End of newsgroup rec.arts.erotica. ******** 1 unread article in alt.save.the.earth--read now? [ynq] Article 587 in alt.save.the.earth: From: wittenberg@zendia.enet.dec.com Newsgroups: sci.environment,talk.environment,alt.save.the.earth Subject: Re: Energy requirements Message-ID: <1409@sousa.ltn.dec.com> Date: 27 Jul 91 19:04:21 GMT References: <8343@vela.acs.oakland.edu> <1991Jul12.182432.23634@talon.ucs.orst.edu> <45161@fmsrl7.UUCP> <8320@vela.acs.oakland.edu> Sender: newsa@sousa.ltn.dec.com Reply-To: wittenberg@zendia.enet.dec.com () Followup-To: sci.environment Organization: Digital Equipment Corporation Lines: 19 In article <8343@vela.acs.oakland.edu>, vtessier@vela.acs.oakland.edu (Vince Tessier) writes: |> In response to mail from Carl Lydick I would like to point out |> that the duration of a typical resistance weld is approximately |> 1/3 to 1 1/2 second. (This is one of those "everyone knows" |> things among the people I work with ... I was remiss in not |> realizing that you all don't work in the auto biz (but nearly |> everyone in Detroit is connected to it.)) --MORE--(83%) |> |> -- Vince (gotta get a .sig) |> So, with a couple of thousand welds and welding power of ~1 MegaWatt (30V at 30KAmps, the middle of your ranges) building a car uses around 500 KW hours just for welding. Wow. --David Wittenberg End of article 587 (of 587)--what next? [npq] End of newsgroup alt.save.the.earth. ******** 177 unread articles in sci.environment--read now? [ynq] ******** 5 unread articles in misc.rural--read now? [ynq] Article 1554 (4 more) in misc.rural: From: richardb@cognos.UUCP (Richard Brosseau) Subject: Re: Algae attack Message-ID: <9840@cognos.UUCP> Date: 25 Jul 91 19:04:15 GMT References: <65221@bbn.BBN.COM> <91Jul24.121101edt.650@smoke.cs.toronto.edu> Reply-To: richardb@cognos.UUCP (Richard Brosseau) Distribution: na Organization: Cognos Inc., Ottawa, Canada Lines: 85 In article <91Jul24.121101edt.650@smoke.cs.toronto.edu> enenkel@cs.toronto.edu (Robert Frederick Enenkel) writes: +Lawrence D. Sher writes: +>We live in eastern Massachusetts and have a 1/2 acre (100' x 200'), +>spring-fed pond, with near-maximum underwater slope all around to its +>maximum depth of about 10 feet. We have stocked the pond with golden +>shiners and with bass. The pond is ten years old. +> +>This summer, for the first time, we have gotten an enormous algae bloom. +>The surface around the pond's perimeter is covered out to about 10-15 +>feet from the shore. This surface algae is a fibrous mat, and if +>allowed to dry appears to be a pretty, non-woven fabric. Beneath the --MORE--(23%) +>surface, it appears as if there is another, more gelatinous algae +>growing. If I remove the surface mat, I would assume that this lower +>level of algae would receive more sunlight and would preferentially +>thrive. +> +>I am concerned that the algae bloom will hurt the fish, muck up the +>bottom, and/or smell bad. At the moment, it just looks bad. I have +>tried raking it up. That works but is very difficult and tedious. Does +>there exist an algae rake? Would it be feasible ($?, fish health?) to +>use an algicide? If I do nothing, what will nature do with this huge +>organic mat? (I estimate that the volume of water in the pond is about +>700,000 gallons.) + +Larry, + +I have no direct experience with ponds, but since I haven't seen anyone +more qualified respond, I'll have a go. I suggest also posting your article +to the groups rec.aquaria and alt.aquaria. There are some people with +fish ponds there that may be able to help. + +Since the pond is 10 years old and this is the first bloom, I'm curious +what the cause is. Have you applied fertilizer to the surrounding land, +and could runoff have reached the pond? If the algae were a chronic, --MORE--(46%) +long-term problem, I would recommend against chemical remedies, since +they would have to be used continuously. If you can identify the cause, +however, and eliminate it in the future, chemical treatment may be a +suitable response to this one-time problem. + +The problem with massive algae blooms in fish ponds is the oxygen +deprivation which occurs at night, as the algae consume oxygen from +the water. The algae mass also absorbs the sun's heat during the day, +which increases the water temperature and reduces the saturation level +of dissolved oxygen. If your fish are suffering from low oxygen, one +way to aerate and destratify the water is to zig-zag over it repeatdly +with an outboard boat at high speed for an hour or so each day. + +Besides chemical algecides, I am aware of the use of colourants which +reduce the penetration of sunlight and inhibit algae growth, as well +as a biological digestion product which is supposed to control algae +by removing nutrients like nitrates and phosphates from the water. +I can supply more information on these products if you are interested. + +There is also a