Tag Archives: Paul Feyerabend
A tribute to rubidium
And to Paul Feyerabend Continue reading
Posted in Culture, Scicomm, Uncategorized
Tagged atomic clocks, Bose-Einstein condensate, condensed matter physics, materials science, Paul Feyerabend, rubidium, spectral lines
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Scientists’ conduct affects science
Nature News has published an excellent feature by Edwin Cartlidge on the “wall of scepticism” that arose in response to the latest superconductivity claim from Ranga Dias et al., purportedly in a compound called nitrogen-doped lutetium hydride. It seems the … Continue reading
Posted in Analysis, Science
Tagged Douglas Natelson, Majorana zero modes, Microsoft Research, Mikhail Eremets, Nature journal, objectivity, Paul Feyerabend, Ranga Dias, rationalism, Russell Hemley, self-correcting
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Defending philosophy of science
From Carl Bergstrom’s Twitter thread about a new book called How Irrationality Created Modern Science, by Michael Strevens: The Iron Rule from the book is, in Bergstrom’s retelling, “no use of philosophical reasoning in the mode of Aristotle; no leveraging … Continue reading
Posted in Science
Tagged Against Method, impact factor, Iron Rule of Explanation, Michael Strevens, objectivity, Paul Feyerabend, Richard Dawkins, scientific method, self-correcting
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Good luck with your Maggi
You know when you’re cooking a packet of Maggi noodles in a saucepan, and you haven’t used enough water or don’t move the stuff soon enough from the pan to a plate once it’s done cooking, and you’re basically left … Continue reading
Posted in Life notes
Tagged 2020, causality, COVID-19, epidemic, Maggi Noodles, memories, pandemic, Paul Feyerabend, Penrose process, sense of time, The Wire, Thucydides
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Ayurveda is not a science – but what does that mean?
This post has benefited immensely with inputs from Om Prasad. Calling something ‘not a science’ has become a pejorative, an insult. You say Ayurveda is not a science and suddenly, its loudest supporters demand to know what the problem is, … Continue reading
Posted in Analysis, Science
Tagged allopathy, authoritarianism, Ayurveda, bhakts, Bharatiya Janata Party, far right, hospital care, Imre Lakatos, Karl Popper, knowledge systems, modern science, nationalism, Paul Feyerabend, pseudoscience, reason for state, social science, state, Thomas Kuhn, view from nowhere, welfare, welfare state, welfarism
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The real story of ‘The Old Guard’
Spoiler alert: Don’t read this post if you intend to watch The Old Guard but haven’t done so yet. The Old Guard, an action film starring Charlize Theron among others, released on Netflix on July 10. In a scene in … Continue reading
Posted in Analysis, Science
Tagged apoliticism, Charlize Theron, compassion fatigue, Enrico Fermi, history of science, human experimentation, medical experimentation, medical imperialism, medical research, Netflix, Paul Feyerabend, profiteering, rationalism, The Old Guard, violence
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The rationalists’ eclipse
The annular solar eclipse over South India on December 26 provided sufficient cause for casual and/or inchoate rationalism to make a rare public appearance – rarer than the average person who had decided to stay indoors for the duration of … Continue reading
Posted in Culture, Science
Tagged Against Method, annular solar eclipse, BR Ambedkar, Caliban and the Witch, capitalism, myth, Paul Feyerabend, Periyar, pseudoscience, rationalism, science communication, scientism, solar eclipse, superstitions, superstitious beliefs, Sylvia Federici
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The calculus of creative discipline
Every moment of a science fiction story must represent the triumph of writing over world-building. World-building is dull. World-building literalises the urge to invent. World-building gives an unnecessary permission for acts of writing (indeed, for acts of reading). World-building numbs … Continue reading
Posted in Culture, Op-eds
Tagged classical mechanics, creative discipline, critical points, Dan Shechtman, differential calculus, EPR paradox, fantasy fiction, Imre Lakatos, JK Rowling, Karl Popper, literary criticism, M John Harrison, Malazan Book of the Fallen, mathematical analysis, nerdism, Niels Bohr, Paul Feyerabend, Philosophy of Science, quasicrystals, replication crisis, smooth functions, Steven Erikson, Thomas Kuhn, Viriconium, world-building
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The alleged politicisation of science
“Don’t politicise X” has become the defence of choice for a class of scientists and public intellectuals in India whose class and caste privilege utterly blinds them to various inequities in the practice of science – as privilege is wont … Continue reading
Posted in Op-eds, Science
Tagged caste-based discrimination, Chandrayaan 2, gender-based discrimination, ISRO, misogyny, nationalism, Paul Feyerabend, politicisation, politics, privilege, pseudoscience, rationalism, realpolitik, religion, scientism, Tim Hunt
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Some thoughts on the Mack/Dorigo Twitter exchange, and Zivkovic, Feyerabend, etc.
Aspirants flock to role models. The ‘underlying human’ must not jeopardise their conversation by being a dick. Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Bora Zivkovic, gender, Geoff Marcy, incommensurability, Katherine Mack, Paul Feyerabend, privilege, sexism, sexual harassment, sexuality, Tommaso Dorigo, women in STEM
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