An examination of scientific inquiry through a discussion of the history and philosophy of the scientific endeavor.
In this unscripted episode, we take a look at the announced results from the Muon g-2 experiment recently performed at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory. We examine what it means for the Standard Model of Particle Physics along with the importance of doing science with the goal of falsifying presently accepted models and theories rather than seeking confirmation.
A look at pseudosciences and their characteristics through the lenses of critical thinking and inquiry.
In this episode, we begin our exploration of the Chinese cartographic tradition.
In this special solstice episode fo the podcast, we embark on a winter journey through the writings of John Muir and David Henry Thoreau among others.
In this episode, we conclude our examination of cartography in the Roman Empire by looking at the development of itineraries and travel maps from the period of the late Antonines to the Byzantine Empire.
For many of the crew of the Scientific Odyssey, the next couple of weeks promises to be stressful with the coming US Presidential elections, a rising number of CoVID-19 cases, and many difficult decisions related to school, work, and family. To help give folks a respite from the stormy seas ahead, we offer this episode of the podcast as a safe harbor to take refuge in when it all seems to be a bit overwhelming and it's time to furl the sails, if only for a little while.
In this anniversary celebration of our journey, we turn the canvas over to other voices to explore the intersection between inquiry in the sciences and the humanities.
In this episode, we look at applying the tools of good critical thinking and skepticism to analyzing conspiracy theories.
In this episode of our series on "Science as Inquiry" we look at those things that keep people from engaging in good critical thinking practices and how to overcome them.
"The fox knows many little things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing."-Archilochus We trace this quote from the Archaic Greek poet through the work of the philosopher Isaac Berlin to see how it applied to create good practices of critical thinking. Characteristics include having an inquiry focus, being flexible, understanding bias, practicing skepticism, using inference properly, and seeking multiple sources.
In this episode we broaden our focus to consider critical thinking in a more comprehensive way by looking at what it is, why its such a valuable habit of mind to have and what types of activities contribute to making it such a powerful process.
One of the pillars of the Roman Republic and Empire was its ability to survey, divide, assign and tax land. In this episode of the podcast, we look at processes, people and tools that made such precise surveying possible.
Wherein your Navigator discusses the CoVID-19 virus, the global pandemic, how public health and public policy response is formulated, and how to engage with the information and misinformation that's coming through various media channels.
In this episode, we trace the development of roads from their pre-historic roots (or routes) to the development of the massive arterial network of the Roman Empire.
Some recent media accounts have speculated that the red supergiant star in the constellation of Orion is about to explode in a cataclysmic supernova based on recent observations of the star's dimming brightness. We examine the evidence and offer a different explanation.
In this episode, we trace the development of Hellenistic geography from the work of Polybius, through Strabo, to its conclusion with Claudius Ptolemaeus.
In this episode we examine the development of a more empirically based geography in the Hellenistic period from the voyage of Pytheas to the map of Eratosthenes.
Beginning with Homer's Iliad, we look at the development of Greek geographical models of the Earth through the Classical Period.
For 220 years, the Cassini family was among the most powerful and influential scientific dynasties of Europe. In we look at their work and lives in the period of Louis XIV, the sun King, through the end of the Bourbon monarchy.
In this episode we look at cartography in the ancient cultures around the Mediterranean Basin with an eye to understanding the role and purpose of maps and mapping.
We explore the connection between maps and other cultural ideas and technologies such as language, writing and time to see how the physical artifacts arise out of abstract conceptual constructs.
In this episode, we discuss the development and use of basic navigational tools and how they lead to map knowledge in ancient cultures.
Wherein we look at mapping as a human activity and begin our exploration of the evidence of the earliest maps known.
In this episode we interview Dr. Todd Timberlake about the book he co-authored with Dr. Paul Wallace: Finding Our Place in the Solar System, A Scientific View of the Copernican Revolution (Available March 28th, 2019 from Cambridge University Press). Dr. Timberlake's teaching materials can be found at: https://sites.berry.edu/ttimberlake/teaching/copernican-revolution/
Wherein we prepare to once again slip our lines in search of new knowledge. We discuss the effects of modern technologies and what is gained and lost in their use.
In the years between 1840 and 1866, a debate took place between William Whewell and the philosopher and politician John Stuart Mill over the nature of scientific inquiry and moral philosophy at a time of great social change in Britain.
Our 2018 Christmas episode: In 1851, Dr. William Whewell gave the inaugural lecture of a series reflecting on the Great Exhibition of 1851 in London. This is a reading of that lecture.