danger that, if you kill off the algae, the dead mass +will fall to the bottom of the pond and decompose, depleting the water +of oxygen in the process. Then, if an upwelling of this oxygen-poor +lower water occurs, due to wind or temperature effects, fish can --MORE--(74%) +be caught in it and die. + +Sorry I haven't been able to be more helpful. Robert Enenkel The number 1 cause of algae blooms in lakes is the introduction of phosphates by humans. There are usually 2 source for this; chemical fertilizers with high phosphates used by neighboors to the pond and introduced to the pond in the rain-runoff, and laundry detergents that contain phosphates that make it into the lake through either sewage pipes (after treatment, hopefully) or through grey-water (non-sewage) outlets, which are not treated. Note the sewage is treated only to remove bacterilogical wastes (feces, etc.) but will not affect any phosphates that come in though the inputs. Treating the symptoms (using algicides in the lake) will not stop more phosphates from entering the pond and may in the long run harm the environment around the pond (are people getting their drinking water from wells?) A possible solution would be to look for the source of phosphates. Are the pond neighboors doing sometime different to their grey-water this year? Is there a new golf course somewhere upstream? Local water/environment inspectors may be of help in finding the source of --MORE--(97%) phosphates. -- Richard Brosseau - Cognos Incorporated UUNET:uunet!cognos.uucp!richardb BITNET:ccs.carleton.ca!cognos.uucp!richardb End of article 1554 (of 1558)--what next? [npq] Article 1555 (3 more) in misc.rural: From: cosell@bbn.com (Bernie Cosell) Subject: Re: Algae attack Message-ID: <65369@bbn.BBN.COM> Date: 27 Jul 91 15:51:55 GMT References: <65221@bbn.BBN.COM> <91Jul24.121101edt.650@smoke.cs.toronto.edu> <9840@cognos.UUCP> Sender: news@bbn.com Distribution: na Lines: 35 richardb@cognos.UUCP (Richard Brosseau) writes: }In article <91Jul24.121101edt.650@smoke.cs.toronto.edu> enenkel@cs.toronto.edu (Robert Frederick Enenkel) writes: }+Lawrence D. Sher writes: }+>We live in eastern Massachusetts and have a 1/2 acre (100' x 200'), }+>spring-fed pond, ... }+> }+>This summer, for the first time, we have gotten an enormous algae bloom. }+Since the pond is 10 years old and this is the first bloom, I'm curious }+what the cause is. Have you applied fertilizer to the surrounding land, --MORE--(44%) }+and could runoff have reached the pond? If the algae were a chronic, }+long-term problem, I would recommend against chemical remedies, since }+they would have to be used continuously. If you can identify the cause, }+however, and eliminate it in the future, chemical treatment may be a }+suitable response to this one-time problem. }The number 1 cause of algae blooms in lakes is the introduction of }phosphates by humans.... }Treating the symptoms (using algicides in the lake) will not stop more }phosphates from entering the pond and may in the long run harm the }environment around the pond (are people getting their drinking water }from wells?) }A possible solution would be to look for the source of phosphates. Isn't this putting the cart before the horse? Considering the potentially unbounded nature of what might prove to be a wild goose chase, should the first step be to verify that phosphates are actually the problem? Is there some way to test the water in the pond to determine if there are too much phosphates or some other chemical imbalance [man-induced or otherwise] that might account for the bloom? --MORE--(99%) /Bernie\ End of article 1555 (of 1558)--what next? [npq] Article 1556 (2 more) in misc.rural: From: osmigo@ut-emx.uucp (Ron Morgan) Newsgroups: misc.rural,misc.consumers.house Subject: Info wanted on "log" homes Message-ID: <53030@ut-emx.uucp> Date: 28 Jul 91 02:07:29 GMT Followup-To: misc.rural, misc.consumers.house Organization: Speech Communication UT Austin Lines: 21 I'm going to be in the market for a new home in the next few months (finally moving out of town, yea!), and I'm quite attracted to these log homes I've seen in magazines. There's actually very little information available about them, however, beyond that furnished by manufacturers themselves in their books, advertising, etc. Can anyone give me any pointers, major do's and don't, advantages/disadvantages, about these structures? One reason is not just their charm and ruggedness, but the fact that for the same money, your standard wood-frame tract house these days is built like a piece of junk, unless you're able to spend several hundred thousand bucks. A few factors: this is a pretty hot, humid climate, in south central Texas. Resistance to termites would be quite critical. Also, this would probably be --MORE--(81%) a three-bedroom mother-in-law plan on a single floor, if that makes any difference. I would be *especially* eager to hear from someone who actually *lives* (or has lived) in one. Ron Morgan "When rights are outlawed, osmigo@emx.utexas.edu only outlaws will have rights" End of article 1556 (of 1558)--what next? [npq] Article 1557 (1 more) in misc.rural: From: sbishop@desire.wright.edu Subject: Re: advice needed on painting fence Message-ID: <1991Jul26.184435.4280@desire.wright.edu> Date: 26 Jul 91 23:44:35 GMT References: <1991Jul24.053705.21724@morrow.stanford.edu> <21220004@col.hp.com> Organization: University Computing Services, Wright State University Lines: 14 In article <21220004@col.hp.com>, billc@col.hp.com (Bill Claussen) writes: > > Thompsons Water Seal (or equivilent) seems to work good for us. > It keeps the nice wood look while waterproofing it at the same > time. We live at around 9000 ft so the UV radiation from the > sun if quite high. The water seal seems to hold up good in these > conditions. > > Bill C. I've got a bunch of fence to paint and I plan to use creosote based Black paint. The black will match the trim on my house and this kind of paint also imparts some weatherproofing. End of article 1557 (of 1558)--what next? [npq] Article 1558 in misc.rural: From: mdresser@pbs.org Subject: Re: Horsey presents Message-ID: <1991Jul27.012204.13330@pbs.org> Date: 27 Jul 91 05:22:04 GMT References: <6771@texsun.Central.Sun.COM> <1991Jul22.014256.8874@njitgw.njit.edu> <96aT025w095401@JUTS.ccc.amdahl.com> Distribution: usa Organization: PBS:Public Broadcasting Service, Alexandria, VA Lines: 49 In article <96aT025w095401@JUTS.ccc.amdahl.com>, lmn00@duts.ccc.amdahl.com (Linda Newell) writes: > In article <1991Jul22.014256.8874@njitgw.njit.edu> matth@mars.njit.edu (Captain Chaos) writes: >>In article mjd@saul.cis.upenn.edu (The Reincarnation of Claude Shannon) writes: >>>In article <6771@texsun.Central.Sun.COM> nate@grmail.Central.Sun.COM (Nate McConnell FE/SSE Grand Rapids) writes: >>>> Can anyone give me some ideas about what to get my father-in-law for >>>> his upcoming birthday? He has horses and he probably has all the >>>> necessities that go along with caring for horses. I was just >>>> wondering if someone could suggest something that horsey people like --MORE--(39%) >>>> to have but don't usually buy for themselves. >>> >>> > I don't know how to pare down the attributions to get the right person > attributed to the original question. I am also assuming that this > question is serious. You should post it in rec.equestrian to get some > more answers. I always like books. Depending on what kind of riding > your FIL does, you should be able to find any number of helpful books. > No one has them all. Do try to find out what he already has though. > A nice saddle blanket or pad might be a good idea, but I don't like to > give tack since people generally have preferences and non horsemen don't > always know how to pick out tack that fits and works right. > > Breed books would be good if he is interested in specific breeds. Horse > genetics are also interesting. Go to your local tack store to look at > some of the possibilities. Most tack stores also have clothing, feed, > trinkets, books, etc. The people are usually pretty friendly and > helpful. > Linda Books are always a good idea. There are tons of horse books I would like, but don't just can't afford them all at once. Does he have a VCR? --MORE--(75%) If so then how about a membership to one of the video by mail clubs for horse videos. The one I joined has a large selection, is convenient to use, and is not too expensive. The lifetime membership cost $40. Horseman's Source at 1-800-325-1894 can give you more info. And do post to rec.equestrian if you want more ideas. -- ************************************************************** Melanie L. Dresser mdresser@pbs.org Bruce = Faithful Companion human male Quest = Trusty Steed - Appaloosa equine male Max = Noisy, mouthy, siamese feline male Aravis = Quiet, neurotic siamese feline female Tristan = Lost, but not forgotton :-( canine male ********"Is it expensive? I got a horse ta feed, ya know"***** End of article 1558 (of 1558)--what next? [npq] End of newsgroup misc.rural. ******** 97 unread articles in sci.misc--read now? [ynq] ******** 11 unread articles in sci.bio--read now? [ynq] Article 2558 (10 more) in sci.bio: From: christo@psych.toronto.edu (Christopher Green) Subject: Re: What is Science? Message-ID: <1991Jul26.133749.28642@psych.toronto.edu> Date: 26 Jul 91 13:37:49 GMT References: <1991Jul25.010009.15294@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu> <1991Jul25.133453.21333@psych.toronto.edu> <1991Jul26.010849.2020@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu> Organization: Dept. of Psychology, University of Toronto Lines: 52 In article <1991Jul26.010849.2020@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu> bryans@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu (B. Charles