Monthly Archives: July 2013

Goodbye, and good luck

July 31, 2013 My practicum in the philosophic aspects of scientific research is technically over today. My internship at LBPA (Laboratoire de biologie et de pharmacologie applliquée) was an amazing experience. I want to thank Bianca Sclavi and the teams … Continue reading

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Epistemic values

July 30, 2013 Before listing the different types of epistemic values that I have observed in Bianca’s lab and explaining them within the context of Bruno Latour and Thomas Kuhn, I want to start with an example of how axiology, … Continue reading

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Microbiology report

July 30, 2013 Well, it is finished. I have learned a lot this week while editing my science report. It is interesting to look at my three posts that attempt to describe the experiments in accessible language and compare those … Continue reading

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Assessing impact » Testing hypotheses…

Steven Hill (@stevenhill), Head of Research Policy at the Higher Education Funding Council for England, responds to a recent publication by Steven Hrotic and me here: Assessing impact » Testing hypotheses…. Here is the original publication, which is available open … Continue reading

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Limits

July 28, 2013 How many pages should a science report be? How much detail should I include? How do I know when to explain a vocabulary word? Who should be able to understand my report? What does ‘understand’ mean? Does … Continue reading

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The last week in the lab, part III

July 16-18, 2013 Finally after over a month of preparing the DNA fragments it was time to analyze the activity of the P5 promoter at each different position in the chromosome. To do this we conducted both a flow cytometry experiment and a … Continue reading

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The last week in the lab, part II

July 16-18, 2013 ** you should read ‘The last week in the lab, part I’ before reading this post !! This post is a summary of the experiments that I conducted throughout the last two months in the microbiology lab … Continue reading

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The last week in the lab, part I

June 16-18, 2013 I have been postponing this account of my experiments because it’s hard to explain microbiology to nonscientists, especially as a non-scientist myself! But one of the goals of my internship is not only to see if this … Continue reading

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Another day in the life of Axiothea

July 15, 2013 Hello, hello! First, I must mention the remarkable fireworks that I saw last night for Bastille Day. I have never seen fireworks like that before in my life. The streets were packed, and I had to weave … Continue reading

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Paying Obeisance to the Tribe

One might imagine that thinking about inter- and transdisciplinarity would require a wide acquaintance with the world, e.g., one part philosophy, another policy studies; some historical perspective, some understanding of how science works; some educational theory and a smattering of … Continue reading

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The Value of Disinterestedness

Disinterestedness as an ideology within the natural sciences — described as ‘curiosity-based research’ — serves to protect the natural scientists from the social consequences of his discoveries. Disinterestedness as an ideology in the social sciences seeks to inoculate the social … Continue reading

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NightScience!

July 12, 2013 Today I attended a conference hosted by CRI called NightScience. It was fascinating. This is the third year of the event, and each year “the event remains faithful to its original mission: get together knowledge creators”.  There were … Continue reading

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Update from Paris

June 10, 2013 Today I am back in the lab at Cachan. I know you are eagerly awaiting my post that summarizes my microbiology experiment, but I am still working on it. I am struggling with the specific vocabulary needed … Continue reading

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The Future of the Humanities

From Andrrew Sullivan’s Dish:

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Proceduralism and the Absence of Courage

From Rawls: “Pure procedural justice obtains when there is no independent criterion for the right result: instead there is a correct or fair procedure such that the outcome is likewise correct or fair, whatever it is, provided that the procedure … Continue reading

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An account of the state of ID/TD in Paris

July 9, 2013 Today I learned something about the state of ID/TD in Paris! (short answer: it’s really complicated.) I visited CRI (Centre de Recherches Interdisciplinaires) close by the Sorbonne, to meet with Tamara Milosevic, the curriculum designer of CRI. … Continue reading

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Why Philosophy is Hopeless Today

So, let me tell you about the absurd. I’m at a conference on the philosophy of technology. I’m at a plenary. A big shot (who I have never heard of, but that does not say much anymore) is at the … Continue reading

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IITs of India

An interesting read: on the leading universities of India.

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The Humanities, Declining? Not According to the Numbers. – The Chronicle Review – The Chronicle of Higher Education

There’s only one problem with those insistent accounts of the decline of the humanities in undergraduate education: They are wrong. Factually, stubbornly, determinedly wrong. The Humanities, Declining? Not According to the Numbers. – The Chronicle Review – The Chronicle of … Continue reading

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Take a break, have a laugh

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An overview of broader impacts

July 1, 2013 Bianca has been working on a website that will introduce her team’s research to people who are unfamiliar with microbiology. I am contributing by writing the section entitled Broader Impacts. I got excited when writing the abstract (it … Continue reading

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Opinion: Mind the Measures | The Scientist Magazine®

Opinion: Mind the Measures | The Scientist Magazine®.

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Questions everywhere in science

June 30, 2013 Today am I going to outline the wide range of philosophic questions that I have come across in the first month of my internship. I have categorized them into communication, epistemology and ethics. Keep in mind that … Continue reading

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