An examination of the scientific contributions of William Whewell through the early and middle parts of his career.
A look at the early life of the scholar and natural philosopher William Whewell.
Wherein the Navigator discusses the state of the podcast going forward.
In this episode we consider additional solutions to the Problem of Induction include those which rest on determining the certainty of inductively acquired knowledge.
In this episode we consider several possible solutions to Hume's Problem of Induction including William Whewell's description of scientific inquiry, the hypothetico-deductive methods and Karl Popper's falsifiability criterion.
In our new Science and Certainty mini-series, we take a look at what is known as the Problem of Induction in the junction between epistemology and philosophy of science. We review what induction is and then look at various historical statements of the problem culminating with the work of Scottish philosopher, David Hume.
Wherein we reach the end of our journey.
In our final episode of the biographical series on Albert Einstein, we look at the last twenty years of his life in the United States. We consider his conversations with the mathematician Kurt Godel, the letters to Franklin Delano Roosevelt that helped initiate what would become the Manhattan Project, his post-war efforts to promote peace and his principled defiance of McCarthyism.
In this episode of the Scientific Odyssey, we delve more deeply into Einstein's religious views and recap the months up to his emigration to the United States to take a position at the Institute of Advanced Study.
In 1930, Albert Einstein wrote, “I believe that the most important mission of the state is to protect the individual and to make it possible for him to develop into a creative personality.” This concise statement of his political philosophy would guide his actions through much of the 1920's and early 30's as he used his fame and celebrity to advance causes important to him. In this episode, we'll examine those actions and causes.
In the words of physicist John Wheeler, “In all the history of human thought, there is no greater dialogue than that which took place over the years between Niels Bohr and Albert Einstein about the meaning of the quantum.” In this episode of the Scientific Odyssey we explore the relationship between the two men that began through journal articles on light quantum and the atom, was further entwined through Nobel Prizes awarded together and continued through debates shared in letters, papers and at scientific meetings.
In this episode we look at Einstein's rise to international fame and what it cost him.
When Einstein moved to Berlin in 1914, he entered into a period of intense turmoil, both in his scientific work and in his personal life. In this episode, we take a look at the factors that led him to Berlin and what transpired once he got there.
This week we look at the period of Albert Einstein's life from 1905-1913 as he moved from one position to another on his rise among the European physics community
In the second half of 1905, Albert Einstein published tow papers that refined humanity's understanding of space and time as well as the relationship between mass and energy. In this episode, we examine the factors that led to these discoveries.
In 1905, Albert Einstein published five papers that changed the course of physics and the modern world. In this episode, we look at the first three of those works including his paper on the photoelectric effect, his derivation of Avogardo's number and his analysis of Brownian motion that more or less proved the existence of atoms.
In this second part of our examination of Einstein's life before the Miracle Year of 1905, we examine the period between his graduation from the Zurich Polytechnic and his being hired at the Swiss patent office. We discuss his scientific work as well as his relationship with Mileva Maric and the issues surround that.
In 1896, Albert Einstein enrolled in the teacher preparation program for physics and mathematics at the Zurich Polytechnic. We look at the events that brought him to that point and what transpired while he was a student there, including the beginning of his romantic relationship with Mileva Maric.
In this first episode of our biographical series on Albert Einstein, we look at his childhood growing up in Munich and the various influences that would shape him in many ways.
In this episode, we look at the dispute between British astrophysicist Arthur Eddington and Indian prodigy Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar over white dwarf objects and the fate of higher mass stars.
For A. S. Eddington, the most important thing a think ing person could do, whether they be a scientist or a person of faith, was to follow a path of inquiry that sought to uncover new insights and new truths. In this episode, we look at how this value influenced Eddington's work in stellar structure and relativity. Additionally, we look at how his other valence values such as internationalism influenced his actions during the Great War.
In this episode we consider the question of whether a person can be both religious and a scientist by looking at the early life of the British Astrophysicist and lifelong Quaker, Arthur Stanley Eddington.
In our final narrative episode of this series, we encounter the last piece of the cosmological puzzle-dark energy. We look at the way in which is was discovered and what it means for the ultimate fate of our universe.
This week we look at the work of Vera Rubin and Fritz Zwicky that led to the idea that roughly 85% of the matter in the universe can't be detected except by the gravitational influence on the matter we can see. We also consider alternative explanations and examine the evidence in favor of Dark Matter.