Clipmarks | wildcat's 'science' clips

According to Popper

Tue, 24 Jun 2008 10:16:45 GMT

clipped by: wildcat
clipper's remarks: According to Popper, a science without limits or imperfections or fixable flaws isn't science: it's metaphysics. In this sense, the end goal of science - the construction of a perfect mirror to reality - isn't just unrealistic: it's also unscientific.

Clip Source: scienceblogs.com

It's a truism that the favorite philosopher of every scientist is Karl Popper. (In my own experience, this truism is mostly true.) Popper, or so the story goes, stood up for empirical fact when the post-modernists were descending into Deleuze and Derrida and difference. His popularity among experimentalists is also a side-effect of simplicity, as his fundamental idea is easy enough for just about anyone to understand: Popper famously pointed out that science never proves things true, it merely proves things false (this is the falsifiability doctrine). In other words, scientists proceed in stuttering steps, advancing by saying what theories are wrong. The truth is just what (temporarily) survives.

it's easy to not notice how radical an idea this is. But look closer. For Popper, all discovery is really just criticism

Scientific truth is true precisely because it is open to change, willing to reverse itself and admit its errors

Tags: popper, science, philosophy

Science fiction hall of fame 2008

Mon, 23 Jun 2008 14:08:12 GMT

clipped by: wildcat

Clip Source: www.empsfm.org

Inductees Named for 2008 Science Fiction Hall of Fame

On Saturday, June 21, EMP|SFM will hold its 2008 Science Fiction Hall of Fame induction ceremony. Those being honored this year are Betty and Ian Ballantine (Literature Category), William Gibson (Literature Category), Richard M. Powers (Art Category), and Rod Serling (Film, Television and Media Category.) The annual celebration starts at 8:00 p.m. in EMP|SFM’s Sky Church. Science fiction author Connie Willis will host the evening’s events.

2008 Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony >>

2008 Hall of Fame Inductees Press Release >>

2008 Inductees

Ian Ballantine 1916 - 1995
Betty Ballantine 1919 -

Rod Serling 1924 - 1975

William Gibson 1948 -

Richard M. Powers 1921 - 1996

About the Science Fiction Hall of Fame

The Hall of Fame honors the lives, works, and ongoing legacies of science fiction's greatest creators.

Tags: scifi, hall of fame

Singularity economics and the future of money

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 11:12:36 GMT

clipped by: wildcat

Clip Source: www.depressedmetabolism.com

On his website, Robin Hanson discusses an unfilled niche in economics which he calls the “economics of science fiction” or “economics of future technology.” Another modern phrase would be “Singularity economics.” Hanson describes the economics of science fiction as the:

“economic analysis of the sorts of assumptions typically explored in science fiction. It is distinguished from the typical hard science fiction analysis by using the tools of professional economics, rather than the intuitive social scientist of the typical engineer. And it is distinguished from most economics by taking seriously the idea that we can now envision the outlines of new technologies which may have dramatic impacts on our society.”

One interesting question is how future advances in science and human nature will impact the monetary system. Two developments that may have a substantial impact on the future of money are molecular nanotechnology and the stability of governments.

Tags: singularity, economics

I See Doomed People

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 11:18:04 GMT

clipped by: wildcat

Clip Source: www.sciam.com

The director of The Happening, M. Night Shyamalan, talks about his scientific and environmental inspirations

In M. Night Shyamalan's film Signs, the protagonist suffers a crisis of faith so deep that it takes an alien invasion of Earth for him to work it out. In Shyamalan's latest movie, The Happening, which opens today, the protagonist suffers a crisis of reason. Unfortunately, this time not even the looming extinction of humanity resolves it for him.

Given that it's mass entertainment, the film raises a lot of interesting questions about science, and it's clear from it that Shyamalan's interest in science goes much deeper than a superficial mining of ideas for plotlines. His protagonist, high school biology teacher Elliot Moore (played by Mark Wahlberg), lectures about the limits of science's ability to explain the world and applies his critical faculties to staying alive when the "happening" happens.

(Spoiler alert from here on!)

Tags: the happening, reason

Books That Changed My Life

Sun, 15 Jun 2008 09:12:54 GMT

clipped by: wildcat
clipper's remarks: What's your list of Books That Changed Your Life?

Clip Source: www.kk.org

Books still have the power to change lives. Which ones have changed yours?

I don't mean merely great books, or memorable ones, or favorite ones. I mean books that altered your behavior, changed your mind, redirected the course of your life. Books as levers.

