Why are we failing at math and science? Because it isn’t fun any more. When you put safety on the highest altar, what do you give up? When fear of lawsuits — not to mention fear of technology — drives product design, marketing, and public policy, you eliminate science at its roots, in the natural experimentation of kids who want to know how the world works.
O’Reilly on Math and Science
15 August 2008
2 July 2008
Sometimes it will be hard, or impossible, to discover simple models explaining huge collections of messy data taken from noisy, nonlinear phenomena. But it doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try. Hypotheses aren’t simply useful tools in some potentially outmoded vision of science; they are the whole point. Theory is understanding, and understanding our world is what science is all about.
Cosmic Variance on Theory
22 June 2008
Given our present state of knowledge, we simply cannot exclude the possibility that aliens will visit the Earth next year, and, on finding that we have not yet produced a Higgs boson, find us laughably primitive and enslave us…Yes, admittedly, the probabilities of these events might be vanishingly small, but the fact remains that they have not been conclusively ruled out. And that being the case, the Precautionary Principle dictates taking the only safe course of action: namely, turning the LHC on as soon as possible.
Shtetl Optimized on LHC
21 June 2008
So it turns out that what the public really trusts is whatever journalists tell them about science. This is why it is so important to do everything we can to support good science journalism, and to resist the temptation to contribute to poor efforts by overly sensationalizing our own work when speaking to journalists about it.
Cosmic Variance on Science Journalism
9 June 2008
These days we seem to live in a world where everything two days ago seems not to matter anymore and what we do today will be forgotten two days from now. But good science creates a tower of knowledge where today’s blocks rest on what lies below and journal articles tell us how that tower was built so we can better build it higher.
Computational Complexity on Science
22 April 2008
I think it’s time to reiterate there isn’t a political party in this country that has a truly sound grasp on sound science.
Denialism Blog on Politics
31 March 2008
What exactly was the message? That we should turn off our lights for an hour once a year? I know what they were trying to get at, but I don’t think the symbolism was representative of the spirit of conservation. Conservation is a slow, daily process, being mindful of the consequences of your actions. It’s about curbing, not cutting off.
The Voltage Gate on Earth Hour
30 March 2008
Let’s face it. The US education system sucks. The public school system was a great historical achievement, producing high literacy rates, but in the 21st century the US is increasingly at a competitive disadvantage compared to other industrial nations. Instead of investing more we are investing less while promoting privatization, a recipe for mediocrity. This is seen most clearly in . . . anyone? what kind of eduction? . . . science education.
Effect Measure on the US Education
26 March 2008
So Richard [Dawkins] and PZ [Myers], it’s time to let other people be the messengers for science. This is not about censoring your ideas and positions, but rather being smart, strategic, tactical, and ultimately effective in promoting science rather than your own personal ideology, books, or blog.
Framing Science on Evolution Representatives
6 March 2008
Growing up as a young proto-scientist, I was always strongly anti-establishmentarian, looking forward to overthrowing the System as our generation’s new Galileo. Now I spend a substantial fraction of my time explaining and defending the status quo to outsiders. It’s very depressing.
Cosmic Variance on Science