Siegfried) writes: >christo@psych.toronto.edu (Christopher Green) writes: > >>In article <1991Jul25.010009.15294@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu> bryans@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu (B. Charles Siegfried) writes: >>> > > The Greeks and their four elements were a bad >example. The essence of the idea is that the Greeks rarely >tested their hypothesis. I think it's far from clear that this is strictly true, although it's one --MORE--(34%) of the myths of science commonly propogated in science departments. Aristotle was a VERY careful observer of nature and produced some very useful theories about physics and biology. To reverse a commonly cited example, observation tells you that things slow and stop after being put into motion. It was Newton's claim that they don't which was speculative and not empirically based. >Of course there was science before >Newton and Copernicus and the guys. The only difference was >that Newton and friends convinced the rest of the world to >accept science as a way of observation and thought separate >from previous ways of thought. > If I were you, I'd take a look at Thomas Kuhn's _The_Copernican_Revolution_. All the 'great early scientists' had enormous metaphysical agendas to advance. Often their theories turned out to be useful in spite of these, rather than because of them. > > The scientific character of theories cannot be >dependent upon the rigor of the argument. I would take the >"rigor" of an theory to be the depth and completeness of the >theory being advanced. > --MORE--(70%) No, this is not what I had in mind. Rigor has to do with the specificity and consistency of the theory, not it's completeness. That is, does it imply specific predictions about our observation and does it imply them only and not their contradictories as well. > I just read a book that presented several Marxist >theories, most of which were well argued. The theories Terrific example. Karl Popper has an article where he claims that Marxism was a scientific theory when first developed but that as the refutations began to pile up, it was shored up by ad hoc explanations, undercutting its rigor and explanatory value. I think it's reprinted in _Popper_Selections_, edited by David Miller. -- Christopher D. Green Psychology Department e-mail: University of Toronto christo@psych.toronto.edu Toronto, Ontario M5S 1A1 cgreen@lake.scar.utoronto.ca End of article 2558 (of 2568)--what next? [npq] Article 2559 (9 more) in sci.bio: From: christo@psych.toronto.edu (Christopher Green) Subject: Re: What is Science? Message-ID: <1991Jul26.135112.29696@psych.toronto.edu> Date: 26 Jul 91 13:51:12 GMT References: <91204.224924XWUU@PURCCVM.BITNET> <822@ucsbcsl.ucsb.edu> Organization: Dept. of Psychology, University of Toronto Lines: 30 In article <822@ucsbcsl.ucsb.edu> 6600spam@ucsbuxa.ucsb.edu (Tom Maynard) writes: >I thought I'd add my $2E-2 to this conversation... > >2) A basic concept at the core of most science: Reductionism. Many, many > people don't understand why biologists will spend so much time studying > simple organisms. Explaining what reductionism is, and the pros and cons > of using reductionist models, can do wonders in explaining the reasons > for certain types of study... I'm not sure how hard-nosed you're being about this. At the top you say its "at the core" and at the bottom you say "pros and cons". It was thought for a long time that reductionism was the only way to go, butthat has come unglued in recent decades. In psychology, for example, it was thought that if you --MORE--(57%) were going to be a materialist (i.e., mind is just matter) you also had to be a reductionist (e.g., studying the brain will tell us all there is to know about psychology). This was shown to be untrue by two philosophers (not empirical scientists!), Jerry Fodor and Donald Davidson, who argued that even if every token of mental activity corresponds to a token of neural activity (materialsism) there is no evidence that every type of mental activity maps on to a corresponding type of brain activity (without By the way, I guess I haven't mentioned, I'm doing my Ph.D. in cognitive psychology at University of Toronto. I have strong interests in philosophical psychology, philosophy of science, and logic as well. -- Christopher D. Green Psychology Department e-mail: University of Toronto christo@psych.toronto.edu Toronto, Ontario M5S 1A1 cgreen@lake.scar.utoronto.ca End of article 2559 (of 2568)--what next? [npq] Article 2560 (8 more) in sci.bio: From: rjg2@ukc.ac.uk (R.J.Gibson) Subject: Re: Eve Hypothesis question Message-ID: <8041@harrier.ukc.ac.uk> Date: 26 Jul 91 19:22:07 GMT References: <20840@pbhya.PacBell.COM> <85094@eerie.acsu.Buffalo.EDU> Reply-To: rjg2@ukc.ac.uk (R.J.Gibson) Organization: Biology Lab, University of Kent at Canterbury, UK. Lines: 38 The question asked was whether we