Childhood's End -- For a kid growing up without TV in the boring enclaves of suburbia in the 50s and early 60s, science fiction opened up my universe. I devoured any and all science fiction our public library contained. Arthur C. Clarke's stories in particular birthed a life-long interest in science, and a deep respect for the power of imagination. This story of a singularity always stuck with me as something to prepare for. (Available from Amazon)

Whole Earth Catalog --

The Fountainhead -

Leaves of Grass --

My Experiments with Truth

The Bible --

Godel, Escher, Bach

The Ultimate Resource -

Finite and Infinite GamesÂ

What's your list of Books That Changed Your Life?

Tags: books, life changing

Put a Little Science in Your Life

Fri, 06 Jun 2008 08:56:10 GMT

clipped by: wildcat

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

Allow me a moment to explain.

But here’s the thing. The reason science really matters runs deeper still. Science is a way of life. Science is a perspective. Science is the process that takes us from confusion to understanding in a manner that’s precise, predictive and reliable — a transformation, for those lucky enough to experience it, that is empowering and emotional. To be able to think through and grasp explanations — for everything from why the sky is blue to how life formed on earth — not because they are declared dogma but rather because they reveal patterns confirmed by experiment and observation, is one of the most precious of human experiences.

As a practicing scientist, I know this from my own work and study. But I also know that you don’t have to be a scientist for science to be transformative. I’ve seen children’s eyes light up as I’ve told them about black holes and the Big Bang

Tags: science, way of life

Another internet blog map...

Thu, 05 Jun 2008 16:08:13 GMT

clipped by: shandora
clipper's remarks: This map shows blogs as nodes (coloured spots) and lines represent the links between them. Nodes within the centre are blogs based on technical discussion and gadgetry. Nodes at the outer part of the sphere are non- technical blogs that link to the centre. Colours represent the URL, where blogs hosted at the same domain have the same colour. This image was created by Matthew Hurst.

Clip Source: www.sciencephoto.com

Tags: science, technology, art, visualization

Neurologist Explores Music's Healing Power

Tue, 03 Jun 2008 13:02:42 GMT

clipped by: wildcat

Clip Source: www.livescience.com

NEW YORK (AP) - Noted neurologist Oliver Sacks has found common ground with the pastor of Harlem's Abyssinian Baptist Church: Both men believe in the healing power of music.

Sacks, the best-selling author of "Awakenings" and "The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat," was to share the church stage Saturday with the famed gospel choir as part of the inaugural World Science Festival, a five-day celebration of science taking place in New York this week.

"It should be an exciting and unusual event," Sacks said in an interview this week. "I will talk about the therapeutic and beneficent power of music as a physician, and then their wonderful choir will perform. ... And the audience will make what they can of it."

Sacks' most recent book is "Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain," which examines the relationship between music and the brain, including its healing effect on people suffering from such diseases as Tourette's syndrome, Parkinson's, autism and Alzheimer's.

Tags: neurology, healingmusic

The Science of Sarcasm (Not That You Care)

Tue, 03 Jun 2008 12:55:32 GMT

clipped by: wildcat

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

There was nothing very interesting in Katherine P. Rankin’s study of sarcasm — at least, nothing worth your important time. All she did was use an M.R.I. to find the place in the brain where the ability to detect sarcasm resides. But then, you probably already knew it was in the right parahippocampal gyrus.

What you may not have realized is that perceiving sarcasm, the smirking put-down that buries its barb by stating the opposite, requires a nifty mental trick that lies at the heart of social relations: figuring out what others are thinking. Those who lose the ability, whether through a head injury or the frontotemporal dementias afflicting the patients in Dr. Rankin’s study, just do not get it when someone says during a hurricane, “Nice weather we’re having.”

Tags: science, sarcasm

The Science of Irrationality: Why We Humans Behave So Strangely

Wed, 28 May 2008 17:00:38 GMT

clipped by: wildcat

Clip Source: www.sciam.com

The Science of Irrationality: Why We Humans Behave So Strangely

MIT's Dan Ariely discusses his research in behavioral economics and explains how to deal with our brain's flawed decision-making process

Dan Ariely is a behavioral economist at the Massachusetts Intitute of Technology and author of the best-selling book, Predictably Irrational (HarperCollins, 2008). In recent years, he has demonstrated that random digits can influence bids in an auction, that sexual arousal leads to reckless decisions (at least in college males) and that brand-name aspirin is more effective at treating headaches than generic aspirin, even when the pills are identical. Mind Matters editor Jonah Lehrer chats with Ariely about his research.

Most of my experiments begin as a way for me to investigate and gain a better understanding of my own behavior or the behavior that I observe around me

Tags: irrationality, behavior, brain

From 'gay plague' to global tragedy

Sat, 24 May 2008 09:08:06 GMT

clipped by: wildcat

Clip Source: www.cosmosmagazine.com

The AIDS battle marks an important anniversary this week, bringing to mind victories of science and human spirit but also defeats, stigma and ignorance.

