As you may have seen, scientists have now confirmed the existence of element 115, temporarily (and amusingly) named ununpentium. If you haven’t heard, which wouldn’t be surprising since it doesn’t involve twerking, socialism, gun control/violence, or chemical weapons, then behold this article to find out more. It’s not at all surprising that 115 exists. After […]
The Knowing Problem
A few days ago, I posted something about what I called the consensus problem, the idea that many people have that scientists have to completely agree on something in order for the idea to be accepted. There is, however, an even deeper issue involved and that is what it even means to “know” something is […]
Science and Consensus
Image from http://www.negotiationlawblog.com Writing about the nature of belief in reference to science the other day started me thinking about other specific issues I have encountered in discussing science with non-scientists. Coffee also helped this endeavor. Something I hear in discussion a lot, especially about topics such as climate change and evolution, is the following: “Yeah, […]