Category Archives: The scientific method

Some reflections

Posted on August 12, 2018 by

Since there are now 1000 posts on this blog, I thought I might write another with some reflections. We’re also about to go on holiday for a few days, the last before my daughter heads off to university, so there … Continue reading →

Posted in advocacy, Climate change, ClimateBall, The scientific method | Tagged , , , , | 72 Comments

Research should inform, not influence

Posted on August 5, 2018 by

Thomas Basbøll, who I sometimes have discussions with on Twitter, has a guest post on the LSE impact blog claiming that we need our scientists to build models that frame our policies, not to tell stories that shape them. If … Continue reading →

Posted in advocacy, Policy, Politics, Research, Scientists, The philosophy of science, The scientific method | Tagged , , , , , | 338 Comments

Science might be political, but…..

Posted on July 30, 2018 by

Since everyone else is writing about science having always been political, I thought I would have a go too. I will admit that this episode has made me think more about this, and there are aspects that I still find … Continue reading →

Posted in Research, Science, Scientists, The philosophy of science, The scientific method | Tagged , , , , , | 125 Comments

Science and Skepticism

Posted on June 4, 2018 by

oarobin posted a comment highlighting a video of a talk about Science and Skepticism by Steven Goodman. It essentially disusses the issue of reproducibility in science, and mentions some issues that I have myself. Ultimately, science is about unconvering “truth”. … Continue reading →

Posted in Research, Science, The philosophy of science, The scientific method | Tagged , , , | 204 Comments

The adults in the room

Posted on May 22, 2018 by

I was having another discussion on Twitter with Jean Goodwin, who posted the following quote. It’s attributed to Mark Largent and may have been delivered at a AAAS meeting. I’m interested in what other people think of this. I don’t … Continue reading →

Posted in ethics, Science, Scientists, The philosophy of science, The scientific method | Tagged , , , , | 178 Comments

The Pursuit of Crappiness

Posted on May 3, 2018 by

Let’s take stock. Computers and codes are in shambles. The Law is broken. Schools are useless to most. Sports are dope. Most jobs are absurd. Administrations are plagued. We already are living in a boring dystopia. Yet here we are. Most scientific … Continue reading →

Posted in ClimateBall, Contrarian Matrix, Open Thread, The philosophy of science, The scientific method | Tagged , | 63 Comments

Lewis and Curry, again

Posted on April 27, 2018 by

I should probably say something about the new Lewis & Curry paper. It’s mostly an update to their earlier paper that I’ve discussed before. Bottom line; there are reasons to be cautious. The basic formalism is that one can use … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate sensitivity, Judith Curry, Research, Science, The scientific method | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 686 Comments