evolved from a single ancestor or whether the mutations involved happened in many individuals aroud the same time. Well I will put my own ideas to this. I find it unlikly that this parralel evolution occured to any large extent as the rates of mutations for any given marker are quiet low say 1 per 1000000 per base in the DNA. Now as many but not all mutaions are seperate random processes, ie mutaion A does not cause mutaion B, then the chances of a second mutation is 1 per 10~12 etc. I know this is not always true of mutations as I work on the mutation repair systems of bacteria. Now the chances of a given pathway of mutations is low as I have pointed out, though selection does sometimes help the odds a bit, so the chances of two individuals following this path is lower still. But as to when there was a single --MORE--(56%) ancestor, that is difficult. I would hazzard an oppinion that you would have to go back to when genetic sharing, eg sex and bacterial conjugation, leaving out viruses, first started, since there would not be one individual in whom all the mutations occured, so after tht we would have a group of individual, but not necessarily folloing parrallel evolution as asked about but involved in a gene pool isn which the mutaions were spread. I leave out viruses as I don't feel up to talking about them as my specialism is in bacterial DNA repair and not viruses (hope I don't offend all you virus workers out there). Fell free to reply by net or E-mail. I read this group only about once per week so i might not reply quickly. Ro. DISCLAIMER: *********** All comments, jokes, asides, rubbish, cabbages etc are of my own making and in no way represent the policy of the University of Kent, --MORE--(94%) or any other member of the University, nor any cat, dog, goldfish, insect, bacteria, mineral, etc, on campus. All flames to rjg2@ukc.ac.uk. End of article 2560 (of 2568)--what next? [npq] Article 2561 (7 more) in sci.bio: From: christo@psych.toronto.edu (Christopher Green) Subject: Re: What is Science? Message-ID: <1991Jul26.202818.4908@psych.toronto.edu> Date: 26 Jul 91 20:28:18 GMT References: <1991Jul25.142748.29828@alchemy.chem.utoronto.ca> <1991Jul26.132024.26649@psych.toronto.edu> <1991Jul26.144503.28034@alchemy.chem.utoronto.ca> Organization: Dept. of Psychology, University of Toronto Lines: 44 In article <1991Jul26.144503.28034@alchemy.chem.utoronto.ca> mroussel@alchemy.chem.utoronto.ca (Marc Roussel) writes: >In article <1991Jul26.132024.26649@psych.toronto.edu> christo@psych.toronto.edu (Christopher Green) writes: >> >>It is by no means clear that inconsistent statements are >>empirically falsifiable. >>They imply any proposition you like (as well as its contradiction). >>Therefore, they're only falsifiable under the law of contradiction, >>a LOGICAL principle, not an empirical one. > > Tt)t's exactly the point. Inconsistent statements are not >falsifiable and hence unscientific. --MORE--(44%) Article 2562 (6 more) in sci.bio: From: starbuck@ucrmath.ucr.edu (aaron greenwood) Subject: Help in Choosing a graphics machine. Message-ID: <16197@ucrmath.ucr.edu> Date: 26 Jul 91 21:13:48 GMT Organization: University of California, Riverside Lines: 30 In our lab we do molecular modeling on an Evans & Sutherland PS390. We use FRODO a macromolecular graphics modeling program used in protein crystallographic model building using contoured electron density maps as a guide. We are now in a position to purchase another graphics machine. We are looking at the following. Silicon Graphics Personal Iris 4/D and Evans & Sutherland EVS. --MORE--(61%) Both ar Unix Boxes. We will being using the machine for both graphics and computation. I would be grateful for comments about the pros and cons of either machine especially from those who has used both. thank you Aaron J. Greenwood McPherson Lab e-mail: starbuck@ucrac1.ucr.edu Dept of Biochemistry starbuck@ucrmath.ucr.edu University of California u8221@y1.sdsc.edu Riverside, Ca. 92507 Tele: (714) 787-3397 End of article 2562 (of 2568)--what next? [npq] Article 2563 (5 more) in sci.bio: From: dmark@acsu.buffalo.edu (David Mark) Subject: Re: Eve Hypothesis question Message-ID: <85274@eerie.acsu.Buffalo.EDU> Date: 26 Jul 91 22:32:16 GMT References: <20840@pbhya.PacBell.COM> <85094@eerie.acsu.Buffalo.EDU> <8041@harrier.ukc.ac.uk> Sender: news@acsu.Buffalo.EDU Organization: SUNY Buffalo Lines: 16 Nntp-Posting-Host: autarch.acsu.buffalo.edu Here is an analogy that might be useful. Recall that mitocondria are passed on only from the female parent. Well, let's think about surnames in a traditional English-language society in which all children take the father's surname. If you take a few thousand people, give each of them a different surname, and let them reproduce for a quarter of a million years until the population is 5 billion, what is the chance that all but one of the surnames would