Posts by Rob Stowell
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it seemed to confirm one of my reservations – not with science as a tool/method- but with how results are promulgated and reinforced.
Me too. I work at the University of Canterbury, and see various academic research projects at all stages. Leaving aside malice, fraud and incompetence- they all exist, but none are prevalent- there are subtle and not-so-subtle pressures, expectations, rituals and rewards around research.
PBRF itself is a major distorting factor. Simple human curiosity- and the desire to effect a practical end- all too often go missing in the motivational mix.
We're funny critters. Without curiosity and the notion to improve things, we'd be a lot less interesting :} -
As a reflexive defender of science and its methods, (which, however you look at it, seem to be the best we've got) I found this article- 'The Truth Wears Off'- quite challenging.
It's not dealing with fundamentals of physics, but it's still a mildly dis-quieting look at how science works- and how much we sometimes don't know we don't know. -
More than enough literary threads
The impossibility of this phrase should not be allowed to pass unnoticed :)
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Hard News: An open thread while I'm down…, in reply to Joe Wylie,
Thanks Joe, for a glimpse of the past and a timely reminder. The vanity of assuming we are the first peoples with good intentions (however, ahem, poorly carried out) is blinding as well as self-serving.
My own experience, as parent of a child with Down syndrome as well as ASD, is that it’s not easy, and can be very isolating. While there are some great support systems in place, the future doesn’t look rosy just at the moment. Could be worse, of course, but certainly not something to get smug about in NZ.
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Some figures on small producers vs agribiz in this article.
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Rocco Buttiglione
This is a real name, eh? And people doubt there is a god :)
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L’il P- I appreciate you are trying. But what you ask is that we take seriously Anders’ ‘manifesto’- which postulates the ‘demise of the west’ due to marxism, multiculturaism, and ‘accommodating’ islam.
I cannot, however hard I try, take this seriously. We do the world (and ourselves) a disservice when we ‘take seriously’ the manifesto of a crackpot, simply because he is now a (despicable) mass-murderer.
I would ask you, in response, to take a serious look at the ethics, aspirations and inspirations of the many people (and the Norwegian Labour Party) he callously murdered. I would suggest you look at these values AT LEAST 68 times, for every consideration you give to Anders’ twisted ‘thinking’.
Then consider that they are dead, and he is alive. They have committed no crime, he is a mass-murderer. So go on, and ponder what they believed in for the rest of your life, without a backwards glance at what Anders may have to say.
If this doesn’t seem fair, go back and think about it all again.
(ps- please do not expect any further response :)) -
Hard News: How much speech does it take?, in reply to giovanni tiso,
As long as people use 'Marxist' to name the left-equivalents of Glen Beck or (shudder) Anders, any argument is already lost. It's a shame, since we owe so much of what makes our lives good (public health, livable wages, etc etc one could go on- and on and on) to folks inspired by Karl.
So many people chose to live without curiosity in an ahistorical world :) -
Apologies if anyone has posted this already. Potter would have liked the last word :)
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I’ve just spent the afternoon in a meeting to attempt to set up just such a scheme. The idea is to try and save the heritage (circa 100 year old) houses in the Red Zone – but the concept could easily be extended/adopted for newer houses/homeowners. More on this later…
Great- always two steps ahead!
If you have anyone who is a good spokesperson, publicity around initiatives like this could be a good idea. One or two TV/press news stories and you might find a small scheme really grows- or other people who have different situations and needs get together themselves.