagree. I value people from different cultures, I value people with different ideas, and I value and cherish the democratic process.Important principles for political discussions.
References
03 MAR 2014
Advocating science and hope : draft essay
Unpublished Work>Publication of Limited Circulation: Sagan , Carl (1994), Advocating science and hope : draft essay, Retrieved on 2014-03-03Source Material [www.loc.gov]
Folksonomies: science public policy
Folksonomies: science public policy
4 
19 DEC 2013
Future Shock
Books, Brochures, and Chapters>Book: Toffler, Alvin (1990), Future Shock, Random House LLC, Retrieved on 2013-12-19Source Material [books.google.com]
Folksonomies: social science
Folksonomies: social science
10
19 DEC 2013
This Will Make You Smarter
Books, Brochures, and Chapters>Book: Brockman , John (2012-02-14), This Will Make You Smarter, HarperCollins, Retrieved on 2013-12-19Source Material [books.google.com]
Folksonomies: science
Folksonomies: science
52
26 SEP 2013
Why We're Shutting Off Our Comments
Periodicals>Magazine Article: LaBarre, Suzanne (09.24.2013), Why We're Shutting Off Our Comments, Popular Science, Retrieved on 2013-09-26Source Material [www.popsci.com]
1
06 AUG 2012
Definition of a Philosophe
Books, Brochures, and Chapters>Book: Dumarsais, César Chesneau (1750), Definition of a Philosophe, The Portable Enlightenment Reader, Retrieved on 2012-08-06Source Material [uctaa.net]
Folksonomies: enlightenment
Folksonomies: enlightenment
1
12 JUN 2012
The Haunted Bookshop
Books, Brochures, and Chapters>Book: Morley , Christopher (1921), The Haunted Bookshop, Retrieved on 2012-06-12Source Material [books.google.com]
1
29 MAY 2011
Virus of the Mind: The New Science of the Meme
Books, Brochures, and Chapters>Book: Brodie , Richard (2011-02-15), Virus of the Mind: The New Science of the Meme, Hay House, Retrieved on 2011-05-29
20
28 MAY 2011
Unscientific America: How Scientific Illiteracy Threatens...
Books, Brochures, and Chapters>Book: Mooney, Chris and Kirshenbaum , Sheril (2009-07-13), Unscientific America: How Scientific Illiteracy Threatens our Future, Basic Books, Retrieved on 2011-05-28
10
04 MAY 2011
The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark
Books, Brochures, and Chapters>Book: Sagan , Carl and Druyan , Ann (1997-02-25), The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark, Ballantine Books, Retrieved on 2011-05-04
48
19 APR 2011
Science and Human Values
Books, Brochures, and Chapters>Book: Bronowski , Jacob (1965), Science and Human Values, Faber and Faber, Retrieved on 2011-04-19
17
07 MAR 2011
Dealing with Internet Trolls - the Cognitive Therapy Appr...
Electronic/World Wide Web>Blog: Fish, Shlomi (Mar. 6th, 2011), Dealing with Internet Trolls - the Cognitive Therapy Approach, Retrieved on 2011-03-07Source Material [unarmed.shlomifish.org]
2
05 MAR 2011
Coffee Party Civility Pledge
Electronic/World Wide Web>Internet Article: Party, Coffee (09/07/2010), Coffee Party Civility Pledge, Coffee Party USA, Retrieved on 2011-03-05Source Material [www.coffeepartyusa.com]
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