tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25614437.post115738296408831192..comments2014-08-04T18:12:12.424-04:00Comments on Hawthorn Thistleberry: Popular scienceHawthorn Thistleberryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00358395505794303985noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25614437.post-1158080958052388322006-09-12T13:09:00.000-04:002006-09-12T13:09:00.000-04:00Here's a good popularization of science: Made With...Here's a good popularization of science: <A HREF="http://www.madewithmolecules.com/about.html" REL="nofollow">Made With Molecules</A>. That she, almost, nanofabricates the products is even cooler.Hawthorn Thistleberryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00358395505794303985noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25614437.post-1157411027938055752006-09-04T19:03:00.000-04:002006-09-04T19:03:00.000-04:00I would have to recommend Connections (or at least...I would have to recommend Connections (or at least the first episode) if I didn't know you'd already seen it.Hawthorn Thistleberryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00358395505794303985noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25614437.post-1157399225333325852006-09-04T15:47:00.000-04:002006-09-04T15:47:00.000-04:00I grow more depressed by the year at our hopes for...I grow more depressed by the year at our hopes for making science understandable. Physics, biology, astronomy, medicine, etc. are not just complicated--our understanding becomes more complex and layered every year. An educated man of the Enlightenment was expected to be well-versed in scientific matters, but such a feat seems quite impossible in today's world of detailed, specialized knowledge. Take this example: how unhealthy is it to be slightly overweight? A large new study released lass week showed markedly earlier death among overweight people, but this contradicts other studies of the past decade. For a satisfactory answer, I now have to learn about clinical trial methodology, statistics, morbidity rates, nutrition, etc. While I study these topics, I am not learning about ecology, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Republican gerrymandering successes, astrophysics, or third world economies.<BR/><BR/>I think this dilemma contributes more than is generally acknowledged to the layman's sometime frustration with science and scientists. Biologists routinely report in the press that GM crops are perfectly safe with no intelligible evidence to back their assertions. We are expected to believe them because they are a competent scientific elite. They don't <I>say</I> this of course; they decry the public's lack of knowledge in not having a proper understanding of biology and agronomy. Combine this "delivered wisdom" with a perceived lack of respect for religion and the jabs at fringe sciences that are occasionally proven right and you might see why respect for science is currently in a trough. <BR/><BR/>To sum up, I had no idea I was feeling so ranty today. ;)litlfroghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18234742365994968340noreply@blogger.com