CBC: How to Think About Science

scienceVia Open Culture a radio series by CBC Ideas on science (and the history and philosophy of science):

If science is neither cookery, nor angelic virtuosity, then what is it?

Modern societies have tended to take science for granted as a way of knowing, ordering and controlling the world. Everything was subject to science, but science itself largely escaped scrutiny. This situation has changed dramatically in recent years. Historians, sociologists, philosophers and sometimes scientists themselves have begun to ask fundamental questions about how the institution of science is structured and how it knows what it knows. David Cayley talks to some of the leading lights of this new field of study.

Below are the 24 episodes, which can be played or downloaded by clicking on the play symbol or the link right after it. Hover over (info) after each episode to see more information or click (info) to go to the episode on the CBC site. The size of each episode is approximately 25 MB with a length of around 50-54 minutes.

Episode 1 – Steven Shapin and Simon Schaffer (info)
CBC LogoEpisode 2 – Lorraine Daston (info)
Episode 3 – Margaret Lock (info)
Episode 4 – Ian Hacking & Andrew Pickering (info)
Episode 5 – Ulrich Beck and Bruno Latour (info)
Episode 6 – James Lovelock (info)
Episode 7 – Arthur Zajonc (info)
Episode 8 – Wendell Berry (info)
Episode 9 – Rupert Sheldrake (info)
Episode 10 – Brian Wynne (info)
Episode 11 – Sajay Samuel (info)
Episode 12 – David Abram (info)
Episode 13 – Dean Bavington (info)
Episode 14 – Evelyn Fox Keller (info)
Episode 15 – Barbara Duden & Silya Samerski (info)
Episode 16 – Steven Shapin (info)
Episode 17 – Peter Galison (info)
Episode 18 – Richard Lewontin (info)
Episode 19 – Ruth Hubbard (info)
Episode 20 – Michael Gibbons, Peter Scott, and Janet Atkinson Grosjean (info)
Episode 21 – Christopher Norris and Mary Midgley (info)
Episode 22 – Allan Young (info)
Episode 23 – Lee Smolin (info)
Episode 24 – Nicholas Maxwell (info)

Science Shorts 20100607

Gravity-like theories give insight into the strong force (PhysOrg)
A new computation of the constant that describes the strength of the force between the quarks in a proton may help theorists tackle one of the most challenging problems of physics: analytically solving the theory of QCD and determining its coupling strength at large distances.

The image shows Bicolor cleaner fish cleaning inside the gills of Monocle Bream. Copyright Joseph Fenton.Cleaner fish respond to the shadow of the future (w/ Video, PhysOrg) >
Tropical fish alter their behaviour with an eye to the future, researchers at Cambridge have found. This is the first time such behaviour has been seen in any animals except humans.

Parkinson’s drug offers insight into helping cocaine users kick habit (PhysOrg)
Medication that increases levels of the brain chemical dopamine could open up new ways for helping some heavy users of cocaine and amphetamines kick the habit, researchers from Cambridge have found.

Follow the (Robotic) Leader (w/ Video, PhysOrg)
Artificial intelligence? Done. Artificial leadership? Its origins may well be in the fish tanks and the algorithms in Maurizio Porfiri`s Brooklyn laboratories at Polytechnic Institute of New York University (NYU-Poly). Here the assistant professor of mechanical engineering, best known for modeling advanced smart materials, is using those materials, plus a lot of mathematics and his love for animals and science fiction, to build robots that lead schooling fish.

Survey reveals many thousands of supermassive black holes (PhysOrg)
An international team of scientists, led by Penn State Distinguished Professor Donald Schneider, has announced its completion of a massive census in which they identified the quasars in one quarter of the sky.

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