John Levi Martin [pictured here], sociologist at the University of Chicago offers his “Reflections on Sociology as a science“: I am often asked to give my opinion as to whether and how sociology should be a science, provoking the following reflections on science as an enterprise. Basically, I have to say that science has let me […]
Category: Arts and Science
Research and other stuff that makes people LAUGH, then THINK.
Prof. Nishiyama – #4 – the math(s) of light switches.
For anyone who is not an electrician, the task of wiring-up a pair of interacting two-way light switches (say, for example at the top and bottom of a stairway) might seem decidedly non-trivial. Experienced electricians though may scoff at the perceived simplicity of this assignment – but what if the house had say, five floors, […]
Periodic Table vs. … vs. Periodical table
You are familiar with the periodic table. You may be familiar with the periodic table table, invented by Theo Gray. The top of this four-legged table is itself a periodic table of the elements. The invention led to Theo being awarded the 2002 Ig Nobel Prize in chemistry (and indirectly led to other things, including his […]
Prof. Nishiyama – #3 – Finger Counting
Everyone (who can count) will instantly recognise the numbers 1 2 & 3 in the picture below: Or will they? Well, no they won’t. All is explained in an article for Osaka Keidai Ronshu, Vol. 60 number 5, where Professor Yutaka Nishiyama (Osaka University of Economics, Japan) lists many crucial variations in finger-counting across the […]