have died out? Or, what is the chance that all the matriarchal lines descended from the female humans who were alive at the same time as 'Eve' have died out by now? Seems that, given long enough, N-1 of the female descent lines --MORE--(87%) would have died out. So, the idea of a common ancestor on the female descent side seems obvious if one goes back far enough. David Mark dmark@sun.acsu.buffalo.edu End of article 2563 (of 2568)--what next? [npq] Article 2564 (4 more) in sci.bio: From: knox@spruce.gsfc.nasa.gov (Robert Knox) Subject: Re: Eve Hypothesis question Message-ID: <1991Jul26.212330@spruce.gsfc.nasa.gov> Date: 27 Jul 91 01:23:30 GMT References: <20840@pbhya.PacBell.COM> <1991Jul25.184651.2244@murdoch.acc.Virginia.EDU> <85138@eerie.acsu.Buffalo.EDU> Sender: news@dftsrv.gsfc.nasa.gov Reply-To: knox@spruce.gsfc.nasa.gov (Robert Knox) Organization: NASA/GSFC code 923 Lines: 82 In article <85138@eerie.acsu.Buffalo.EDU>, dmark@acsu.buffalo.edu (David Mark) writes: |> In article <1991Jul25.184651.2244@murdoch.acc.Virginia.EDU> wrp@biochsn.acc.Virginia.EDU (William R. Pearson) writes: |> |> > What is controversial about his work is (1) that the |> >individual could be placed geographically, and (2) that "eve" existed |> >relatively recently, about 200,000 years ago. |> > |> --MORE--(22%) Article 2565 (3 more) in sci.bio: From: sarima@tdatirv.UUCP (Stanley Friesen) Subject: Re: What is Science? Message-ID: <99@tdatirv.UUCP> Date: 26 Jul 91 19:51:51 GMT References: <91204.224924XWUU@PURCCVM.BITNET> <822@ucsbcsl.ucsb.edu> Reply-To: sarima@tdatirv.UUCP (Stanley Friesen) Organization: Teradata Corp., Irvine Lines: 105 In article <822@ucsbcsl.ucsb.edu> 6600spam@ucsbuxa.ucsb.edu (Tom Maynard) writes: >In article <91204.224924XWUU@PURCCVM.BITNET> XWUU@PURCCVM.BITNET writes: >>1) What is the nature of science (what IS science)? >>2) What is involved in the "Scientific Method"? >>3) What would be the three (an arbitrary number) most important things that >> a student should know about science? Hey neat, someone else saying what I wanted to say, only better. >1) Repeatability. In the study of science, if it can't be done predictably and > repeatably, then it just ain't science. EG: Cold fusion. Even uncertainty --MORE--(17%) > needs to be predictable, (such as Heisenberg's principle of uncertainty) This is the core of science, the watershed that seperates science from other modes of knowledge. Another thing I think needs to be emphasized is that speculation is *good*, especially if it leads to testable ideas. [Speculation is turned into science by answering the question 'How do I test this?']. Note that an 'experiment' is only *one* way of testing an idea. There are many others, such as organized observation. Be creative, be flexible, but also be critical - make sure a testing procedure actually tests what it purports to test. >3) What the other guys said. ESPECIALLY if it's a general course, keep it fun, > at least enough of the time to keep the student's attention. Science is > a lot of fun, but many people keep trying to convince me that it's not! Absolutely! So get the students involved. Have projects where the students come up with questions and then figure out how to answer them. Encourage your students to *ask* questions (even if you have to answer 'I don't know'). --MORE--(36%) > The five step textbook "scientific method" is a nice approximation of the > real thing, but after reading countless experiments, it becomes obvious > that it's just an approximation. Luck, intuition, personal conflicts, > divine intervention, etc... the goal is the same. If in the end the result > fits the facts, is repeatable, independently verifiable, and is actually > testable, the result will stand on its own merits. Actually, I would say that the classical 5-step method is a cookbook simplification of the real basis of science - testability, & repeatability. [The 5-step method also places too much emphasis on 'experiments']. Luck is great, learning to recognize luck is even better. Almost all great scientific discoveries have involved intuition as well. >>4) Should a student be taught facts or concepts - or some blend of the two? >Facts are necessary, but concepts are the core of science. >My favorite classes have been the ones where I've been _forced_ to work out >problems on my own. It's not just a bunch of facts, but science is a way >of thinking as well. I would say this even stronger - a bunch of facts is not science at all, --MORE--(57%) it is a bunch of facts. Science is a way of approaching learning. Teach your students *how* to learn using the scientific approach and they will be able to get all the facts they need. >My suggestion for at least part of a general_science class: > After teaching the students some _basic_ facts about a topic, present them >with some problems that not only draw on their knowledge of facts, but also >an