Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Doubt
Post a one-paragraph reflection on the concept of 'doubt' and the story of Job. You may relate your ideas to any area of knowledge, as well as to daily life experiences.
The story of Job is about questions; specifically the question why. Why do bad things happen? Why do bad things happen to me? Who decides what happens and why do they make this decision? I think that Job's doubt is reflected by his questions of why. At the beginning of the book, as things start to go wrong, Job simply accepts them. He trusts that God, who has given Job everything Job has, has the right to also take those things away. However, as time goes on and worse and worse things start happening to Job, he begins to ask why. Rather than accept his fate as he does at the beginning of the book, Job wants to be sure that his suffering is justified. Rather than blind trust, Job asks for justification of his situation, maybe because he doesn't believe that God has a good reason. Job wants God to communicate with Job; either through the human ways of knowing, either emotion, sense perception, language, or reason and tell him why. It seems, by God's response, that God doesn't want to be questioned. He wants his people to trust Him.
The story of Job is about questions; specifically the question why. Why do bad things happen? Why do bad things happen to me? Who decides what happens and why do they make this decision? I think that Job's doubt is reflected by his questions of why. At the beginning of the book, as things start to go wrong, Job simply accepts them. He trusts that God, who has given Job everything Job has, has the right to also take those things away. However, as time goes on and worse and worse things start happening to Job, he begins to ask why. Rather than accept his fate as he does at the beginning of the book, Job wants to be sure that his suffering is justified. Rather than blind trust, Job asks for justification of his situation, maybe because he doesn't believe that God has a good reason. Job wants God to communicate with Job; either through the human ways of knowing, either emotion, sense perception, language, or reason and tell him why. It seems, by God's response, that God doesn't want to be questioned. He wants his people to trust Him.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Abel: Man is the Measure - Chapter 10
List of Varieties of Explanations
2. What are some common misconceptions about scientific explanations? How does Abel refute each one?
Science describes rather than explains-"Actually, no sharp line can be drawn between description and explanation. If the scientific explanations of why the pond froze and why there was an eclipse are really only descriptions, what, then, would an explanation be? How else would you describe those events?"
Science explains the strange by the familiar-"typically, the reverse is the case. Such familiar phenomena as rust, sunrise, tides, illness, family resemblance, and so on, are explained by such unfamiliar concepts as oxidation, gravitational attraction, invisible germs, and genes."
"Scientific explanation is not the same as "understanding" in the sense in which it is said, for example, that... an experienced nurse understands children. Such an understanding is more like knowledge by acquaintance or like knowing how than like science.
"A scientific explanation need not be a causal law. It may be a law of simultaneous existence rather than of succession. Boyle's Law associates the pressure of gas with its volume, but pressure and volume are not cause and effect."
6. Why does scientific expanation require the concept of system?
A system is essentially invariant to changes in its parts or elements. So, when seeking a scientific explanation, it is good to find a truth that doesn't change depending on the variables, something that is always true. An example of systems used in science is the nerve of an animal.
10. What does Abel mean when he says. "The growth of science is not a clear-cut, straighforward progression toward a unique, all-inclusive final truth." (p. 100)
He means that many factors influence the ": course of science." The choice of questions asked depends on the present political and social pressures etc. Some discoveries also come by accident or because of experimental error.
"Finally, there is the question of what situations are seen by scientists as requiring explanation. As I said earlier that puzzlement may vary with the person and the context. Are there situations that are intrinsically puzzling? or objectively require an explanation?"
12. What is the role of the human element in the progress of scientific explanation?
"Our perceptual knowledge is delimited by our characteristic biological capacities, and there are limits to the completeness of our theoretical structures. But our observations and out theories mutually reinforce each other. If we never trusted some sort of evidence, nothing whatever could ever be tested. The structure of our science is pragmatically justified; it is the most reliable knowledge ther is; it is in every sense objective."
G4P. Choose one Aim of the Group 4 Project and comment on how you met that aim. Include specific references from your Group 4 Project (preparation and fieldwork).
The following excerpt is taken from the Group 4 subject guides:
The group 4 project is a collaborative activity where students from different group 4 subjects work together on a scientific or technological topic, allowing for concepts and perceptions from across the disciplines to be shared in line with aim 10—that is, to “encourage an understanding of the relationships between scientific disciplines and the overarching nature of the scientific method”.
The group 4 project allows students to appreciate the environmental, social and ethical implications
of science and technology. It may also allow them to understand the limitations of scientific study, for
example, the shortage of appropriate data and/or the lack of resources. The emphasis is on interdisciplinary
cooperation and the processes involved in scientific investigation, rather than the products of such
investigation.
