Is modern science “forever tentative” and “socially constructed”? No Way!

Introduction

In the field most commonly known as “postmodern science studies” or, more specifically, “postmodern philosophy of science,” scholars attempt to critique science and mathematics from a high-level perspective. Two of these writers, Karl Popper and Thomas Kuhn, in the view of the present bloggers and many other working scientists, have significant and lasting merit and are worth taking seriously; for a mathematical perspective see, for example, our 2011 article [Exploratory Experimentation and Computation] and [Borwein2012]. Both Popper and Kuhn brought out their most influential books roughly fifty years ago.

Karl Popper

Karl Popper (1902-1994), the Austrian born British philosopher,

Continue reading Is modern science “forever tentative” and “socially constructed”? No Way!

May 31st, 2012 | Category: Essays | Comments are closed

Terence Tao releases partial solution to the Goldbach conjecture

In 1742, German mathematician Christian Goldbach wrote, in a letter to famed mathematician Leonhard Euler, that he believed “Every integer greater than two can be written as the sum of three primes.” In subsequent correspondence, the stronger version “Every even integer can be expressed as the sum of two primes” was suggested, as well as some other variants. The “odd” variant of the Goldbach conjecture is that every odd number greater than 7 can be expressed as the sum of three odd primes.

To this date, although extensive computer tests have found no counter-examples to these conjectures, no proofs are

Continue reading Terence Tao releases partial solution to the Goldbach conjecture

May 11th, 2012 | Category: News | Comments are closed

“2001: A Space Odyssey”: Art versus 2012 reality

The 1969 movie “2001: A Space Odyssey” was a landmark science-fiction film, in many ways far ahead of its time. With the recent release of a 1080p Blu-Ray video version, home viewers can enjoy nearly the same stunning level of graphics and visual effects of the original big-screen theater release. Forty-three years later, in the wake of films like Star Wars, Star Trek, Alien and Avatar, and with full-time SciFi channels on cable/satellite TV, it is easy to underestimate the impact that “2001” made when it was first released. Steven Spielberg called it his film generation’s “big bang,” while in

Continue reading “2001: A Space Odyssey”: Art versus 2012 reality

May 7th, 2012 | Category: Essays | Comments are closed

What does the latest DNA data say about evolution?

Introduction

In the past few years, modern genome sequencing and computer technology have placed enormous volumes of DNA data at the fingertips of researchers worldwide. The first complete human genome sequence was completed in 2000, after a ten-year effort that cost over USD$500 million. But genome sequencing technology is advancing very rapidly — human genomes can now be sequenced for roughly $100,000, and some groups are targeting a price as low as $1,000 [Pollack2008]. This same sequencing technology has enabled biologists to study the genomes of thousands of other biological species, including many common (and not-so-common) plants and animals. This

Continue reading What does the latest DNA data say about evolution?

May 1st, 2012 | Category: Essays | Comments are closed