Philosophy & Ethics

Negative aspect Long time ago I used to think that science is a way to take raw data and logically deduct statements about the world. I used to think that it has some kind of strong metaphysical foundations, which let us prove statements; that we can then ...

Blog Post - Helium Väli - Jun 15 2010 - 5:47pm

Clausewitz On Science

Clausewitz On Science Clausewitz On War- yes. But Clausewitz On Science? Carl Philipp Gottfried von Clausewitz is famous for his book Vom Kriege- On War. In that book he is very specific in stating that there is no 'science of war'. In order f ...

Article - Patrick Lockerby - Jun 17 2010 - 11:32am

Bugs- Heh... Ya Never Know What They're Thinking- And Something About The Gulf Oil War, Too

Since I do educational outreach programs with living Arthropods (referred to below as BUGS!), I have to actually have bugs. Some people think that’s weird. I’m okay with that. I don’t imagine many would find it surprising that I have always had bugs – or ...

Article - Mark Berman - Jun 18 2010 - 12:25am

When Art Meets War

When Art Meets War If you want to make a good historical movie you should find yourself a good historian. If one of the characters is a singer, make sure they sing in a contemporary style. Now add in a stirring contemporary theme tune and you may well hav ...

Article - Patrick Lockerby - Jun 18 2010 - 9:28pm

Ethics And The Use Of Animal Models

Introduction The use of non-human animal models has allowed the fast progression of scientific discovery over the last several centuries. These experiments have lead to great discoveries that have allowed for the alleviation of suffering, sickness, and di ...

Article - Keith Zimmerman - Jun 25 2010 - 4:19pm

Scientific Consensus

Scientific Consensus Some scientific ideas are so easily grasped that they are easily explained to the general public. Other ideas can only be fully understood after a minimum level of training and studies in the relevant area. A few ideas are so obscur ...

Article - Patrick Lockerby - Jun 28 2010 - 5:07am

Am I Allowed To Say This?

Am I Allowed To Say This? Law is the means by which the simplest ideas are expressed in the most complex language. Civil law is the means by which private arguments are rapidly made public at great expense. Right! That's the whimsy out of the way. ...

Article - Patrick Lockerby - Jul 1 2010 - 9:25am

Scienceblogs 'PepsiGate' goes from hyperbole to legitimate scandal

I thought the 'PepsiGate' issue, as former Scienceblogs folks termed it, was overblown. As I discussed in Symbol Stacks And Science Communication, it wasn't the first time they did it and Scienceblogs had become known this year for hosting ...

Blog Post - Hank Campbell - Jul 13 2010 - 9:45am

Belief, Knowledge, And Truth

It is interesting how often and freely we use these three elements of thought processing and presume that what we are expressing is being legitimately represented. Beliefs are readily interpreted as knowledge, and knowledge is often characterized as being ...

Article - Gerhard Adam - Jul 9 2010 - 12:30pm

Should science bloggers be paid?

In the wake of the PepsiGate scandal at Scienceblogs.com, which apparently everyone except bloggers there saw coming (1), one person comes up with the obvious 'money corrupts all' argument, but is that really so? ...

Blog Post - Hank Campbell - Jul 10 2010 - 2:04pm