The choice of scientific or technological topic is open but the project should clearly address aims 7, 8 and 10 of the group 4 subject guides.
Below is a partial list (Aims 7, 8, 10) of the common Aims of the Group 4 subjects:
Through studying any of the group 4 subjects, students should become aware of how scientists work and communicate with each other. While the “scientific method” may take on a wide variety of forms, it is the emphasis on a practical approach through experimental work that distinguishes the group 4 subjects from other disciplines and characterizes each of the subjects within group 4. It is in this context that all the Diploma Programme experimental science courses should aim to:
7. develop and apply the students’ information and communication technology skills in the study of science 8. raise awareness of the moral, ethical, social, economic and environmental implications of using science and technology
10. encourage an understanding of the relationships between scientific disciplines and the overarching
nature of the scientific method.
__________________________________________________________________________________
I think that my group did a good job of , "developing and applying the students’ information and communication technology skills in the study of science." We really did a good job of communicating with one another. During our first meeting, our group did a good job of brainstorming possible ideas for the project. Everyone participated in this process by being part of the discussion and expressing their opinions. During the field day, our group continually took a step back from the data to talk about it and brainstorm new was to approach data collection. Technology such as video cameras and a labquest were very important in helping us record our progress and collect data. To actually create the presentation, we collaborated using facebook and google docs. This worked extremely well.Even though we were in different locations, we were able to collaborate on the same project. We were able to "bounce ideas" off each other and work together to come up with the best ways to make our presentation. By using technology to help us communicate, we were able to gain scientific knowledge. We were able to work together to analyze the data and come to good conclusions.
Definition of Terms
Paraphrase of a document in simpler or more familiar words
Explain Rules
Analyze what is logically entailed by certain postulates of logic and mathematics
Demonstrate a skill or technique
Provide reasons, motives or beliefs
Refer to the metaphysical universal similarities
2. What are some common misconceptions about scientific explanations? How does Abel refute each one?
Science describes rather than explains-"Actually, no sharp line can be drawn between description and explanation. If the scientific explanations of why the pond froze and why there was an eclipse are really only descriptions, what, then, would an explanation be? How else would you describe those events?"
Science explains the strange by the familiar-"typically, the reverse is the case. Such familiar phenomena as rust, sunrise, tides, illness, family resemblance, and so on, are explained by such unfamiliar concepts as oxidation, gravitational attraction, invisible germs, and genes."
"Scientific explanation is not the same as "understanding" in the sense in which it is said, for example, that... an experienced nurse understands children. Such an understanding is more like knowledge by acquaintance or like knowing how than like science.
"A scientific explanation need not be a causal law. It may be a law of simultaneous existence rather than of succession. Boyle's Law associates the pressure of gas with its volume, but pressure and volume are not cause and effect."
6. Why does scientific expanation require the concept of system?
A system is essentially invariant to changes in its parts or elements. So, when seeking a scientific explanation, it is good to find a truth that doesn't change depending on the variables, something that is always true. An example of systems used in science is the nerve of an animal.
10. What does Abel mean when he says. "The growth of science is not a clear-cut, straighforward progression toward a unique, all-inclusive final truth." (p. 100)
He means that many factors influence the ": course of science." The choice of questions asked depends on the present political and social pressures etc. Some discoveries also come by accident or because of experimental error.
"Finally, there is the question of what situations are seen by scientists as requiring explanation. As I said earlier that puzzlement may vary with the person and the context. Are there situations that are intrinsically puzzling? or objectively require an explanation?"
12. What is the role of the human element in the progress of scientific explanation?
"Our perceptual knowledge is delimited by our characteristic biological capacities, and there are limits to the completeness of our theoretical structures. But our observations and out theories mutually reinforce each other. If we never trusted some sort of evidence, nothing whatever could ever be tested. The structure of our science is pragmatically justified; it is the most reliable knowledge ther is; it is in every sense objective."
G4P. Choose one Aim of the Group 4 Project and comment on how you met that aim. Include specific references from your Group 4 Project (preparation and fieldwork).
The following excerpt is taken from the Group 4 subject guides:
The group 4 project is a collaborative activity where students from different group 4 subjects work together on a scientific or technological topic, allowing for concepts and perceptions from across the disciplines to be shared in line with aim 10—that is, to “encourage an understanding of the relationships between scientific disciplines and the overarching nature of the scientific method”.
