Tag Archives: Thomas Kuhn
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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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 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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Can science and philosophy mix constructively?
Quantum mechanics can sometimes be very hard to understand, so much so that even thinking about it becomes difficult. This could be because its foundations lay in the action-centric depiction of reality that slowly rejected its origins and assumed a … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged atomism, Daniel Sarewitz, epistemology, Karl Popper, Laplace's Demon, logical positivism, Paul Feyerabend, Philosophy of Science, Science, science communication, Thomas Kuhn
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Can science and philosophy mix constructively?
Quantum mechanics can sometimes be very hard to understand, so much so that even thinking about it becomes difficult. This could be because its foundations lay in the action-centric depiction of reality that slowly rejected its origins and assumed a … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged atomism, Daniel Sarewitz, epistemology, Karl Popper, Laplace's Demon, logical positivism, Paul Feyerabend, Philosophy of Science, Science, science communication, Thomas Kuhn
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A case of Kuhn, quasicrystals & communication – Part IV
Dan Shechtman won the Nobel Prize for chemistry in 2011. This led to an explosion of interest on the subject of QCs and Shechtman’s travails in getting the theory validated. Numerous publications, from Reuters to The Hindu, published articles and reports. … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Current Science, Dan Shechtman, Nobel Prize for Chemistry, quasicrystals, science journalism, Structure of Scientific Revolutions, Thomas Kuhn
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A case of Kuhn, quasicrystals & communication – Part I
Dan Shechtman’s discovery of quasi-crystals, henceforth abbreviated as QCs, in 1982 was a landmark achievement that invoked a paradigm-shift in the field of physical chemistry. However, at the time, the discovery faced stiff resistance from the broader scientific community and … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Dan Shechtman, Linus Pauling, paradigm shift, quasicrystals, science journalism, Structure of Scientific Revolutions, Thomas Kuhn
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