What is Science? From Global Warming to Evolution

Google Tech Talk
July 21, 2010

ABSTRACT

Presented by Michael Vassar.

What is science? Are science and rationality the same thing? If science was something new, what sort of a new thing was science? I will discuss different ways of knowing, focusing on the differences between the analytic method of the enlightenment and the synthetic method of romanticism (and scholarship classically). These methods should be used together, but in fact their practitioners have been at war since Marx and Rousseau, leading to a schism in Western intellectual history with disastrous consequences. Darwin's theory of evolution is used as a case study of how these different methods of knowing manifest themselves, and can shape the practice of science in important ways.

Michael Vassar is President of the Singularity Institute for AI. Previously, he was a Founder and Chief Strategist at SirGroovy.com, an online music licensing firm. Prior to that, he held positions with Aon, the Peace Corps, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology. Michael has been writing and speaking on topics related to the safe development of disruptive technologies for a number of years: his papers include the Lifeboat Foundation analysis of the risks of advanced molecular manufacturing co-authored with Robert Freitas, and "Corporate Cornucopia", authored for the Center for Responsible Nanotechnology Task Force. He holds an M.B.A. and a B.S. in biochemistry.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• google
• tech
• talk
• philosophy

[becomepostal]

@envyshoes It's quite boring, because he almost always speaks at the same rate and tone. Furthermore, the structure is not clearly articulated, neither by him, neither by the written text which is hopelessly still and even distracts us from hearing (powerpoint effect).

I understand he was quite nervous about the speech and can't blame him for that, but there are a lot of minor improvements that could have been brought before the presentation.

Overall it looks like it is a good half-baked cookie.

[mphello]

@becomepostal I agree. I would go even further than what you said:

His talk is nothing extraordinary for any college graduate. I wrote papers of this depth on philosophy of history and the history of philosophy for history, language, philosophy classes in college. And I was a chemical engineering major (Bachelor) and biotech major (Associate).

[SarionFetecuse]

@mphello Tells me to be tolerant, than tells me to shut the fuck up, good bye statist.

[mphello]

@SarionFetecuse Conservatives and anti-Marxists are the least tolerant assholes on the planet. Look at the extreme anti-socialist bias in mainstream media.

Until you give equal airtime to the Green and Socialist Parties on MSM,

STFU. You do not have the mental capacity to properly compute how much free speech different political groups get or allow opponents.

[mphello]

@SarionFetecuse And if you want to convince people about the faults of Marxism, then you should explain calmly and logically what your objections are, without resorting to exaggerated scare tactics.

[mphello]

@SarionFetecuse And where do you get your peer-reviewed proof for how 911 happened? You just go to Alex Jones's blogs and accept as absolute truth anything that lunatic says.

[mphello]

@SarionFetecuse Proof of AGW

Thompson, D.W.J. and S. Solomon 2002. "Interpretation of Recent Southern Hemisphere Climate Change." Science 296, 895-899.

Thompson, D.W.J. and S. Solomon 2005. "Recent Stratospheric Climate Trends as Evidenced in Radiosonde Data: Global Structure and Tropospheric Linkages." Journal of Climate 18, 4785-4795.

[mphello]

@SarionFetecuse Proof of AGW

Vonder Haar, T. 1986. "Surface Radiation Budget Observations and Analysis."

Position Paper in Report of the Workshop on Surface Radiation Budget for Climate Applications.

World Climate Research Programme. WCP-115, WMO/TD, No. 109, 144 pp.

[mphello]

@SarionFetecuse Proof of AGW

Soden, B.J. 2000. "The Sensitivity of the Tropical Hydrological Cycle to ENSO." Journal of Climate 13, 538-549.

Soden, B.J., R.T. Wetherald, G.L. Stenchikov, and A. Robock 2002. "Global Cooling After the Eruption of Mount Pinatubo: A Test of Climate Feedback by Water Vapor." Science 296, 727-730.

Soden, B.J., D.L. Jackson, V. Ramaswamy, M.D. Schwarzkopf, and X. Huang, 2005. "The radiative signature of upper tropospheric moistening." Science 310, 841–844.

[mphello]

@SarionFetecuse

Proof of AGW

Santer, B.D., T.M.L. Wigley, C. Mears, F.J. Wentz, S.A. Klein, D.J. Seidel,

K.E. Taylor, P.W. Thorne, M.F. Wehner, P.J. Glecker, J.S. Boyle, W.D. Collins,

K.W. Dixon, C. Doutriaux, M. Free, Q. Fu, J.E. Hansen, G.S. Jones, R. Ruedy, T.R. Karl,

J.R. Lanzante, G.A. Meehl, V. Ramaswamy, G. Russell and G.A. Schmidt 2005.

"Amplification of Surface Temperature Trends and Variability in the Tropical Atmosphere." Science 309, 1551-1556.

[mphello]

@SarionFetecuse And you defend polluters who use violence to kill people who rise up against frackers who poison their water, and against the coal industry and over-consumers throughout the world who force sea level rise on poor nations.

And then like all AGW-deniers and homeopath believers, you don't use reason or proof, but insults and attacks ("alarmist" "crackpot") to make your non-existent point.

[mphello]

@SarionFetecuse And Marxism as Karl Marx wrote in "Das Capital" has BARELY been implemented properly or in full ANYWHERE. Some elements of it are, such as in Scandinavia and Cuba and Venezuela. And where it has been, it has been a success.

AGW has NOTHING to do with "religion". AGW-deniers and 911truthers are the fanatics with a religion.