ability to think. IE: Give a result that, while it fits the theory, >doesn't appear to at first glance. Have them find out why it fits, and >postulate why it doesn't appear to at first glance. Or, given a theory that >is wrong, and results that don't fit, have them form a new theory that fits >the data. Of course, there can be hundreds of correct answers, so the point >is not to get the perfect, accepted theory, but to come up with a workable >hypothesis. The second part is for them to come up with a way to test it. That last is important. Teaching your students how to devise *means* of testing an idea is what will really teach them science. This is why letting them come up with questions *they* want answered and then having them devise the means to answer them is a great teaching tool. >Facts are necessary. Theory is important. However, thinking is essential. --MORE--(80%) > >Most High School students will (sadly) leave most high school science course >remembering almost nothing. The facts will have the shortest half life, but >the half life of theory isn't much longer... Teach them how to think >scientifically! Yes, please do! My original training was in biological sciences (with an emphasis on ecology and evolutionary theory). Now, to close my little entry, I enclose this quote from Stephen Jay Gould's essay 'Opus 200' in the August, 1991 issue of "Natural History". As ordinary human beings with egos and arrogances, scientists love to be right. But we would, I think, all say that to be useful is more important, that is, to propose an idea that gets people excited and suggests fruitful strategies for potential confirmation and disproof. The jury is still out on the relative frequency of punctuated equilibrium ...,but utility has already been proved in the pudding of practice. [S.J. Gould is the coauthor of the theory of punctuated equilibrium]. --MORE--(98%) -- --------------- uunet!tdatirv!sarima (Stanley Friesen) End of article 2565 (of 2568)--what next? [npq] Article 2566 (2 more) in sci.bio: From: jmc@DEC-Lite.Stanford.EDU (John McCarthy) Subject: Re: What is Science? Message-ID: Date: 27 Jul 91 05:07:11 GMT References: <91204.224924XWUU@PURCCVM.BITNET> Sender: news@neon.Stanford.EDU (USENET News System) Reply-To: jmc@cs.Stanford.EDU Followup-To: sci.bio Organization: Computer Science Department, Stanford University Lines: 73 In-Reply-To: XWUU@PURCCVM.BITNET's message of 24 Jul 91 03:49:24 GMT In article <91204.224924XWUU@PURCCVM.BITNET> XWUU@PURCCVM.BITNET writes: I am a HS/College teacher (Biology and General Science) and am designing a unit on the "Nature of Science." I wonder if I could get a variety of science type folks to help me answer the following questions: 1) What is the nature of science (what IS science)? 2) What is involved in the "Scientific Method"? --MORE--(32%) 3) What would be the three (an arbitrary number) most important things that a student should know about science? 4) Should a student be taught facts or concepts - or some blend of the two? If you choose to answer, please include your area of specialty. I will accept e-mail, but would this group mind if the answers were posted to the discussion group? I think you might find the results interesting; if not surprising. Kirk A. Janowiak 1. Science is an activity aimed at finding out about the world. It is based on experiment, theory and criticism of ideas. It has been successful in find out about the world in many areas. In other areas it has not yet succeeded. 2. What I can say about this is contained in my answer to 1. 3. a. It needs continuous, careful, intelligent and honest work. b. An answer to a question can't always be found as soon as is wanted. --MORE--(59%) c. 4. A student needs both facts and concepts. I don't know how long a "unit" is, and I don't know the level of the students, but I shall imagine that it's a week in a longer course. Under these assumptions I'd focus on Galileo, because his ideas are readily understood. a. He invented a telescope, put it to use for making observations and made discoveries with it. These discoveries revolutionized Western ideas of the universe in a short time. Include also: b. His experiments on inclined planes as a device for mitigating the experimental difficulties with freely falling bodies. c. His theory on the independence of horizontal and vertical motion. d. His use of idealizations, e.g. ignoring air resistance. Mention that he was persecuted but emphasize that this is not what was important about him and his life. He didn't win out by --MORE--(86%) superior virtue or even superior intelligence but because he got the right answers. You can mention his mistake in postulating the persistence of circular motion and how students often make this mistake today. -- Now this religion happens to prevail Until by that one it is overthrown, - Because men dare not live with men alone, But always with