Now on ScienceBlogs: And so, driven on ceaselessly toward new shores
Janet D. Stemwedel (whose nom de blog is Dr. Free-Ride) is an associate professor of philosophy at San Jose State University. Before becoming a philosopher, she earned a Ph.D. in physical chemistry. Email her at dr.freeride@gmail.com.
Widget doesn't work? Here's my giving page. Thanks!
Blog carnivals I enjoy:
Add Adventures in Ethics and Science to your Technorati Favorites!
Category: Basic concepts
No, I'm not going to be able to get away with claiming that truth is beauty, and beauty, truth. The first issue in understanding truth is recognizing that truth is a property of a proposition. (What's a proposition? A proposition...
Posted by Janet D. Stemwedel at 7:19 PM • 14 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Basic concepts
Why does salt "melt" snails and slugs? (And how do people manage to prepare escargot without ending up with a big pot of goo?)
Posted by Janet D. Stemwedel at 5:55 PM • 7 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
This is National Chemistry Week. It's always chosen to coincide with whichever calendar week includes October 23 (or 10/23), since October 23 is "Mole Day". "Huh? Why would chemists celebrate a furry critter that burrows underground?" Not that mole. The...
Posted by Janet D. Stemwedel at 11:52 AM • 10 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
How do scientists think they ought to behave? How do they actually behave?
Posted by Janet D. Stemwedel at 4:07 PM • 4 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
The tribe of science shares a set of values. The larger society's values sometimes pull the other direction.
Posted by Janet D. Stemwedel at 10:39 AM • 5 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Since much of what I write about the responsible conduct of research takes them for granted, it's time that I wrote a basic concepts post explaining the norms of science famously described by sociologist Robert K. Merton in 1942. [1]...
Posted by Janet D. Stemwedel at 1:05 PM • 3 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
A regular reader of the blog emailed me the following: Have you ever considered setting up a section for laymen in your blog where posts related to the philosophy of science, how research is conducted, how scientists think etc. are...
Posted by Janet D. Stemwedel at 10:36 AM • 4 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
The average American's lack of scientific literacy has become a common complaint, not only among scientists but also among those who see our economic prospects as a nation linked to our level of scientific know-how. Yet somehow, science has...
Posted by Janet D. Stemwedel at 6:57 PM • 3 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
My last post for the basic concepts series involved phases of matter and transformations from one phase to another. This post will look at how a phase change can be put to practical use in a common household appliance --...
Posted by Janet D. Stemwedel at 1:31 PM • 6 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Some months ago I made a (seemingly idle) threat to follow up my basic concepts posts on polar and non-polar molecules and intermolecular forces with a post on phase changes. Finally it's here! Since the discussion here will be leaning...
Posted by Janet D. Stemwedel at 12:49 PM • 8 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
