Category Archives: Science
Neuromorphic hype
We all know there’s a difference between operating an Indica Diesel car and a WDP 4 diesel locomotive. The former has two cylinders and the latter 16. But that doesn’t mean the WDP 4 simply has eight times more components … Continue reading
Posted in Scicomm, Science
Tagged artificial neural networks, emergent properties, hype, IEEE Spectrum, more is different, neuromorphic computing, Philip Warren Anderson, science communication, superconducting synapse
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A Kuhnian gap between research publishing and academic success
There is a gap in research publishing and how it relates to academic success. On the one hand, there are scientists complaining of low funds, being short-staffed, low-quality or absent equipment, disoptimal employment/tenure terms, bureaucratic incompetence and political interference. On … Continue reading
Posted in Science
Tagged double-blind peer-review, journal impact factor, paradigm change, peer review, research evaluation, scientometrics, status bias, Thomas Kuhn
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Bruno Latour (1947-2022) and critiquing science
The French philosopher Bruno Latour passed away on October 9, at the age of 75. I don’t know if many people in India have noticed but people abroad, especially in Europe, have. His passing leaves a considerable vacuum in the … Continue reading
Assorted comments: MOM, IIT Mandi, scientists’ wishes
These are some remarks that have been fermenting in my mind and for which I don’t have the time or the inclination to supply a beginning-middle-end structure to publish as individual posts. I’m just packing them into this one post … Continue reading
Posted in Analysis, Science
Tagged employment contracts, greenwashing, hydrogen peroxide, IIT Mandi, lingua franca, Mars Orbiter Mission, materials science, science and society
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Ramanujan, Nash, Turing, Mirzakhani
From a short review of a new documentary about the life and work of the Iranian mathematician Maryam Mirzakhani, September 9, 2022: While there are other movies about real-life mathematicians such as Nash, Ramanujan and Turing, the special abilities of these individuals … Continue reading
Posted in Science
Tagged Alan Turing, eccentricity, Fields Medal, John Nash, Maryam Mirzakhani, science films, Srinivasa Ramanujan, women in math
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Yes, scientific journals should publish political rebuttals
If they can. Continue reading
Posted in Analysis, Scicomm, Science
Tagged Anthony Fauci, Björn Brembs, false balance, glamour journals, journal prestige, peer review, pro-democracy, Science journal, science journalism, science news, scientific journals, Tucker Carlson
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The importance of sensible politics to good science
Stuart Ritchie writes a newsletter-blog that I quite like, called Science Fictions. On May 30, he published a post on this blog entitled ‘Science is political – and that’s a bad thing’. I thought the post missed some important points, which … Continue reading
Posted in Analysis, Science
Tagged Brahmins, casteism, gender-based discrimination, history of science, Jawaharlal Nehru, politicisation of science, reason of state
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How much of a milestone is AzaadiSAT?
At 9.18 am today, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) launched the first developmental flight of its new Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV), a three-stage modular launch vehicle designed to carry a payload of up to 500 kg to the … Continue reading
Posted in Analysis, Science
Tagged AzaadiSAT, Bose hologram, Independence Day, ISRO, NITI Aayog, SpaceKidz India, SSLV
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The question of Abdus Salam ‘deserving’ his Nobel
Peter Woit has blogged about an oral history interview with theoretical physicist Sheldon Glashow published in 2020 by the American Institute of Physics. (They have a great oral history of physics series you should check out if you’re interested.) Woit … Continue reading
Posted in Analysis, Science
Tagged Abdus Salam, BICEP2, Brian Keating, electroweak theory, ICTP Trieste, Nobel Prize for physics, Nobel Prizes, Norman Dombey, Paul Dirac, Peter Woit, Sheldon Glashow, Steven Weinberg
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