- Chris Jordan visualizes large numbers. Amazing.
- Frizions - photographs of polarized light shining through ice [via NewScientist].
- Signspotting - a collection of signs with varying degrees of funniness, some are just hilarious.
- Dave Gray's slide show "Free the Facts" on Science and the importance of Open Access:
Uh, some of Chris Jordan's numbers seem obviously, egregiously wrong.
ReplyDeleteHi Bee,
ReplyDeleteA nice selection you have offered here. Of course for me the one that resonates most strongly is “Free the Facts”. Although, I think that this should be modified to making more affordable and accessible the facts, as anything that becomes to be free is then also considered as worthless. In short, one should be able to know Popper’s facts, without resultantly becoming in fact a pauper:-)
Best,
Phil
Bee - yes the snow has been fairly light this winter, though at least very little rain or warm to melt what is there!
ReplyDeleteSadly I am missing out of the big dump today as I've had to deal with flooding in my condo here in ny (a neighbors pipe broke) but I'll be going north again in short order!
On another note, the potholes seem very bad this year :(
Jordan's work is stunning and dismaying, I hope it has an impact. Ivan, I'll bet (no money!) those figures are right, but you can likely Google for them, etc. Try as project and get back to us.
ReplyDeletePopper's claims about science and what is or isn't meaningful ironically fail their own test - they are metaphysical type claims, or recommendations, not falsifiable facts themselves! This foils every attempt to attack philosophy and support hard science, since you can't either
1. Frame the issues about science and meaning, etc.
2. Critique philosphy, "metaphysics" etc.
without doing non-science philosophy (ie. w/o argumentation instead of experiments - we wouldn't know what to make of the experiments and whether they should be the only way to know things, without ironic support from arguments! It's tough luck.
Thanks for giving this issue of how un-free are the "facts" air on your blog.
ReplyDeleteIt is one of my pet-peeves. Given so much research is supported (often wholly) by tax money, why should the taxpayers have to pay a second time to have access to the product produced on their dime?
Yes, some research is private, and private entities will patent applications of said research as much as possible, which is good.
I hope to raise some questions about the roles and responsibililties of the individual in a society..."
ReplyDeleteRoles, perhaps. Responsibilites, no. 'Debt', especially emotional, is an inherent human psychological burden.