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Supernova Condensate is a blog about our place in the Universe. Of astronomy, chemistry and life in the big bad bubble of academia.-
Invader Xan is a molecular astrophysicist and part-time alien invader, who spends life looking at very small things on very large scales, and trying to better understand the chemistry of interstellar space.
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Tag Archives: scientific method
Rules to Live By
I found this on tumblr a few days ago, and really liked it. 11 rules of a scientist’s life. I liked it because it does a good job of summarising the rules which I genuinely try to live by. As … Continue reading
The easiest person to fool
Sometimes I find something in my data which agrees with my predictions. This makes me happy, and usually prompts me to casually mention this fact on twitter. And sometimes, as in this case, my followers give me good advice. @TWeDK … Continue reading
❝ The scientist does not study nature because it is useful; they study it because they delight in it, and they delight in it because it is beautiful. If nature were not beautiful, it would not be worth knowing, and … Continue reading
Peer Pressure
Recently I was, for the first time ever, asked to peer review a paper. My initial response was one of bemusement at the idea that someone thinks I know what I’m talking about, followed by a brief flurry of excitement. … Continue reading
❝ Far too many of us have been taught in school that a scientist, in the course of trying to figure something out, will first come up with a “hypothesis” (a guess or surmise—not necessarily even an “educated” guess). … … Continue reading
❝ Success depends on adequate knowledge: that is, it depends on sufficient knowledge of the special subject, and a variety of extraneous knowledge to produce new and original combinations of ideas.❞ Rosamund E. M. Harding, 1942
❝ It seems to me what is called for is an exquisite balance between two conflicting needs: the most skeptical scrutiny of all hypotheses that are served up to us and at the same time a great openness to new … Continue reading
Hypothetically yours
It’s always interested me that inspite of what you might expect, PhD training doesn’t tend to come with any formal lessons on how-to-be-a-scientist. There’s a distinct lack of any proper training in philosophy of science, even though it’s something we’re … Continue reading
Posted in academia, Imported from Livejournal
Tagged philosophy of science, scientific method
2 Comments
Occam’s Razor. Because no one likes a hairy theory.
Pluralitas non est ponenda sine necessitate. (Plurality is not to be posited without necessity.) There are a number of principles in modern science which are quite pivotal for how science itself works. Principles which can often be used to distinguish … Continue reading
Posted in academia, Imported from Livejournal, physics
Tagged philosophy of science, scientific method, scientists
6 Comments