Darwin’s changing image
Taken from Michael Barton’s The Dispersal of Darwin blog, here’s a fascinating talk by William Kimler on the changing image of Darwin over time. Images of Darwin and the Nature of Science from American Scientist on Vimeo.
Archive | Nature of Science
The Edge Question 2011: What scientific concept would improve everybody’s cognitive toolkit?
Each year The Edge poses a question to an array of our brightest thinkers. I found this year’s especially relevant. WHAT SCIENTIFIC CONCEPT WOULD IMPROVE EVERYBODY’S COGNITIVE TOOLKIT? I especially like Gershenfeld’s “Truth is a model“, Krauss’ “Uncertainty“, and Shulz’s “The Pessimistic Meta-Induction from the History of Science“. I have major problems with Hannay’s “The [...]
Why is science important?
Here’s an interesting answer: Why is Science Important? from Alom Shaha on Vimeo. Take a look at the conversation at: WHY IS SCIENCE IMPORTANT?
Henri Poincare's elegant statement about the nature of science
From “Science and Hypothesis” published in 1908: “Science is built up of facts as a house is of stones, but a collection of facts is no more a science than a pile of stones is a house.” Also, on the issue of public misconceptions of science… “For a superficial observer, scientific truth is beyond the [...]
A history of laughing gas (NPR: Radio Lab)
Using episodes from the history of science is a great way to provide context for students to discuss the nature of science. This Radio Lab episode tells the story of the discovery of laughing gas. In it we learn that we “too often we think about the history of science as a story of progress, [...]
A lively debate about the scientific method
A lively debate has unfolded about the scientific method on Huffington Post of all places. It began with Dr. Larry Dossey’s article “The Scientific Method: An Educational Trainwreck?” In it, Dossey describes educators trying to “inculcate children with the scientific method” as child abuse. Steve Newton of the National Center for Science Education posted a response [...]
Great NOS site from Berkeley
Take a look at this very comprehensive site about the nature of science from Berkeley. The site is aimed at teachers and provides quite a bit of information, examples, and activities. Understanding Science
What are scientific habits of mind?
Here’s Richard Feynman’s answer. This interview from 1981 lasts about 50 minutes as Feynman recounts his personal history and ideas about science. I especially appreciate his chessboard analogy (at about 28 minutes in).
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