The group 4 project allows students to appreciate the environmental, social and ethical implications
of science and technology. It may also allow them to understand the limitations of scientific study, for
example, the shortage of appropriate data and/or the lack of resources. The emphasis is on interdisciplinary
cooperation and the processes involved in scientific investigation, rather than the products of such
investigation.
The choice of scientific or technological topic is open but the project should clearly address aims 7, 8 and 10 of the group 4 subject guides.
Below is a partial list (Aims 7, 8, 10) of the common Aims of the Group 4 subjects:
Through studying any of the group 4 subjects, students should become aware of how scientists work and communicate with each other. While the “scientific method” may take on a wide variety of forms, it is the emphasis on a practical approach through experimental work that distinguishes the group 4 subjects from other disciplines and characterizes each of the subjects within group 4. It is in this context that all the Diploma Programme experimental science courses should aim to:
7. develop and apply the students’ information and communication technology skills in the study of science 8. raise awareness of the moral, ethical, social, economic and environmental implications of using science and technology
10. encourage an understanding of the relationships between scientific disciplines and the overarching
nature of the scientific method.
__________________________________________________________________________________
I think that my group did a good job of , "developing and applying the students’ information and communication technology skills in the study of science." We really did a good job of communicating with one another. During our first meeting, our group did a good job of brainstorming possible ideas for the project. Everyone participated in this process by being part of the discussion and expressing their opinions. During the field day, our group continually took a step back from the data to talk about it and brainstorm new was to approach data collection. Technology such as video cameras and a labquest were very important in helping us record our progress and collect data. To actually create the presentation, we collaborated using facebook and google docs. This worked extremely well.Even though we were in different locations, we were able to collaborate on the same project. We were able to "bounce ideas" off each other and work together to come up with the best ways to make our presentation. By using technology to help us communicate, we were able to gain scientific knowledge. We were able to work together to analyze the data and come to good conclusions.
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Journal Entry: BP Oil Spill Debate
200-400 words
a. WHOI Scientist
b. Experts have intellectual and emotional stakes in knowledge. Describe the principle(s) that guide members in your area of expertise. Include at least two principles.
While it is impossible to classify all scientists into the same group where they all have the same principles, I can describe some principles that would guide me as a scientist and might guide others as well. In the debate I was specifically an environmental scientist looking at the spill with regard to the damage done to animal and plant communities.
Usually if someone studies something in depth, they start to develop an emotional attachment to it. I think if I really were a scientist, I would feel sympathy for the animals hurt from the spill and I think other scientists feel the same way. Because of this, one of their principles would be to conduct their tests and research in such a way as not to harm the environment.
Another principle that I think is valued by scientists is that conclusions should be true to the data collected. I know from writing my labs that I need to carefully study the data before making decisive conclusions. If I don't do this, my teacher (a scientist) will take points off my lab.
c. Describe the influence that the opinion(s) of an expert in another area (outside your constituent group) had on your opinion(s). Give at least one specific example.
Before the debate, I thought badly of BP. I thought that they weren't doing a good job of cleaning up the spill and that they were handling the crisis in the wrong ways. However, as I listened to BP group members, they said that they were doing all they could to help. I know that a lot of times this can be stated insincerely, but it made me wonder if maybe BP really is doing all they can. They do have a huge and very difficult responsibility.
Listening to the Gulf Residence representatives also affected my thinking. Stories from every day people added emotion and a sense of realness to the crisis. Rather than just numbers and facts, it became a very real event. It made the data come alive.
d. Compare the positive features and limitations of expert opinion; create a pair of lists. Include at least two strengths and at least two weaknesses.
Positive:
Experienced
-they know how to collect data well
-they know how to interpret data well
Knowledgeable
-because they are experts they would be able to think of significant factors that other people would never understand
Negative:
They might not be able to see other points of view
If they are biased towards something, they might give a biased report on their findings
-however people would probably trust them solely on the fact that they are experts
e. Comment on the responsibility that your constituent group has for (i) the occurrence of the BP Oil Spill in April 2010, and (ii) the restoration efforts in the Gulf region.
Because scientist could probably have best predicted the possible negative effects of a spill, they should have realized the importance of preventing a spill and should have done more to enforce rules to protect the environment.
We need to provide information about what happened before, during and after the spill; data about what we have accomplished so far and about how we could improve; and we need to speculate about the negative effects of the spill in the future and how best to counter act them.
(Word Count: About 500 minus the questions)
a. WHOI Scientist
b. Experts have intellectual and emotional stakes in knowledge. Describe the principle(s) that guide members in your area of expertise. Include at least two principles.
