Having spoken...
to some other recent graduates, it seems that [practically] nobody else has things sorted out yet either, so I think I should make sure not to rush into anything, just take the time I need to make plans. Which isn't the same, of course, as just sitting around not thinking about what to do...
[Aside]
Just made some rock cakes to Andy's recipe; they look to have turned out OK, though I'm not convinced yet about the taste (my fault, obviously, if wrong, cos Andy's taste fine).
Why is Location Location Location 'revisited' again when a new series only just started?
[/Aside]
I think I need to give consideration to postgrad study. At the moment I feel like maybe HPS would be worth thinking about - I do wonder if there's a place for me in the field of science writing or public understanding of science - and I don't see that not having done Part II HPS should exclude me from that. I never saw why NatScis were so hostile to HPS; I guess their justification for not doing it was that they were meant to be scientists, but that seems to me to make it all the more important that they understand the underlying history and philosophy of what they're doing...
It doesn't seem like it'd really be 'worth' doing postgrad stuff except in 'proper' science or perhaps management studies, though, and I'm not sure I'm keen for them. Maybe, though.
As you see this blog is basically my 'to-do' list...
Anyway these thoughts were precipitated by the last edition of the excellent Simon Schaffer's excellent programme. The subtitler even managed to spell 'Eadweard Muybridge' correctly, though unfortunately offered 'airplane' for 'aeroplane' - perhaps, considered together, a clue to the subtitler's nationality...
---
Just cooked some dinner - pizza, hash browns, and mushy peas! I'm having some difficulty coming to terms with the realisation that there's no more Upper Hall! I think since I still know people there I shall have to try to visit Cambridge a few times this year.
---
Check out the BBC's new rules of advertising. Number 6 in particular may or may not be of interest.
---
Apparently sales of firearms at one store in Baton Rouge have gone up from 15 per day to over 1000. Yikes.
[Aside]
Just made some rock cakes to Andy's recipe; they look to have turned out OK, though I'm not convinced yet about the taste (my fault, obviously, if wrong, cos Andy's taste fine).
Why is Location Location Location 'revisited' again when a new series only just started?
[/Aside]
I think I need to give consideration to postgrad study. At the moment I feel like maybe HPS would be worth thinking about - I do wonder if there's a place for me in the field of science writing or public understanding of science - and I don't see that not having done Part II HPS should exclude me from that. I never saw why NatScis were so hostile to HPS; I guess their justification for not doing it was that they were meant to be scientists, but that seems to me to make it all the more important that they understand the underlying history and philosophy of what they're doing...
It doesn't seem like it'd really be 'worth' doing postgrad stuff except in 'proper' science or perhaps management studies, though, and I'm not sure I'm keen for them. Maybe, though.
As you see this blog is basically my 'to-do' list...
Anyway these thoughts were precipitated by the last edition of the excellent Simon Schaffer's excellent programme. The subtitler even managed to spell 'Eadweard Muybridge' correctly, though unfortunately offered 'airplane' for 'aeroplane' - perhaps, considered together, a clue to the subtitler's nationality...
---
Just cooked some dinner - pizza, hash browns, and mushy peas! I'm having some difficulty coming to terms with the realisation that there's no more Upper Hall! I think since I still know people there I shall have to try to visit Cambridge a few times this year.
---
Check out the BBC's new rules of advertising. Number 6 in particular may or may not be of interest.
---
Apparently sales of firearms at one store in Baton Rouge have gone up from 15 per day to over 1000. Yikes.
posted by Z31 at 8:40 pm
4 Comments:
The reason NatScis (not to mention most others) don't take HPS seriously is because it offers no solutions, it solves no problems, it exists to attempt to understand and describe a subject that at it's best is serendipitous; and it uses a vast amount of time and a bemusing array of complex language and ideas tangential to most people's life experiences.
The History of Science should be studied as any other aspect of history, and it should be - understanding why chance events occured within their broader socio-political (should this be hyphenated?) environment is useful for understanding our present and future deployment of technology.
Philosophy of Science, I think, misses the mark considerably and is what leads to the poor reception and reputation of HPS. We should all have a measure of philosophy administered at school; enough to make us think about why we do as we choose to - but not too much that we while away our days to no productive end. We all need time in which to understand ourselves, but not too much. The study of the Philosophy of Science is positioned too far towards the extreme end of this continuum. Seeking to understand something so coincidental and ephemeral is an unreachable panacea. The pursuit of science isn't simply something that can be boxed into any particular philosophy - many will and do work - and it will change with society. The pursuit of science is, I believe, more about the underlying characteristics of individuals and groups towards solving problems - there is no set way.
Ultimately; no-one except philosophers care whether a red apple proves that all ravens are black at a statistically insignificant level; they doubly don't care if you've just discovered a cure for AIDS or cancer - something that no amount of sitting in a comfortable chair with no shoes or socks on philosophising will ever accomplish.
Ah, glad we sorted that out :) You make some good points. Of course there's no denying that History of Science is history, not science. And perhaps Philosophy of Science is a bit of a, erm, closed field. I do agree that we should all do Philosophy at some point - it's good to think in that way sometimes, but yes you can have too much of a good thing - just look at any philosophy student!
I think you'll find no one takes it seriously because it has the same initials as HP Sauce. Oh and the fact that its only good for the jokes and anecdotes. I.e. Schaffer. Schaffer rocks!.
From someone so anonymous you'll never work out who. muhahahaha
p.s. Get a job ;-)
Thanks Mark. Remind me, what job are you doing atm?
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