Disciplinary boundaries:
Via Crooked Timber, I see that philosopher Simon Blackburn would like to dispel some myths. (He does this in the inaugural article of a Times Higher Education series "in which academics range beyond their area of expertise".) Of the ten...
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Posted on April 27, 2008 5:35 PM • 34 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Are some scientific disciplines more populated with shady characters than others?
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Posted on February 4, 2008 12:42 PM • 13 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
It's been pretty quiet here. Not only have I been engrossed in preparations for the Spring semester (classes start today), but I also went to the 2008 NC Science Blogging Conference. So it seems like a good time to ruminate...
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Posted on January 23, 2008 1:36 PM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Following up on the earlier discussion here and at Chad's about the "fundamental difference" between chemistry and physics, I wanted to have a look at a historical moment that might provide some insight into the mood along the border between...
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Posted on December 4, 2007 11:03 PM • 1 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Over at Uncertain Principles, Chad Orzel tries to explain the fundamental difference between physics and chemistry: My take on this particular question is that there's a whole hierarchy of (sub)fields, based on what level of abstraction you work at. The...
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Posted on December 3, 2007 5:33 PM • 6 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
This New York Times op-ed, to be precise. My questions for Paul Davies can be boiled down to these two: What kinds of explanations, precisely, are you asking science to deliver to you? Just why do you think it is...
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Posted on November 24, 2007 5:12 PM • 23 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
When I was growing up in New Jersey, hurricanes were "on the radar" for us, one of many possible (if infrequent) weather patterns during summer and fall. Later, in my first semester of college in Massachusetts, the morning of my...
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Posted on July 19, 2007 2:46 PM • 2 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
The July 9 issue of Chemical & Engineering News (alas, behind a paywall -- but worth checking to see if your library has an institutional subscription) has an interesting piece [1] on the recently-settled trial in which the makers of...
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Posted on July 17, 2007 1:35 PM • 15 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Who cares what philosophers of science think?
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Posted on July 16, 2007 2:01 PM • 59 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
David Ng at the World's Fair has some questions: 1. What's your current scientific specialty? 2. Were you originally pursuing a different academic course? If so, what was it? 3. Do you happen to wish you were involved in another...
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Posted on July 9, 2007 1:26 PM • 1 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
In his book Generation Rx: How Prescription Drugs Are Altering American Lives, Minds, and Bodies (reviewed in the last post), Greg Critser includes a quotation from a physician (in a self-help book [1]) that I found really striking: In your...
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Posted on July 5, 2007 2:51 PM • 8 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Because I am engaged in a struggle with mass quantities of grading, I'm reviving a post from the vault to tide you over. I have added some new details in square brackets, and as always, I welcome your insight here....
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Posted on May 23, 2007 9:45 PM • 13 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
It has recently transpired that I will be teaching (and before that, designing and constructing) a brand new ethics module in the large introduction to engineering class at my university that all the freshman who are majoring in any of...
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Posted on May 12, 2007 12:04 AM • 23 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Janet D. Stemwedel (whose nom de blog is Dr. Free-Ride) is an assistant 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.