While it is impossible to classify all scientists into the same group where they all have the same principles, I can describe some principles that would guide me as a scientist and might guide others as well. In the debate I was specifically an environmental scientist looking at the spill with regard to the damage done to animal and plant communities.
Usually if someone studies something in depth, they start to develop an emotional attachment to it. I think if I really were a scientist, I would feel sympathy for the animals hurt from the spill and I think other scientists feel the same way. Because of this, one of their principles would be to conduct their tests and research in such a way as not to harm the environment.
Another principle that I think is valued by scientists is that conclusions should be true to the data collected. I know from writing my labs that I need to carefully study the data before making decisive conclusions. If I don't do this, my teacher (a scientist) will take points off my lab.
c. Describe the influence that the opinion(s) of an expert in another area (outside your constituent group) had on your opinion(s). Give at least one specific example.
Before the debate, I thought badly of BP. I thought that they weren't doing a good job of cleaning up the spill and that they were handling the crisis in the wrong ways. However, as I listened to BP group members, they said that they were doing all they could to help. I know that a lot of times this can be stated insincerely, but it made me wonder if maybe BP really is doing all they can. They do have a huge and very difficult responsibility.
Listening to the Gulf Residence representatives also affected my thinking. Stories from every day people added emotion and a sense of realness to the crisis. Rather than just numbers and facts, it became a very real event. It made the data come alive.
d. Compare the positive features and limitations of expert opinion; create a pair of lists. Include at least two strengths and at least two weaknesses.
Positive:
Experienced
-they know how to collect data well
-they know how to interpret data well
Knowledgeable
-because they are experts they would be able to think of significant factors that other people would never understand
Negative:
They might not be able to see other points of view
If they are biased towards something, they might give a biased report on their findings
-however people would probably trust them solely on the fact that they are experts
e. Comment on the responsibility that your constituent group has for (i) the occurrence of the BP Oil Spill in April 2010, and (ii) the restoration efforts in the Gulf region.
Because scientist could probably have best predicted the possible negative effects of a spill, they should have realized the importance of preventing a spill and should have done more to enforce rules to protect the environment.
We need to provide information about what happened before, during and after the spill; data about what we have accomplished so far and about how we could improve; and we need to speculate about the negative effects of the spill in the future and how best to counter act them.
(Word Count: About 500 minus the questions)
Friday, September 3, 2010
Gulf Oil Spill
Step 1
Group C, BBC: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10317116
Step 2
Timeline
April 20 2010: 11 people died in explosion in the Gulf of Mexico. The explosion was caused by a surge in oil and gas. The blowout preventer system of valves (BOP) at the well head on the seabed is believed to have failed.
April 22 2010: Oil rig sinks and riser pipe that connected it to the well falls to the seabed. Oil and gas continue to flow from the pipe and blowout preventer. This caused a five mile (8km) oil slick.
Many efforts are made to contain the leak including booms, skimming, dispersion (chemicals break down oil), and burning.
May 2 2010: BP starts drilling one of two relief wells.
May 5 2010: BP successfully stops one leak.
May 16 2010: Starts drilling other well. The wells are expected to take two or three months to complete
May 16 2010: A tube is inserted into the leaking pipe, which funnels oil to surface.
May 26 2010 - May 29 2010 Top kill system starts and fails
June 2: Lower a cap over blowout preventer to funnel oil to surface. Leaky pipe is cut off. The cap does not fit quite right, but does save some oil.
June 16 2010: Engineers open a second route to surface by connecting another pipe, which connects to another rig.
July 10 2010: LMRP cap is removed to be replaced with a tightly fitting cap.
July 15: The valves inside are turned off and the flow is stopped for the first time since 20 April.
August 5 2010: Mud and cement pumped in to block well.
Key players
US Congress
Media
Transocean chief executive Steve Newman
Henry Waxman, chairman of the House Energy and Commerce
BP CEO Tony Hayward
Key Terms
Deep Horizon Oil Rig: owned and mostly staffed by employees of exploration firm Transocean, under contract to BP
Centralisers:These devices make sure that the pipe or casing is centralised during cementing, to ensure a good job is done
Cement bond log: A sonic scanning device is lowered through the well on a wireline. It checks whether there are imperfections in bonding or other problems in the cement. If there are, more cement can be squeezed into affected sections.
Liner: a bit of casing hung from the bottom of the casing section above. Inside this would have been a further piece of tubing called a "Tieback".
The blowout preventer (BOP): is supposed to stop this happening. The BOP, the size of a five-storey building, consists of a series of high-pressure valves, designed to prevent such a surge or kick from damaging the drilling operation. In this BOP, built by US firm Cameron to specifications by Transocean, there are five ram-type preventers and two annular preventers, according to Transocean's chief executive.