another fairy tale. - Al Maari, about 1040 John McCarthy Computer Science Department Stanford, CA 94305 End of article 2566 (of 2568)--what next? [npq] Article 2567 (1 more) in sci.bio: From: lance@cynic.wimsey.bc.ca (Lance Neustaeter) Subject: Re: BEER YEAST A MYTH? Message-ID: <1991Jul27.181238.24154@cynic.wimsey.bc.ca> Date: 27 Jul 91 18:12:38 GMT References: <1991Jul25.235431.29509@ddsw1.MCS.COM> Followup-To: sci.bio Organization: Mad Artists' Technological Hangout Lines: 11 Off the top of my head, I know one of the differences between bread yeast and brewer's yeast is that brewer's yeast can survive in a higher concentration of alcohol than bread yeast. Bread yeast can be used to make beer (I've done it) you just can't make "high test" brew. I believe it will reach 5 or 6 percent, though. As for a difference in taste, I can't remember if I noticed one. *8-) Good Premises, Lance Neustaeter End of article 2567 (of 2568)--what next? [npq] Article 2568 in sci.bio: From: kliman@mbcl.rutgers.edu Subject: Re: Eve Hypothesis question Message-ID: <549.28906eb9@mbcl.rutgers.edu> Date: 26 Jul 91 22:49:29 GMT References: <20840@pbhya.PacBell.COM> Lines: 41 In article <20840@pbhya.PacBell.COM>, gdridle@PacBell.COM (Guy D. Ridley) writes: > I was just having a discussion about this and maybe someone can resolve > a question... > > The Eve hypothesis says that everyone has a common ancestor, and that she > lived X number of years ago. Now I think it's great that the geneticists > can figure out how long ago she lived and other stuff about her, but > the simple fact that we all have a common ancestor seem to be trivial > to me. My reasoning is that if we didn't have a common ancestor (either > something definable as human or something earlier in the evolutionary > process), then that would mean that large groups of people evolved in > much the same way, but independently. I.e. parallel, side-by-side > evolution, which seems highly improbable. --MORE--(40%) End of newsgroup sci.bio. ******** 254 unread articles in sci.med--read now? [ynq] Article 1559 (1 more) in misc.rural: From: A.S.Chamove@massey.ac.nz (A.S. Chamove) Newsgroups: misc.rural,misc.consumers.house Subject: Re: Info wanted on "log" homes Message-ID: <1991Jul28.235507.22629@massey.ac.nz> Date: 28 Jul 91 23:55:07 GMT References: <53030@ut-emx.uucp> Organization: Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand Lines: 8 X-Reader: NETNEWS/PC Version 2.2 I looked into log houses and was advised that the main problem is getting straight logs which is essential. They are difficult to find. Is this true? -- ----------------------------------------------------------------- Arnold Chamove Massey University Psychology Palmerston North, New Zealand End of article 1559 (of 1560)--what next? [npq] Article 1560 in misc.rural: From: cowpatti@netcom.COM (Patricia Mae Anthony) Subject: Re: Looking for a better home Message-ID: <1991Jul29.004507.6834@netcom.COM> Date: 29 Jul 91 00:45:07 GMT References: <12246@ncar.ucar.edu> <1991Jul21.180953.22622@sequent.com> <1991Jul23.002718.16517@eos.arc.nasa.gov> Distribution: usa Organization: Netcom - Online Communication Services UNIX System {408 241-9760 guest} Lines: 40 In article <1991Jul23.002718.16517@eos.arc.nasa.gov> dencisco@eos.arc.nasa.gov (David Paul Encisco) writes: > >Sometimes I wonder why the people in California don't complain more about >the growing population of out of staters moving to their State. Maybe it's >because the majority of them arn't natives. Maybe many of these new >Californians are the very ones who are moving to other States after briefly >living in California. I don't know, I'm a forth generation Oregonian; maybe >some day I'll go home. >Just a thought --MORE--(36%) I'm a second-generation Californian, and I've just moved to Bloomington, Indiana. I grew up in the Silicon Valley when it was all orchards and dirt roads. When I left in June, some toxic chemicals had just been found under the ground just about four blocks from where I grew up, and toxic gases were forming in the crawl spaces under the houses. When I was a little girl, I could see all the surrounding mountains very clearly, but now, they are only barely noticebale on a good day. It was very sad for me to watch the slow demise of that are Article 93 in sci.bio.technology: From: leach@images.cs.und.ac.za Subject: Nanotechnology and micro-machines Message-ID: <1991Jul27.134432.2006@images.cs.und.ac.za> Date: 27 Jul 91 13:44:32 GMT Organization: Univ. Natal, Durban, S. Africa Lines: 12 I need information on Nanotechnology and micro-machines (You know those little machines smaller than a pinhead that do lots of wonderful things). My sister is delivering a seminar on this and requires information rather urgently. Please email to leach@images.cs.und.ac.za Thanks in advance. Kesh leach@images.cs.und.ac.za End of article 93 (of 93)--what next? [npq]