tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56517509827718842.post7225622966693721274..comments2024-03-27T22:41:54.513-07:00Comments on Raritania: Postmodernism and Self-CensorshipNaderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06937701625419069972noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56517509827718842.post-36900188979591648152012-11-12T06:37:58.323-08:002012-11-12T06:37:58.323-08:00Hi Professor Edwards.
Thanks for writing.
It's...Hi Professor Edwards.<br />Thanks for writing.<br />It's certainly an interesting argument you make in these papers - not least because of the contrast it presents with the widespread image of physics as the ultimate in scientific reductionism, and the role this would seem to have played in the "physics envy" of thinkers in other fields.<br />Assuming you're right about the greater tolerance of intellectual diversity of this sort in natural science fields - and this is something I'll have to think about - might it not be a question of the kinds of stakes involved? As we see all the time, the immediate, practical stakes of respectability in the field of economics, for instance, are very high, with obvious consequences for such things as government policy and the material interests of various actors in society. This is less the case in, for instance, mathematics of theoretical physics.<br />I wonder, also, what to make of this development from the standpoint of two recent arguments: John Horgan's claim for "The End of Science," and Thomas Homer-Dixon's claim for ecology's replacement of physics as the master science in this century. (The image of theoretical physics as rainforest-like in its network of theories seems rather suggestive in this respect.)Naderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06937701625419069972noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56517509827718842.post-64721966251467873542012-11-11T04:14:42.366-08:002012-11-11T04:14:42.366-08:00You might find my ancient (1980) essay interesting...You might find my ancient (1980) essay interesting:<br /><br />Unity, Disunity and Pluralism in Science<br />http://arxiv.org/abs/1110.6545<br /><br />Dave<br /><br />P.S. You might also enjoy my recent essay:<br /><br />Einstein's Dream<br />http://www.math.uga.edu/%7Edavide/Einsteins_Dream.pdf<br /><br /><br />Prof. David A. Edwards<br />Department of Mathematics<br />University of Georgia<br />Athens, Georgia 30602<br />http://www.math.uga.edu/~davide/<br />http://davidaedwards.tumblr.com/<br />dedwards@math.uga.eduProf. David Edwardshttp://www.math.uga.edu/~davide/?blahnoreply@blogger.com