“Britain’s Science Council has spent the past year working out a new definition of the word ‘science’. But how does it measure up to the challenge of intelligent design and creationism?”
http://www.theguardian.com/science/blog/2009/mar/03/science-definition-council-francis-bacon
A nice summary that discusses the nature of the subject.
One of my favorite TED Talks.
“What does real scientific work look like? As neuroscientist Stuart Firestein jokes: It looks a lot less like the scientific method and a lot more like “farting around … in the dark.” In this witty talk, Firestein gets to the heart of science as it is really practiced and suggests that we should value what we don’t know — or “high-quality ignorance” — just as much as what we know.”
Interesting discussion on the definitions of science and the distinctions between what we would consider natural sciences and the human sciences.
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2010/11/30/anthroscience
“A genetically inferior man assumes the identity of a superior one in order to pursue his lifelong dream of space travel.”
A great movie that delves into interesting aspects of the ethics and consequences of genetic engineering.
Is it ethical to make artwork if the process kills other living things? Does it matter that those things that are dying are ants? What if we gain scientific knowledge in the process? Take a look at the videos below. Consider those questions.
Video of the process
Pictures of the various casts he has made
http://www.ebay.com/blogs/stories/aluminum-anthill-art-fever-hits-ebay
“Whether it’s cucumbers splashing into water or models sitting smugly next to a pile of vegetables, it’s tough not to be sucked in by the detox industry. The idea that you can wash away your calorific sins is the perfect antidote to our fast-food lifestyles and alcohol-lubricated social lives. But before you dust off that juicer or take the first tentative steps towards a colonic irrigation clinic, there’s something you should know: detoxing – the idea that you can flush your system of impurities and leave your organs squeaky clean and raring to go – is a scam. It’s a pseudo-medical concept designed to sell you things.”
http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/dec/05/detox-myth-health-diet-science-ignorance
“But with the G.M.O. bill, he often despaired of assembling the information he needed to definitively decide. Every time he answered one question, it seemed, new ones arose. Popular opinion masqueraded convincingly as science, and the science itself was hard to grasp. People who spoke as experts lacked credentials, and G.M.O. critics discounted those with credentials as being pawns of biotechnology companies.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/05/us/on-hawaii-a-lonely-quest-for-facts-about-gmos.html
“Religion provides a sense of meaning and comfort for believers, and studies show that such beliefs intensify during threatening situations. Now research suggests that some people’s faith in science may serve the same role.”
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-science-mimics-faith/
“The concept of paradigm shifts was first articulated by US philosopher Thomas Kuhn in a 1962 book, ‘The Structure of Scientific Revolutions.’
“A sea change in thinking entails not only the overturning of a theory but the creation of an entirely new world view, he said.”
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