Blind ram shear: Last line of defence in BOP - cuts pipe
Annulus: Gap between pipe and rock, or between pipe and another pipe
Step 3:
We didn't really have time to share information during class.
Step 4:
WHOI Scientist or technical specialist
Step 5:
I am an environmental scientist whose focus is on the effects of the oil spill on populations and communities of organisms. I believe that the oil spill crisis will not be over until the negative effects are repared. This could take decades. For example, according to tests conducted in 2007 on a Cape Cod beach affected by the 1969 oil spill, fiddler crabs were negatively affected by oil even 38 years after the spill.
Questions:
BP: How do you plan to fix the damage done to the underwater ecosystems by oil pollution an chemical pollution caused by the spill?
Activists: Do you expect the organisms of the coastal region to fully recover based on their tolerance to previous habitat-related threats?
Gulf Folk: What effects on the gulf fauna have you noticed? What do you expect the long term effects of this spill to be on your career as a whole?
Government: What action do you plan to take where repairing ecosystemic damage is concerned?
Group C, BBC: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10317116
Step 2
Timeline
April 20 2010: 11 people died in explosion in the Gulf of Mexico. The explosion was caused by a surge in oil and gas. The blowout preventer system of valves (BOP) at the well head on the seabed is believed to have failed.
April 22 2010: Oil rig sinks and riser pipe that connected it to the well falls to the seabed. Oil and gas continue to flow from the pipe and blowout preventer. This caused a five mile (8km) oil slick.
Many efforts are made to contain the leak including booms, skimming, dispersion (chemicals break down oil), and burning.
May 2 2010: BP starts drilling one of two relief wells.
May 5 2010: BP successfully stops one leak.
May 16 2010: Starts drilling other well. The wells are expected to take two or three months to complete
May 16 2010: A tube is inserted into the leaking pipe, which funnels oil to surface.
May 26 2010 - May 29 2010 Top kill system starts and fails
June 2: Lower a cap over blowout preventer to funnel oil to surface. Leaky pipe is cut off. The cap does not fit quite right, but does save some oil.
June 16 2010: Engineers open a second route to surface by connecting another pipe, which connects to another rig.
July 10 2010: LMRP cap is removed to be replaced with a tightly fitting cap.
July 15: The valves inside are turned off and the flow is stopped for the first time since 20 April.
August 5 2010: Mud and cement pumped in to block well.
Key players
US Congress
Media
Transocean chief executive Steve Newman
Henry Waxman, chairman of the House Energy and Commerce
BP CEO Tony Hayward
Key Terms
Deep Horizon Oil Rig: owned and mostly staffed by employees of exploration firm Transocean, under contract to BP
Centralisers:These devices make sure that the pipe or casing is centralised during cementing, to ensure a good job is done
Cement bond log: A sonic scanning device is lowered through the well on a wireline. It checks whether there are imperfections in bonding or other problems in the cement. If there are, more cement can be squeezed into affected sections.
Liner: a bit of casing hung from the bottom of the casing section above. Inside this would have been a further piece of tubing called a "Tieback".
The blowout preventer (BOP): is supposed to stop this happening. The BOP, the size of a five-storey building, consists of a series of high-pressure valves, designed to prevent such a surge or kick from damaging the drilling operation. In this BOP, built by US firm Cameron to specifications by Transocean, there are five ram-type preventers and two annular preventers, according to Transocean's chief executive.
Blind ram shear: Last line of defence in BOP - cuts pipe
Annulus: Gap between pipe and rock, or between pipe and another pipe
Step 3:
We didn't really have time to share information during class.
Step 4:
WHOI Scientist or technical specialist
Step 5:
I am an environmental scientist whose focus is on the effects of the oil spill on populations and communities of organisms. I believe that the oil spill crisis will not be over until the negative effects are repared. This could take decades. For example, according to tests conducted in 2007 on a Cape Cod beach affected by the 1969 oil spill, fiddler crabs were negatively affected by oil even 38 years after the spill.
Questions:
BP: How do you plan to fix the damage done to the underwater ecosystems by oil pollution an chemical pollution caused by the spill?
Activists: Do you expect the organisms of the coastal region to fully recover based on their tolerance to previous habitat-related threats?
Gulf Folk: What effects on the gulf fauna have you noticed? What do you expect the long term effects of this spill to be on your career as a whole?
Government: What action do you plan to take where repairing ecosystemic damage is concerned?
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