Metaphor/Models & Scientific Explanation

Recall part 2 of Elegant Universe.  We often use metaphor or models to explain things (theories, concepts, processes) to each other.  What metaphors/models did you see in the video?  Here are some I saw:
* the fabric & marble metaphor for gravity
* billiard table
* elevator
* billiard balls in the past, now perhaps strings
* Quantum Cafe
* Game of catch to illustrate the messenger particles
* Standard Model
* stringed instruments which vibrate to create notes
* 4 dimensions represented as a location at an apartment at a particular time
* extra dimensions represented as curled up (like ants moving clockwise and counterclockwise)
* curled up dimensions represented as shapes of air moving in an instrument creating notes

Could you pick one or two of these and explain how the metaphor/model works?  This is a bit trickier than it might appear.

For extra credit you can read "Metaphor in Science" from A Companion to the Philosophy of Science edited by W. H. Newton-Smith.  It is on reference in the library.  Then you can discuss one of the metaphors/models above (or another from something else in the course) in terms of one of the theories in the Metaphor chapter.  Due before Thanksgiving.

Gender, Sexual Harassment, Science (update 1 Nov)

Follow-up on the harassment story:

http://chronicle.com/article/Why-Colleges-Have-a-Hard-Time/233884?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en&elq=da88a8f864ac417ca99bde6ada07206a&elqCampaignId=1680&elqaid=6672&elqat=1&elqTrackId=41134e5c1ff7415a89aeaf0655e43f64
I'll quote at length here because the story is subscription only.

By Sarah Brown  OCTOBER 22, 2015 

"By resigning last week from the University of California at Berkeley, Geoffrey W. Marcy — the acclaimed astronomy professor found to have repeatedly violated Berkeley’s sexual-harassment policy over the course of a decade — may have helped the institution solve a nagging disciplinary problem.

But Mr. Marcy’s decision could not allay the backlash over Berkeley’s treatment of his case. Many professors and observers have decried the university’s failure to quickly dismiss the professor; some have called for the university, and other institutions, to revamp the process for dealing with similar cases of faculty misconduct.

The critics ask a simple question: Why didn’t the university do more to punish a professor it had identified as a serial offender?

In a statement after Mr. Marcy’s resignation, two Berkeley officials said they couldn’t do much else. Any further disciplinary action, they said, would have required faculty-led hearings with high standards of evidence and a three-year statute of limitations. (The complaints against Mr. Marcy concerned alleged incidents from 2001 to 2010.) The officials described such a process as "lengthy and uncertain."

The Marcy situation 'highlighted the urgent need to review university policies that may have inadvertently made the investigation and resolution of this case more difficult.'
Even a professor who is the subject of regular misconduct complaints often cannot be easily removed from a campus. Tenure protects many professors from quick dismissal. Their faculty peers, who are often charged with assessing whether an accused colleague bears responsibility, may view the cases as attacks on tenure. College leaders, who often don’t have the power to terminate a professor without consulting the faculty, may fear damage to their institution’s reputation. Students who experience harassment may not file complaints if they feel they have little chance of being taken seriously.

Mr. Marcy’s case echoed those themes. Students and faculty members inside and outside of Berkeley had known about the professor’s behavior for years but had discussed it mostly in private. University officials eventually conducted an investigation, but it was not made public until a BuzzFeed News report this month. And even though the university found Mr. Marcy responsible for harassment and forced him to give up any future due-process rights, the astronomer was allowed to remain on the campus..."

Stories/excerpt about the astronomer at Cal who has been sanctioned for sexually harassing students:

"Female faculty members and students have complained for decades of discrimination and harassment in male-dominated scientific fields. In astronomy, a 2013 survey found that 29 percent of assistant professors, 21 percent of associates, and just 15 percent of full professors are female.

Gender complaints are not just reserved to science. Female philosophers have also cited a hostile climate for women, and universities have recently removed or forced several male philosophers to resign following complaints of sexual harassment and assault." -- Chronicle of Higher Education 14Oct15

See also full story at: http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/10/14/science/geoffrey-marcy-berkeley-astronomy-faculty-letter.html?nlid=25414714&src=recpb&referer=

Trust in Science

Why should we trust science or scientists?  What is trust? Why is it important?  What happens to science if it loses the public's trust?  How does trust relate to the construction of knowledge (epistemology)?

Here's a big new report on this general topic (2 URLs below, hopefully one of them works).  I don't expect you to read all of it, but maybe you could look at chapters 1 & 2 and comment on a few of the above questions based on your reading.  Of course you would get an awesome huge gold star if you read the whole report!!

http://www.nap.edu/read/21798/chapter/1

http://www.nap.edu/catalog/21798/trust-and-confidence-at-the-interfaces-of-the-life-sciences-and-society?utm_source=NAP+Newsletter&utm_campaign=42c76b2551-NAP_mail_new_2015_10_05&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_96101de015-42c76b2551-103342677&goal=0_96101de015-42c76b2551-103342677&mc_cid=42c76b2551&mc_eid=d00652e07c

Elegant Universe video (by 22 Oct)

Elegant Universe part 1 on YouTube

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=UV_X2B5OK1I  

On Nova's website @ PBS.  http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/physics/elegant-universe.html Transcripts, videos, more info available here. 

 Discussion questions for this blog post.  Answer 1 or 2.  Respond to 1 or 2 of your classmates.
 1. What does the title of the series mean?
2. What are anomalies?  What anomalies were discussed in part 2?  Why are they important? What do they tell scientists?
3. What is the difference between science and philosophy?  How do Observation, Experiment, & Falsification fit into the distinction?  Is string theory science or philosophy or ??
4. Connect something from part 2 to our SLOs (found on your syllabus).


 For 6 October
As evidence that you've watched it, you need to email me 3 key concepts from the video (including one from the last 20 minutes) AND in 2-3 sentences explain how the video relates to some concept, discussion, chapter, or SLO from our course.  Email due by 9:00 a.m. 

Eugenics

Read some material, the comment below, making connections to what you have read in your Evolution text.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aso/databank/entries/dh23eu.html

http://www.eugenicsarchive.org/eugenics/