In the US “the aggression against science and scientists is coming from one political party, and the extreme element of one political party” but the article talks about harassment in other countries as well.
#Plants are often celebrated for the parts that are easy to see – #flower, leaves, #fruit – but #scientists are uncovering the secrets of their more mysterious underground networks
I see a lot of people talking about #science as a #religion, or the closely related idea of “#scientism,” the purported ideology that says science is the only way to know things. Oh, I’m not talking about you, they’ll solemnly assure anyone who objects. Naturally you know better. Just … you know … them. Those people, out there. The great unwashed. On the #internet, nobody knows how long it’s been since you took a shower.
You know what I hardly ever see? The phenomenon in question.
There are people who think that way. Yes. Ideologues of science—hardly if ever #scientists themselves—who invoke The #Scientific Method™ (that’s a whole ‘nother rant) as the be-all and end-all justification for whatever nonsense they spew. Such posts and comments have crossed my feed a time or two. But they are vastly outnumbered by those who complain about them, at least where I can see both groups. I have no reason to believe my experience is atypical in this regard.
As a scientist myself, I think science is a very good way to understand certain things. In my field, it’s the best way to know what makes you sick, and hopefully what will make you better. There are other ways to learn these things, sure, and many of them can be useful places to start. If you don’t end up with a #clinical#trial sooner or later, you’re as likely to kill as cure.
To know what we’re seeing when we look up at the lights in the sky. How the natural world around us, of which we’re a part whether we like it or not, changes and how we both affect and are affected by that change. What came before us, and what might come after. The fundamental building blocks of reality. All these require science for real understanding. If you try to puzzle them out any other way, you may learn something, but you’ll also fill your head with a lot of nonsense. Sorting the wheat from the chaff later is a lot harder than doing it right the first time.
Other questions are at least amenable to scientific inquiry, although that process itself may not be enough. What my fiancee does as a #historian looks, to me, a lot like what I do as a #biomedical#researcher. Make observations, construct #hypotheses, gather evidence, test and revise. (And revise, and revise, and …) But #history vanishes every minute. What’s left is always fragmentary, and shaped by the interactions of modern minds with those long since gone to dust. There will never be an objective truth, only the truest story that can be told.
And then there are things beyond any kind of quantitative analysis, or even rigorous qualitative description. We may be able to agree on what makes a true story, more or less, but what makes a good one? That’s inherently personal. A happy marriage, a tasty meal, a satisfying job—only we can define what these goals mean for ourselves. Science may at best, occasionally, provide vague guidelines. Even then, my advice will not determine your experience.
My perspective is unusual in one key way, sure: not too many people do science for a living, at least not compared to other jobs. With regards to the way people talk about science, I think it’s not unusual at all, except maybe that I pay particular attention.
The division above—things that clearly belong in science’s domain, things that clearly don’t, and a whole bunch in the middle—is a whole lot more common than the idea of science as the One True. It’s at least somewhat more common than blanket rejection of science too, but not as much as it should be. That’s also a rant for another time.
Which all makes me wonder what people who never miss a chance to bring up “scientism” and science-as-religion get out of it.
(“No organization, particularly a newsroom, can succeed unless it is cohesive and aligned … It has become clear that this appointment undermines that goal.”)
Funny — the journalists who spoke up said McDaniel’s departure was required to
🔸preserve their journalistic mission and the network’s credibility,
🔸not out of any need for “alignment.”
We can only hope that NBC and other news organizations take away something more than “don’t hire a MAGA mouthpiece”
A few ideas:
• Create a #mission#statement that affirms your goals are telling the #truth and defending #democracy, which protects the First Amendment — not fake balance. • #Stop#pretending four-times-indicted former president Donald Trump and his movement are presenting #alternative “#policies” as a normal party would. They are fighting for an alternate system: authoritarianism. • Politicians’ outright #lies must be identified, not just labeled as their “response” or “position.” • Instead of obsessing over #polls, devote extensive coverage to #analyzing the Heritage Foundation’s “#Project2025” and Trump’s #fascist#agenda. Feature #historians and political #scientists during news segments (not only on panels) to put Trump’s views and statements in context. • #Don’t excerpt a few words from a Trump rally or speech, dub it an “argument” and #ignore his mental short-circuits and #deteriorating#intellect.
Are there any #medical#scientists or #researchers or #neurologists doing any current studies on human #brain & #memory retention - specifically on maximum capacities of human brain memory storage & if there's a limit to how much we can store in our brains?
Like, if we build up many new memories, do we reach a point where some past memories are removed from our memory storage or is there no maximum limits to human memory storage?
These are things I wonder about & don't know enough about.
What better way to honour this mathematical marvel (π) than by baking a delicious pie that resembles the CMS detector? 🥧
Today, embrace the magic of circles – from pizzas and pancakes to clocks and planets. 🪐🍕
Take a moment to appreciate the beauty and wonder of math in our everyday world.
"Last spring, #scientists learned of plans to scale back a government database that’s widely used in #pesticide research. Now, following months of advocacy, USGS appears set to restore the beloved public resource, slowing what some experts see as an ongoing erosion of public access to #environmental data."
For #InternationalWomensDay my ongoing series of portraits of women in science through history. If you look for them, they’re there. I’m up to 56 now. Here’s to the day when a scientist’s sex is no longer remarkable in any field!
Surveys of #ChineseScientists over 2023 portray environments of #fear. A study in June 2023 surveyed US based #scientists of #Chinese descent found that 72% of respondents don't feel safe as an #AcademicResearcher, 61% considered leaving #UnitedStates & 45% wish to avoid applying for federal grants.
The #Antarctic experiment offered a snapshot of something that has happened innumerable times throughout human history, as groups of people have become cut off from others, leading their accents, dialects and even languages to diverge from each other. On a grand scale, the researchers say it can provide insights into why American and British #English has diverged in the way it has.
Happening RIGHT NOW: The Great Backyard #Bird Count #gbbc2024. Don’t miss your chance to help #birds 🪶🪺 and the #scientists 👩🔬 who study them! I just completed a 15 min survey and all I saw was a pair of crows - but that is STILL valuable data for the Cornell Ornithology, Audubon and Birds Canada 🇨🇦 NGOs who use this data. It’s easy and fun! Take part! https://www.birdcount.org/
"New UN weather agency chief says rate of global warming is speeding up
The new chief of the World Meteorological Organization said it looks to her that the rate of human-caused climate change is accelerating and that warming has triggered more #Arctic cold outbreaks in North America and #Europe, weighing in on two issues that divide #climate#scientists."
Folks, an open call: I am #hiring TWO Principal Research #Scientists to join the Developer Success Lab!
One is a scientist with statistics/psychometrics focus (R is our ecosystem here), and one is an intervention science focus; both are fully remote roles working directly with me, our current Principal Scientist, and our brand-new Principal Dev Experience Engineer on our public-facing empirical research mission 🙌
Make no mistake: #oil and power companies will fight HARD against this.
"Recent solar power advances have led #scientists to predict that millions of homes... could go off grid over the coming years [becoming] self-sufficient using just #SolarPanels and batteries."
@open_science
🌍 Calling all #scientists#professors#PIs#teamleaders#PhDs#phD passionate about shaping the future of research! I am looking forward to form a scientific collective to initiate a more transparent way to do research, as we can work together to break barriers, share knowledge, and empower global scientific progress. 🧪🔬🚀
We will use a new platform #bonfire to lead this change!
Let's innovate 🌱🔍🤝 #ResearchForAll#openscience#opensource