Comments on: A "not insignificant" defense of gleeful scientists

By: pdffs

pdffs — Mon, 03 Dec 2012 04:51:00 +0000

With all the anti-science and neo-luddite sentiment in the world, I can kind of understand why scientists may try particularly hard to present themselves as purely objective.

By: Origami_Isopod

Origami_Isopod — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 20:28:00 +0000

Because everybody’s at your level of scientific expertise. Setting out some explanation for us n00bs is “condescending” to you.

By: Kelly Pratt

Kelly Pratt — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 18:15:00 +0000

I thought coal and tar only came from living materials?

By: SHaGGGz

SHaGGGz — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 03:11:00 +0000

I usually end up in jail when I expose my humanity :

By: SHaGGGz

SHaGGGz — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 03:09:00 +0000

Your irascibly freethinking mind is noted and admired with all the intensity your comment was so transparently designed to elicit.

By: Boundegar

Boundegar — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 01:00:00 +0000

Perhaps you should be reading the scientific journals then, where opinion is kept to an absolute minimum, and let the rest of us enjoy Maggie’s charming, quirky journalism.

By: Maj Variola

Maj Variola — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 00:25:00 +0000

All it takes for life is some chemicals, water, and ENERGY GRADIENT. Well, if you’ve got ice on mercury, and its got organic goo on it, its frickin Harold Urey’s experiment, with more time. In other words, Mercury is now as much a contender for exobio as some of the moons of the gas giants.

Life can live at the edge between heaven and hell.

By: Will Bueche

Will Bueche — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 00:07:00 +0000

When comets made of water impact on a planet, they leave water behind. Next up is whether a comet made of Obviousidium would leave Obviousidium behind.

By: MarlboroTestMonkey7

MarlboroTestMonkey7 — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 23:47:00 +0000

Well, some of us prefer our science news shaken, not stirred.

By: Andrea

Andrea — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 23:24:00 +0000

Absolutely! I’m not “in” science, but I’m fascinated by it, partly because of teachers who geeked out about science and a dad who does, too. The thing about people saying, “This is really cool, I’m so excited!” is that it can free you up to be excited about it as well. Being excited by something your teacher (and other people) treats as boring takes a lot more determination.

By: hymenopterid

hymenopterid — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 22:46:00 +0000

I’m glad the scientists are excited I’m excited too. Now, can somebody please tell me what we are excited about?

By: Felton / Moderator

Felton / Moderator — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 22:27:00 +0000

Is cyber-masochism a thing?

By: Antinous / Moderator

Antinous / Moderator — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 22:20:00 +0000

Then why the fuck are you reading it?

By: wysinwyg

wysinwyg — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 21:45:00 +0000

Seems to me as though you’re creating a problem by interpreting Maggie’s intentions in science blogging to be something that they almost certainly aren’t.

“more help than I need”? “Normative”? Seriously? Talk about condescending.

By: Gendun

Gendun — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 21:08:00 +0000

What I’m referring to, Jerril, is Ms. Koerth-Baker’s conspicuous tendency to tell her audience not only how scientific findings should be interpreted, which is already more help than I need, but also how they should be valued. I can only suppose that many people like her role as normative interpreter of scientific data, but personally I find it condescending.

By: Christopher

Christopher — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 20:36:00 +0000

As an addendum to all this I think we should consider how many people grew up to be scientists because they met someone (often a teacher) who was enthusiastic about science, who “geeked out” about it, and whose enthusiasm was infectious.

I don’t know that we’d necessarily end up with more scientists–in my own case I had some fantastic science teachers and always had an interest in science, but work in a library*–but I think scientists being enthusiastic about their work would get people interested enough that it could help promote a better-educated public. That may be a stretch, though.

*In spite of the moniker I don’t think there’s that much that’s scientific about “information science”.

By: Jerril

Jerril — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 20:33:00 +0000

… it’s a blog, of course people are sharing their wants and desires.

By: Gendun

Gendun — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 20:21:00 +0000

I like how you let us know what we should think and believe – it takes the guesswork out of it.