Boundaries of science
gsmith | September 8, 2009When asked about a discipline that would benefit from a more cross-disciplinary research approach, Nick Matzke proposed a data-driven approach to the study of history. While Matzke stressed that there is no replacement for "old-fashioned, document-based, interpretive history" he does sketch out a fascinating notion of quantitative history and wonders out loud if it might be possible to determine the degree to which various philosophical and aesthetic influences shaped the thinking of Adolf Hitler, and in turn the direction of the 20th century. Spurred by the ongoing digitization of everything…
gsmith | September 8, 2009
Below, Nick Matzke answers the second of our three questions.
History--old-fashioned, document-based, interpretive history--is a field that is ripe for an infusion of new methods and technology. Much as the biosphere and the organisms in it have evolved, individuals, documents, schools of thought, and cultures evolve. So far this is not a new idea, but what is novel is the mass digitization of print libraries. Just as we can search the web now, we are increasingly able to search back through the whole corpus of print media ever published - books, journals, magazines, newspapers, etc.,…
gsmith | September 4, 2009There are a number of conversations that telescope out of Anthony Dunne's answer to the question as to how and where we might combine disciplines. Although brief, the comments reveal a (welcome) attitude that addresses fields of inquiry as approaches rather than binding frameworks. This desire to sample and mix freely is clearly at play in Dunne's design practice and it is worth zooming in on a few of his past comments to provide additional context.
In a 2007 interview with Régine Debatty, Dunne described the necessity to critically engage emerging fields such as biotechnology, nanotechnology…
gsmith | September 4, 2009
Below, Anthony Dunne answers the second of our three questions.
In my experience, the biggest obstacle to successful cross-disciplinary approaches is personality clashes, usually based on ego, territorialism and petty power struggles.
I think combining political science, economics, and ethics with areas such as synthetic biology and neuroscience could yield very interesting results. Design would be the glue.
ejohnson | September 2, 2009Below, Margaret Turnbull answers the second of our three questions.
I have always felt that the notion of distinct disciplines in science is more of a reflection of our thought process, and perhaps maturity as a scientific civilization, rather than an accurate representation of how the universe is organized. The universe--literally, the "one word" or "one song"--is not really a collection of parts that can be analyzed independently. I see the universe as a network of relationships where individual components have little meaning (or even existence) when taken out of context. Scientific…
ejohnson | September 2, 2009Our Rev Minds have told us how they think the lens of science can help to solve global problems. But a single lens may not always provide the best perspective, and often it is the combination of lenses that lends clarity to what we seek. With that in mind, we posed to the Revolutionary Minds a second question:
Cross-disciplinary work has sparked provocative new technologies, solutions, and insights. What problems do you see as ripe for cross-disciplinary research, and which fields would you choose to combine?
Look for their answers to be landing here soon.
gsmith | September 1, 2009Conversation may be compared to a lyre with seven chords - philosophy, art, poetry, love, scandal, and the weather
Thus stated the nineteenth-century writer Anna Jameson and the truth of these words certainly still resonate today, perhaps even more so. It is definitely an honor to have been invited into the Revolutionary Minds Think Tank fold as I find these kind of collaborative conversations essential in overcoming the boundaries that frame individual disciplines. Strange and wonderful things happen when experts make lateral moves and start to assess and schematize other domains. How does…
ejohnson | August 21, 2009
Over the last few weeks, we've seen varied and thought-provoking answers to our first question:
The boundaries of science are continually expanding as scientists become increasingly integral to finding solutions for larger social issues, such as poverty, conflict, financial crises, etc. On what specific issue/problem do you feel we need to bring the scientific lens to bear?
From extending the length of human life to localizing and diversifying sources of energy, our Revolutionary Minds have no shortage of ideas as to how a scientific approach might benefit society. And we want to hear from…
ejohnson | August 21, 2009Below, Anthony Dunne answers the first of our three questions.
There are many! But I think addressing potential future food shortages is a very important one. Science could provide fresh thinking about new ways of extracting nutrition from the environment, maybe even broadening the range of what we currently think of as food, or finding ways to augment the human digestive system to extract energy and nutrition from new sources. A lot of scientific thinking seems to be directed at changing the environment to suit human needs, I'd like to see more thinking about how to change humans to suit…
ejohnson | August 20, 2009Below, Michelle Borkin responds to the question:
The boundaries of science are continually expanding as scientists become increasingly integral to finding solutions for larger social issues, such as poverty, conflict, financial crises, etc. On what specific issue/problem do you feel we need to bring the scientific lens to bear?
