Talk:Gentle Science
Daniel Alan Kane, 2010-01-02 I have .. been thinking more and more about the approaches toward Gentle Science and how it can be effectively communicated. I feel that your summary is an excellent start. I would like to add something that is perhaps so fundamental to Gentle Science that it may be unnecessary to include:
Science has been defined as "The knowledge or a system of knowledge covering general truths or the operation of general laws especially as obtained and tested through scientific method" (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/science). Gentle Science balances the "systematic acquisition of knowledge based on the scientific method" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science) with thorough reflection upon these systems and methods. This is akin to the statement by Socrates that "The unexamined life is not worth living..." (Plato, Apology, 38a; http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Socrates). An adaptation might be "unexamined science is not worth practicing/publishing." However, in a more practical sense, the examination of science may involve considering science while keeping in mind the items outlined in our website draft. This notion of reflection/examination/awareness may also then overlap with MiPArt and other artistic approaches.
Shilpa Iyer, 2010-01-01
Shilpa Iyer
2010-01-01
The contents of .. the summary link for QA workshop touched my heart. As I was sitting and reading the information presented on our web page, my unruly fingers typed out the thoughts to you. As this verse goes....
“For Academic chairs are many,
Yet wise and noble teachers few;
And lecture rooms numerous,
Youth seeking truth and justice few.
Fast discoveries in science are a new reality,
Creating chaotic events lacking in quality,
We all read such papers so why complain?
Will it ever change or will this remain?
Certainly this cannot be mother nature’s way,
For she asks us to stop and think QA.
One must strive to improve quality,
Hidden in the depths of our fractal creativity
As we ameliorate our human society,
under the umbrella of scientific quality.
For each of us has a little responsibility,
To shape the world with our own individuality.
Einstein said,” Most of the fundamental ideas of science are essentially simple and may as a rule be expressed in a language comprehensible to everyone.” Yes, you are so right.. “GS” should not be treated as a trivial or light hearted concept. It is in fact a movement which aims towards contributing to the elevation of the human race and human life. Gentle science is a wake up call urging all of us to understand the intellectual work be it creative or receptive. It is a contemporary thought built upon an ancient concept. As an artist scientist all I can say is this movement is a hidden, intricate and beautiful fractal order underlying all seemingly chaotic fast paced scientific events. We as individuals can be personified as patterns relaying the simple unifying message in infinite variations and themes to revolutionize the view of the scientific world. Gentle Science basically aims to create a bridge between science and spirituality and applies this knowledge to better understand our own life and to live in harmony within our selves and with the universe around us. What we are really trying to achieve is a genesis of new ideas to reform our society.
I wish you a very happy new year with the verse from a famous Indian poet below..,
WHERE the mind is without fear and the head is held high
Where knowledge is free
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments
By narrow domestic walls
Where words come out from the depth of truth
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way
Into the dreary desert sand of dead habit
Where the mind is led forward by thee
Into ever-widening thought and action
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake.
Rabindranath Tagore
