Tag Archives: complexity

The constructionist hypothesis and expertise during the pandemic

Posted on April 22, 2021 by VM

Now that COVID-19 cases are rising again in the country, the trash talk against journalists has been rising in tandem. The Indian government was unprepared and hapless last year, and it is this year as well, if only in different … Continue reading →

Posted in Op-eds, Scicomm | Tagged biochemistry, complexity, COVID-19 pandemic, disease transmission models, epidemiological modelling, epidemiology, expertise, immune escape, more is different, novel coronavirus, novel coronavirus variants, Philip Warren Anderson, scale, virology | Leave a comment

Why scientists should read more

Posted on August 29, 2020 by VM

The amount of communicative effort to describe the fact of a ball being thrown is vanishingly low. It’s as simple as saying, “X threw the ball.” It takes a bit more effort to describe how an internal combustion engine works … Continue reading →

Posted in Scicomm | Tagged active voice, Casimir effect, communication, complexity, English as second language, ESL, first language, grammar, Learning, mainstream media, meaning making, passive voice, physics, quantum physics, reading, science communication, science journalism, scientific knowledge, teaching, wisdom | Leave a comment

Science journalism, expertise and common sense

Posted on March 29, 2020 by VM

On March 27, the Johns Hopkins University said an article published on the website of the Centre For Disease Dynamics, Economics and Policy (CDDEP), a Washington-based think tank, had used its logo without permission and distanced itself from the study, … Continue reading →

Posted in Op-eds, Scicomm, Science | Tagged ad hominem, authoritarianism, CDDEP, cherry-picking, common sense, complexity, coronavirus, COVID-19, epistemology, expertise, knowledge is power, novel coronavirus, Ramanan Laxminarayan, science journalism, Times of India | Leave a comment

If AI is among us, would we know?

Posted on March 4, 2016 by VM

Our machines could become self-aware without our knowing it. We need a better way to define and test for consciousness. … an actual AI might be so alien that it would not see us at all. What we regard as … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged artificial intelligence, cognisance, complexity, consciousness creep, emergence | Leave a comment

Is anything meant to remain complex?

Posted on September 30, 2012 by VM

The first answer is “No”. I mean, whatever you’re writing about, the onus is on the writer to break his subject down to its simplest components, and then put them back together in front of the reader’s eyes. If the … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged attribution, complexity, false claims, Learning, science writing | Leave a comment