Category Archives: Science

THE CURRENT LIMITS ON 3-D PRINTING.

Posted on January 6, 2014 by Philip

THE CURRENT LIMITS ON 3-D PRINTING. I have posted several times on 3-D printing, partly because of wonder. When we first heard about 3-D printing, Mary Jane and I had the same reaction: “You’ve got to be kidding.” I explained … Continue reading →

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A SCIENTIST AT WORK.

Posted on January 3, 2014 by Philip

A SCIENTIST AT WORK. Charles Darwin’s gardener said: “I often wish he had something to do. He moons about in the garden, and I have seen him stand doing nothing before a flower for ten minutes at a time.” (from … Continue reading →

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THE SOKAL HOAX.

Posted on January 1, 2014 by Philip

THE SOKAL HOAX. Kids, the reference in the Economist article to a “Sokal moment” refers to a famous hoax perpetrated by Alan Sokal, a physics professor. This wikipedia article describes the hoax. In 1996 Sokal submitted an article to Social … Continue reading →

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“SCIENCE’S SOKAL MOMENT”.

Posted on December 31, 2013 by Philip

“SCIENCE’S SOKAL MOMENT”. Here in an article from the Economist is an argument against the kind of open-access journals that Professor Schekman praises. John Bohannan, a biologist at Harvard, wrote a fake paper about how a chemical extracted from lichen … Continue reading →

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IN FAVOR OF PUBLISHING MORE SCIENTIFIC PAPERS.

Posted on December 30, 2013 by Philip

IN FAVOR OF PUBLISHING MORE SCIENTIFIC PAPERS. Professor Schekman makes the same point that the Economist made in its cover story entitled “How Science Goes Wrong”, which I posted on here. Some of the wrong papers are being published because, … Continue reading →

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A BOYCOTT OF PRESTIGE SCIENCE JOURNALS.

Posted on December 29, 2013 by Philip

I have posted a number of times reporting on calls for more publication of replication studies and negative results. In 2013, the increased interest in replication studies was capped by an article in the Guardian by Randy Schekman, a winner … Continue reading →

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INTERRUPTING AT DINNER.

Posted on November 25, 2013 by Philip

INTERRUPTING AT DINNER. I am inclined toward Deborah Tannen’s theory of interruptions because our family had a conversational style which was close to everybody talking at once. It is perfectly possible to carry on multiple conversations at the same time. … Continue reading →

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IS INTERRUPTING A MATTER OF STYLE ?

Posted on November 24, 2013 by Philip

IS INTERRUPTING A MATTER OF STYLE? Linguist Deborah Tannen has advanced an alternative theory of interruptions. She thinks that conversational style, the pattern of taking turns in carrying a conversation, is the key to interruptions. She says in this interview … Continue reading →

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DO GREEKS INTERRUPT A LOT BECAUSE OF GREEK GRAMMAR?

Posted on November 23, 2013 by Philip

DO GREEKS INTERRUPT A LOT BECAUSE OF GREEK GRAMMAR? The Johnson column in the Economist (November 5) discussed the theory advanced by Athanasia Chalari, a Greek economist, that Greeks interrupt a lot because of grammar. This is her theory: “Greeks … Continue reading →

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CAN PEER REVIEW BE DISPENSED WITH?

Posted on November 17, 2013 by Philip

CAN PEER REVIEW BE DISPENSED WITH? The Economist article cites PLoS ONE several times. This is the same PLoS ONE journal that I linked to for the article about the word “Huh”. The Economist article points out that PLoS ONE … Continue reading →

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