Tag Archives: scientism
The virus beyond biology
A perfectly agreeable suggestion on first glance, especially since it provides an opportunity for a quick rebuke when faced with such conspiratorial, often xenophobic claims. But on a second or third reading, you find the problem (apart from Harari’s habitual … Continue reading
Posted in Science
Tagged biology, COVID-19, intellectualism, Laurie Penny, novel coronavirus, scientism, Yuval Noah Harari
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For coronavirus claims, there is a world between true and false
In high school, you must have learnt about Boolean algebra, possibly the most fascinating kind of algebra for its deceptive ease and simplicity. But thanks to its foundations in computer science, Boolean algebra – at least as we it learnt … Continue reading
Posted in Analysis, Science
Tagged Amitabh Bachchan, bias, Boolean algebra, coronavirus, logic gates, misinformation, novel coronavirus, panic, scientism, The Wire Science, truth value
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A science for the non-1%
David Michaels, an epidemiologist and a former US assistant secretary of labour for occupational safety and health under Barack Obama, writes in the Boston Review: [Product defence] operations have on their payrolls—or can bring in on a moment’s notice—toxicologists, epidemiologists, … Continue reading
Posted in Op-eds, Science
Tagged 1%, higher education, humanities, ivory tower, Jeffrey Epstein, manufacturing doubt, political participation, publish or perish, reason for state, scientific knowledge, scientific research, scientism, social science
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Necessity and sufficiency
With apologies for recalling horrible people early in the day: I chanced upon this article quoting Lawrence Krauss talking about his friend Jeffrey Epstein from April 2011, and updated in July 2019. Excerpt (emphasis added): Renowned scientists whose research Epstein … Continue reading
Posted in Science
Tagged empiricism, Jeffrey Epstein, Lawrence Krauss, necessity, Neil deGrasse Tyson, scientism, Steven Pinker, sufficiency
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A sympathetic science
If you feel the need to respond, please first make sure you have read the post in full. I posted the following tweet a short while ago: With reference to this: Which in turn was with reference to this: But … Continue reading
Posted in Culture, Op-eds, Science
Tagged human condition, Kiran Bedi, NASA, pseudoscience, science communication, scientism, sympathy
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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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New management at Nautilus
When an email landed in my inbox declaring that the beleaguered science communication magazine Nautilus would be “acquired by ownership group of super-fans”, I thought it was going to become a cooperative. It was only when I read the extended … Continue reading
Posted in Culture, Op-eds, Science
Tagged Daily Dot, Deadspin, Elisa New, John Steele, Larry Summers, Nautilus, Nautilus magazine, Nicholas White, scientism
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Scientism is not ‘nonsense’
The @realscientists rocur account on Twitter took a surprising turn earlier today when its current curator, Teresa Ambrosio, a chemist, tweeted the following: If I had to give her the benefit of doubt, I’d say she was pointing this tweet … Continue reading
Posted in Science
Tagged Colonialism, history of science, Real Scientists, science and society, scientific knowledge, scientism, STS, Twitter
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Authority, authoritarianism and a scicomm paradox
I received a sharp reminder to better distinguish between activists and experts irrespective of how right the activists appear to be with the case of Ustad, that tiger shifted from its original habitat in Ranthambore sanctuary to Sajjangarh Zoo in … Continue reading
Posted in Op-eds, Scicomm
Tagged activism, authoritarianism, authority, expertise, open knowledge, right to information, Sci-Hub, science communication, scientism, Ustad tiger
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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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