For to say that, assuming the earth moves and the sun stands still, all the appearances are saved better than with eccentrics and epicycles, is to speak well; there is no danger in this, and it is sufficient for mathematicians. But to want to affirm that the sun really is fixed in the center of … Continue reading Assuming the Earth Moves and the Sun Stands Still Cardinal Bellarmine (1615)
In this book Enlightenment Now, cognitive scientist Steven Pinker assesses the human condition in the third millennium and urges us to step back from the gory headlines and prophecies of doom, which play to our psychological biases. Instead, follow the data: In seventy-five graphs, Pinker shows that life, health, prosperity, safety, peace, knowledge, and happiness … Continue reading Enlightenment Now: the Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress by Steven Pinker (2019)
The greatest scientific discovery was the discovery of ignorance. Once humans realised how little they knew about the world, they suddenly had a very good reason to seek new knowledge, which opened up the scientific road to progress. Credit: Yuval Noah Harari Source: Homo Deus: A Brief History of TomorrowPeople: Yuval Noah HarariYuval Noah … Continue reading The Greatest Scientific Discovery Was the Discovery of Ignorance Yuval Noah Harari
Reason tells us that political deliberation would be most fruitful if it treated governance more like scientific experimentation and less like an extreme-sports competition. Credit: Steven Pinker Source: Enlightenment Now (Page 366 Penguin paperback edition)Posts where this quotation is embedded A Brief History of Knowledge 200,000 years of history Artificial Intelligence ** The ability of machines to … Continue reading Treating Governance Like Scientific Experimentation Steven Pinker
Steven Johnson is an American popular science author and media theorist. 5 Minute Life Lessons with Steven Johnson WebsiteSteven JohnsonWikipediaSteven JohnsonTwitter@stevenbjohnsonYouTubeSteven JohnsonGoogleSteven Johnson Twitter Tweets by Steven Johnson Videos: Steven JohnsonDid Coffee Fuel the Age of Enlightenment? Steven Johnson (2009)Where Good Ideas Come From Steven Johnson (2010)Tags: ideas (18) | innovation (28) | London coffeehouses … Continue reading Steven Johnson Popular science author
Karl Popper, the great philosopher of science, once divided the world into two categories: clocks and clouds. Clocks are neat, orderly systems that can be solved through reduction; clouds are an epistemic mess, “highly irregular, disorderly, and more or less unpredictable.” The mistake of modern science is to pretend that everything is a clock, which … Continue reading Clouds Not Clocks Jonah Lehrer
Science curiosity is a desire to seek out and consume scientific information just for the pleasure of doing so. People who are science-curious do this because they take satisfaction in seeing what science does to resolve mysteries. That is different from somebody who would show interest in scientific information because they had a specific goal … Continue reading Science Curiosity Is a Desire to Seek Out and Consume Scientific Information Dan Kahan
Gurteen Knowledge Blog November 6, 2022, 15:07Carl Sagan was a fantastic scientist. This ominous prediction is taken from his 1995 book The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark. I have long felt that although we don’t all need to be scientists, we need to understand the philosophy of science and the scientific method … Continue reading Carl Sagan’s Foreboding on the Future of America in 1995 Science is more than a body of knowledge; it is a way of thinking
Science is not only compatible with spirituality; it is a profound source of spirituality. Credit: Carl Sagan Posts where this quotation is embedded A Brief History of Knowledge 200,000 years of history Artificial Intelligence ** The ability of machines to perform tasks usually associated with human intelligence Carpe Diem – Seize the Day Seize the day everyone Cognitive Surplus … Continue reading Science Is a Profound Source of Spirituality Carl Sagan
1. It is easy to obtain confirmations, or verifications, for nearly every theory–if we look for confirmations. 2. Confirmations should count only if they are the result of risky predictions; that is to say, if, unenlightened by the theory in question, we should have expected an event which was incompatible with the theory–an event which … Continue reading Science as Falsification Karl Popper
Gurteen Knowledge Blog May 30, 2023, 10:58I was disappointed not to be able to watch this year’s Nobel Prize Summit on May 24th, which brought together laureates, leading experts and the public in a conversation on how we can combat misinformation and disinformation and restore trust in science and create a hopeful future. But, as I am … Continue reading Nobel Prize Summit 2023 Truth, Trust and Hope, 24-26 May 2023
WikipediaCarl SaganYouTubeCarl SaganGoogleCarl SaganQuotations: Carl SaganI Have a Foreboding Carl SaganScience Is a Profound Source of Spirituality Carl SaganThe Rise of Technical Civilizations Carl SaganTags: Carl Sagan (6) | pseudoscience (8) | science (18) | scientific method (17)Google Web Search Photo Credits: Felix Mittermeier (CC0 1.0)This page is part of a blook on Conversational Leadership. It is … Continue reading Carl Sagan American astronomer, planetary scientist, cosmologist, astrophysicist, astrobiologist, author, and science communicator.
AustraliaAustriaBrazilCanadaChinaCzech RepublicEgyptFranceGermanyGlobalIndiaItalyJapanMexicoNetherlandsPolandSaudia ArabiaSingaporeSpainTurkeyUAEUnited KingdomUnited States As an Amazon Associate, I earn a small commission when you purchase a book via this site. People: David BohmDavid Bohm Physicist & AuthorPosts: David BohmDialogue Dialogue is a disciplined form of conversationWhat Is a Real Conversation? There is more to conversation than just talking or exchanging messagesBooks: … Continue reading Science Order & Creativity by David Bohm, David Peat
The web is chock-full of various disinformation, including pseudoscientific disinformation that masquerades as being scientific. It also contains arrant nonsense, primarily about New Age beliefs that I term New Age mumbo jumbo. What is New Age mumbo jumbo? In addition, to pseudoscientific disinformation, there is disinformation on the web and elsewhere that relates to what … Continue reading New Age Mumbo Jumbo Confusing or meaningless language about New Age beliefs
The web is chock-full of various disinformation, including pseudoscientific disinformation that masquerades as scientific. Removing this disinformation may not be possible, but recognizing it is not too difficult. What is pseudoscience? Much written on the web is misinformation or disinformation (fake news) or simply misleading information in the sense that crucial facts have been deliberately … Continue reading Pseudoscience Lacks the rigor essential to the scientific method
Motivated reasoning is where we look for arguments in favor of conclusions we want to believe, regardless of the evidence. This is a primary stumbling block in forming sound beliefs and making good decisions. However, if we are science-curious, we are more likely to explore data contradicting our worldview and are less prone to this … Continue reading Science Curiosity A desire to seek out and consume scientific information just for the pleasure