Category Archives: Philosophy

Science magazine on bible references

29.09.2008 admin

Yes, a somewhat unusual topic, but a HONORABLE MENTION in the “2008 Visualization Challenge“shows an

illustrated Bible with a modern twist. Römhild started with a list of verses in different versions of both the Old and New Testaments that referred to figures or ideas from earlier passages, then combed through both books for additional examples. Using a custom-built computer program, Harrison translated the trove of data into “Visualizing the Bible.” … “It almost looks like one monolithic volume”.

true observation or wishful thinking?

Philosophy

Gödel’s proof

18.09.2008 admin

A recent opinion article (Nature, Aug 14) has an interesting retrospective look on Gödel’s proof, the 1958 secondhand description of Gödel’s 1931 finding that rules of logic for quoting axioms eg. substituting variables and formulating deductions are themselves mathematical operations – pretty much the same of todays object oriented programming Continue reading Gödel’s proof →

Philosophy

Dealing with noise

17.09.2008 admin

Public Rambling discusses post-publication journals:

These ideas of sorting based on measures of usage is already being tested by the new Frontiers journals. These are a series of open access journals published by an international not-for-profit foundation based in Switzerland. As PLoS ONE, these journals aim to separate the peer-review process of quality and scientific soundness from the more subjective impact evaluation. In practice they are doing this by publishing research in a tiered system with articles submitted to a set of specialty journals.

I am already in favor Continue reading Dealing with noise →

Philosophy, Theology

The logic of science?

16.09.2008 admin

Edge has a wonderful article about statistics:

… statistical and applied probabilistic knowledge is the core of knowledge; statistics is what tells you if something is true, false, or merely anecdotal; it is the “logic of science”; it is the instrument of risk-taking; it is the applied tools of epistemology [and epidemiology Continue reading The logic of science? →

Philosophy, Software

Bench (marks) to bedside

15.09.2008 admin

For the first time, I found some data about “bench to bedside” transit times. Of 101 promising claims between 1979 and 1983, there have been only 5 clinical interventions in 2003 and only 1 had extensive clinical used; mean lag time 24 years, yea, yea.

Philosophy

Continuous partial attention – a frequent scientist disease

9.08.2008 admin

Originally coined by Linda Stone 2007 as a Harvard Business Review “Breakthrough Idea” this gets a rapidly expanding disease among scientists and journal editors. A New Atlantis essay has some more details on the Myth of multitasking Continue reading Continuous partial attention – a frequent scientist disease →

Philosophy

Fulchester graduates

9.08.2008 admin 1 Comment

Nature June, 19, 2008, has a nice correspondence: Fewer academics could be the answer to insufficient grants. A British author writes what many think but nobody wants to say. Read more about the country of Euphoria, his four universities, each with ten academics and the ambitious president of Fulchester … Unfortunately there is no proposal Continue reading Fulchester graduates →

Joke, Philosophy

Genetics proposes, epigenetics disposes, environment exposes

7.08.2008 admin

Genetics proposes,
epigenetics disposes,
environment exposes,
the human composes,
and doctor diagnoses.

Philosophy

Accurate reporting

8.07.2008 admin

One of the PLoS editors has a vocal report on a recent meeting “Why accurate reporting is an ethical duty“. When dealing here with a misconduct case, I had the impression that many colleagues as well as some other editors think of Continue reading Accurate reporting →

Allergy, Genetics, Philosophy

Will the Data Deluge Make the Scientific Method Obsolete?

2.07.2008 admin

A new Edge article answers this question. According to Chris Anderson, we are at “the end of science”, that is, science as we know it.

The quest for knowledge used to begin with grand theories. Now it begins with massive amounts of data. Welcome to the Petabyte Age.

Yesterday I reviewed a paper that crunches massive amount of data (and even found a new pathway for asthma). Nevertheless I was asking the question if this wishful thinking? Just take the next gene in one region and the overnext in another one and I would come up with a completely different pathway. This is all about association and not by the traditional “theorize, model, test it” way of science we have been brought along, yea, yea.

Joke, Philosophy

The best climbs

22.06.2008 admin

It is a fact that the best climbs are performed by famous mountaineers before they became famous (Doug Scott in “Mountain” according to an inscription at Firmian/Messner Mountain Museum). Continue reading The best climbs →

Philosophy

Retire retirement

21.06.2008 admin

May 29, 2008 Nature has an interesting commentary by Peter Lawrence (66) about the archaic practice of retirement of active scientists at a determined age. It is a quite luxurious habit of “Doing what I like” while having a mostly pleasant life here on earth as a scientist, it may be a quite logical to prolong the scientific career.

Continue reading Retire retirement →

Philosophy

Déjà vu extended

18.06.2008 admin

Given my interest in strange phenomena leading to science misperception I wonder why I didn’t find this site earlier as it tells you also everything about Déjà Vu, Déjà Vécu, Déjà Visité, L’esprit de l’Escalier (comeback when it is too late), Capgras delusion (replaced friend), Fregoli delusion (same person appears in different bodies) and prosopagnosia (unable to recognize faces also known as myopia…). Yea, yea.

Philosophy, Software

Visual experiments

18.06.2008 admin

Here is a new journal that I like very much – JOVE, the Journal of Visualized Experiments. A click on the snapshot will lead you right to its home and a lot of interesting videos.