On May 20 1983, in a paper published in the U.S. journal Science, a team from France's Pasteur Institute, led by Luc Montagnier, described a suspect virus found in a patient who had died of AIDS.

Montagnier's groundbreaking work (see, The hunt for HIV, Cosmos Online) led to the determination by U.S. researcher Robert Gallo that the virus was indeed the cause of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS).

At last, a key had been found to understanding the mysterious immune-ravaging disease – the "gay plague" as British tabloids smugly called it – which had surfaced among American homosexuals two years earlier.

It took another three years to resolve a spat over the pair's rival claims to be first to discover the AIDS virus, enabling the duo to share equally in the glory. The mood was upbeat.

Tragically premature

Tags: africa, aids

The Science of Cyclones

Wed, 07 May 2008 08:46:14 GMT

clipped by: wildcat

Clip Source: cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com

The catastrophic cyclone that hit Myanmar hints at the shape of things to come in a warming world — but probably not for the reason you think. Chris Mooney, the author of "Storm World," argues that the tragedy says more about the sad state of infrastructure in the developing world than it does about the raw impact of climate change. However, shifts in climate will likely accentuate that global rich-vs.-poor split.

Mooney has been focusing on the intersection of science and politics for years - in his Weblog, aptly titled "The Intersection," as well as in his first book, "The Republican War on Science."

"Storm World: Hurricanes, Politics and the Battle Over Global Warming" traces more than a century of often-sharp disputes over climate science. Mooney, who grew up in New Orleans, was moved to delve deeply into the subject by Hurricane Katrina, one of the most politically charged storms in U.S. history.

Tags: cyclones, storms, infrastructure, rich, poor

Is happiness having what you want, wanting what you have, or both?

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 09:58:25 GMT

clipped by: wildcat

Clip Source: physorg.com

Some argue that happiness is not having what you want, but wanting what you have. This maxim sounds reasonable enough, but can it be tested, and if so, is it true?

It turns out it can be tested. Texas Tech University psychologist Jeff Larsen and Amie McKibban of Wichita State University asked undergraduates to indicate whether they possessed 52 different material items, such as a car, a stereo or a bed.

Their results, which appear in the April issue of the Association for Psychological Science’s journal, Psychological Science, suggest that people can grow accustomed to their possessions and thereby derive less happiness from them.

They also suggest, however, that people can continue to want the things they have and that those who do so can achieve greater happiness.

“Simply having a bunch of things is not the key to happiness,” Larsen said. “Our data show that you also need to appreciate those things you have. It’s also important to keep your desire for things you don’t own in check.”

Tags: happiness, want, things, have

Spiritual Transcendence in Transhumanism

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 09:15:29 GMT

clipped by: wildcat

Clip Source: jetpress.org

The evolution of science and technology to the next several levels must include a harmonious symbiosis between science and religion. Human civilization has so far shown a stereotyped conflict between either. Both science and religion must be regarded as equally important methods for spiritual transcendence in transhumanism. This paper discusses how religion can complement the ideals of transhumanism if looked from a new perspective. The paper draws primarily on Eastern religious thought, particularly Hinduism, to explain why it is important for transhumanists and progressive futurists of science and technology to find common ground with religion in order to evolve. It is important for transhumanism to extract the transcendent messages from different religions. It also becomes important for religious thinkers to draw from the ideals of transhumanist philosophies in order to allow the survival of progressive religious thought into the undefined future.

Tags: transcendence, transhumanism, religion

Move over Galileo, it's Science 2.0

Fri, 07 Mar 2008 11:19:23 GMT

clipped by: wildcat
clipper's remarks: Science 2.0 is about studying design of rapidly changing socio-technical systems. These studies are not replicable in a lab,”

Clip Source: physorg.com

In a provocative article in this week’s Science Magazine, the University of Maryland’s Ben Shneiderman, one of the world’s leading researchers and innovators in human-computer interaction, says it’s time for the laboratory research that has defined science for the last 400 years to make room for a revolutionary new method of scientific discovery.

He calls it Science 2.0., and it combines the hypothesis based inquiry of laboratory science with the methods of social science research to understand and improve the use of new human networks made possible by today’s digital connectivity. Through Science 2.0, the societal potential of such networks can be realized for applications ranging from homeland security to medical care to the environment.

“It’s time for researchers in science to take network collaboration like this to the next phase and reap the potential intellectual and societal payoffs. We need to understand the principles that are at work in these systems,” said Shneiderman.

Tags: social network, science