Advances in science and computing have extraordinary potential to address social issues around the globe. The challenge is making sure there are people dedicated to leverage the newest scientific advances and make them applicable and affordable to the cause at hand.…
ejohnson | August 19, 2009Below, Moshe Pritsker responds to the question:
The boundaries of science are continually expanding as scientists become increasingly integral to finding solutions for larger social issues, such as poverty, conflict, financial crises, etc. On what specific issue/problem do you feel we need to bring the scientific lens to bear?
We need to start seriously working on increasing the length of human life. Why should we die so early? Currently, the average length of human life is about 75 years, even in the most developed countries with the best healthcare systems. I want to live longer--I have a…
ejohnson | August 18, 2009Below, Dalton Conley responds to the question:
The boundaries of science are continually expanding as scientists become increasingly integral to finding solutions for larger social issues, such as poverty, conflict, financial crises, etc. On what specific issue/problem do you feel we need to bring the scientific lens to bear?
The Enlightenment Project--so to speak--tells us that all of human life can be better comprehended (and thus improved) by careful, scientific reasoning. I am not sure I believe that, but certainly, once a problem has been articulated, it can be addressed through a…
ejohnson | August 17, 2009Below, Nick Matzke responds to the question:
The boundaries of science are continually expanding as scientists become increasingly integral to finding solutions for larger social issues, such as poverty, conflict, financial crises, etc. On what specific issue/problem do you feel we need to bring the scientific lens to bear?
Obviously there are hundreds of important problems that scientists need to work on. But if we are talking about prioritizing, the number 1 problem that the world needs to solve can be summarized in one word: nukes. It's the same problem we've had for 60 years.
The case for…
ejohnson | August 14, 2009Below, Edward Einhorn responds to the question:
The boundaries of science are continually expanding as scientists become increasingly integral to finding solutions for larger social issues, such as poverty, conflict, financial crises, etc. On what specific issue/problem do you feel we need to bring the scientific lens to bear?
As someone who works in the arts, I am going to examine this in a way I think is both narrow, in that it will deal directly with my field, and broad, in that I feel that the arts are often a forerunner in times of social change.
The specific application I have in mind…
ejohnson | August 13, 2009Below, John Wilbanks responds to the question:
The boundaries of science are continually expanding as scientists become increasingly integral to finding solutions for larger social issues, such as poverty, conflict, financial crises, etc. On what specific issue/problem do you feel we need to bring the scientific lens to bear?
It strikes me that science serves almost everything we do and all the social problems we face, but it's usually embedded down in the technology that we use, and we don't notice it. But perhaps the most pressing issue would be how we actually use data to make decisions…
ejohnson | August 11, 2009Below, Margaret Turnbull responds to the question:
The boundaries of science are continually expanding as scientists become increasingly integral to finding solutions for larger social issues, such as poverty, conflict, financial crises, etc. On what specific issue/problem do you feel we need to bring the scientific lens to bear?
I think that the most important issue upon which technological innovation should be brought to bear is in energy efficient devices and the decentralization of energy production. Whether this would include something like photovoltaic paints or clothing that captures…
ejohnson | August 10, 2009Below, Fernando Esponda responds to the question:
The boundaries of science are continually expanding as scientists become increasingly integral to finding solutions for larger social issues, such as poverty, conflict, financial crises, etc. On what specific issue/problem do you feel we need to bring the scientific lens to bear?
I suggest turning to the fundamentals. It is often said that the basic unit of society is the family, that it is quickly being disintegrated, and that many social problems are connected to this fact. I think it is time to refocus the scientific lens on this topic.…
ejohnson | August 6, 2009Below, Saleem Ali responds to the question:
The boundaries of science are continually expanding as scientists become increasingly integral to finding solutions for larger social issues, such as poverty, conflict, financial crises, etc. On what specific issue/problem do you feel we need to bring the scientific lens to bear?
The most significant challenge for scientists in coming years will be to provide energy, particularly access to electric power, in developing countries that need it for improving economic prospects as well as for providing basic health and social services. Consider the…
ejohnson | August 5, 2009Below, Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka responds to the question:
The boundaries of science are continually expanding as scientists become increasingly integral to finding solutions for larger social issues, such as poverty, conflict, financial crises, etc. On what specific issue/problem do you feel we need to bring the scientific lens to bear?
I think that we need to bring the scientific lens to bear on the larger social issue of the role that public health and sustainable environments play in reducing poverty, and in some situations, conflict in war torn areas. In developing countries and…
ejohnson | August 4, 2009Below, Lambros Malafouris responds to the question:
The boundaries of science are continually expanding as scientists become increasingly integral to finding solutions for larger social issues, such as poverty, conflict, financial crises, etc. On what specific issue/problem do you feel we need to bring the scientific lens to bear?
I would say that more important than choosing one issue/problem over another is probably to emphasize and reinforce the important role that science in general can play, and indeed it has been playing, when offered the opportunity and given the necessary resources in…