Category Archives: Sociology of science

Public intellectuals in the climate space

Posted on February 17, 2015 by | 444 comments

by Judith Curry

Wanted: disruptive ideas on climate change.

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444 Comments

Posted in Sociology of science

What would Charles Keeling think? Science in spite of politics

Posted on January 13, 2015 by | 466 comments

by Judith Curry

Perhaps my experience in studying the Earth, initially with few restrictions and later with increasingly sophisticated interaction with government sponsors and various planning committees, will provide a perspective on this great transition from science being primarily an intellectual pastime of private persons to its present status as a major contributor to the quality of human life and the prosperity of nations. – Charles Keeling

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466 Comments

Posted in History, Scientific method, Sociology of science

Ethics and climate change policy

Posted on December 17, 2014 by | 518 comments

by Judith Curry

Every aspect of climate change is shaped by ethical dispute: from scientific practice to lobbying and activism and eventually, at national and international levels, the setting and implementation of climate policy. – Peter Lee

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518 Comments

Posted in Ethics, Policy, Sociology of science

The legacy of Climategate: 5 years later

Posted on December 1, 2014 by | 595 comments

by Judith Curry

UPDATE: new email from student that motivated “An open letter . .”

Every year at Thanksgiving, I am reminded of Climategate.

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595 Comments

Posted in Sociology of science

Groups and herds: implications for the IPCC

Posted on November 25, 2014 by | 404 comments

by Judith Curry

Group failures often have disastrous consequences—not merely for businesses, nonprofits, and governments, but for all those affected by them. – Cass Sunstein and Reid Hastie

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404 Comments

Posted in Consensus, IPCC, Sociology of science

We are all confident idiots

Posted on November 13, 2014 by | 725 comments

by Judith Curry

Stumbling through all our cognitive clutter just to recognize a true “I don’t know” may not constitute failure as much as it does an enviable success, a crucial signpost that shows us we are traveling in the right direction toward the truth. – David Dunning

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725 Comments

Posted in Sociology of science, Uncertainty

Cognitive bias – how petroleum scientists deal with it

Posted on November 3, 2014 by | 385 comments

by Peter Rose

Everyone complains about the Weather but nobody does anything about it!

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385 Comments

Posted in Sociology of science, Uncertainty

Pre-traumatic stress syndrome: Climate trauma survival tips

Posted on October 29, 2014 by | 517 comments

by Judith Curry

Climate depression is real.  Just ask a scientist. – Madeleine Thomas

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517 Comments

Posted in Sociology of science

How to criticize with kindness

Posted on September 15, 2014 by | 631 comments

by Judith Curry

“Just how charitable are you supposed to be when criticizing the views of an opponent?” – Daniel Dennett

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631 Comments

Posted in Ethics, Sociology of science

Fraudulent(?) hockey stick

Posted on September 11, 2014 by | 1,306 comments

by Judith Curry

Some new angles in Mann vs Steyn et al.

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1,306 Comments

Posted in Ethics, Sociology of science

Partisanship and silencing science

Posted on August 29, 2014 by | 461 comments

by Judith Curry

 The implications of dogmatic groupthink and intimidation for the pursuit of sound science — and sound policy — are chilling. – Christopher Snowden

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461 Comments

Posted in Ethics, Sociology of science

Importance of intellectual and political diversity in science

Posted on August 6, 2014 by | 590 comments

by Judith Curry

“He who knows only his own side of the case, knows little of that.”  – John Stuart Mill

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590 Comments

Posted in Climate change impacts, Sociology of science

Is the road to scientific hell paved with good moral intentions?

Posted on August 4, 2014 by | 656 comments

by Judith Curry

We find ourselves in scientific hell when we discover that our powers of persuasion are limited to those who were already predisposed to agree with us. – Philip Tetlock

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656 Comments

Posted in Sociology of science

Kardashian Index

Posted on August 3, 2014 by | 257 comments

by Judith Curry

I am concerned that phenomena similar to that of Kim Kardashian may also exist in the scientific community. I think it is possible that there are individuals who are famous for being famous.  – Neil Hall

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257 Comments

Posted in Communication, Sociology of science

The 97% feud

Posted on July 27, 2014 by | 620 comments

by Judith Curry

An academic feud swirls around how best or even whether to express the scientific consensus around climate change.  

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620 Comments

Posted in Consensus, Sociology of science

The raw politics of science

Posted on July 23, 2014 by | 170 comments

by Judith Curry

 The myth that there is no politics of science is dangerous as it prevents the important and urgently needed institution of some democratic control of the existing system of politics within the commonwealth of learning. – Joseph Agassi

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170 Comments

Posted in Sociology of science

On academic bullying

Posted on July 18, 2014 by | 465 comments

by Judith Curry

So Prof. Enoch is basically seeking to harm Prof. Bell’s reputation, without providing literally ANY documentation that Prof. Bell is wrong, much less so egregiously wrong that his work should be considered “pseudo-scholarship” and his reputation should suffer. 

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465 Comments

Posted in Sociology of science

Exploring controversy: NIPCC versus IPCC

Posted on July 17, 2014 by | 205 comments

by Judith Curry

Who assesses the assessors of climate science research?  A new paper reviews the climate change reviewers by comparing references in the NIPCC and IPCC reports.

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205 Comments

Posted in Skeptics, Sociology of science

Why scientists should talk to philosophers

Posted on July 16, 2014 by | 295 comments

by Judith Curry

The divorce between philosophers and scientists is fairly recent.  Its time for a reconciliation.

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295 Comments

Posted in Scientific method, Sociology of science, Uncertainty

‘Scientist’: the evolving story of a word

Posted on July 15, 2014 by | 144 comments

by Judith Curry

Tracing the acceptance or rejection of “scientist” among researchers not only gives us a history of a word—it also provides insight into the self-image of scientific researchers in the English-speaking world in a time when the social and cultural status of “science” was undergoing tremendous changes. – Melinda Baldwin

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144 Comments

Posted in History, Sociology of science

Phunny Physics

Posted on July 6, 2014 by | 303 comments

by Judith Curry

Newtons Laws of Expertise and the 4th Law of Thermodynamics.

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303 Comments

Posted in Sociology of science

Uneasy expertise

Posted on June 24, 2014 by | 310 comments

by Judith Curry

Experts might instead need to pick a side, join the fight, and accept that their claims to knowledge and authority will always and everywhere be contested. – Jason Wilson

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310 Comments

Posted in Sociology of science

What is the measure of scientific ‘success’?

Posted on June 16, 2014 by | 193 comments

by Judith Curry

Science has been extraordinarily successful at taking the measure of the world, but paradoxically the world finds it extraordinarily difficult to take the measure of science — or any type of scholarship for that matter. – Stephen Curry

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193 Comments

Posted in Sociology of science

State of the blog discussion thread

Posted on June 8, 2014 by | 455 comments

by Judith Curry

After almost four years of blogging at Climate Etc., its time for some reflection

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455 Comments

Posted in Sociology of science

The sociology of correlation and causation

Posted on June 2, 2014 by | 286 comments

by Judith Curry

Correlation doesn’t imply  causation.

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286 Comments

Posted in Scientific method, Sociology of science