Rui,
you should start a series of free online lessons:
How can I do REAL science? Why showing off in obscure mailing lists? How can I show off to my peers? How will I finally win the nobel prize?
;)
Perhaps on your own platform or blog?
I'm sure we'll all be enthused.
Joachim
-------- Original-Nachricht --------
Datum: Tue, 5 Dec 2006 18:01:19 +0000
Von: Rui Carvalho <[log in to unmask]>
An: [log in to unmask]
Betreff: can I also be an architect, please?
> Here's the obvious answer: NO.
>
> But I have been lectured on what science is by some who put Levy-Flights
> together with shopper behaviour and spin science-fiction out of it, so I
> think it's time to explain a few things.
>
> Anyone can, in principle, do science. It's open to everybody around the
> globe.
>
> But there are a few rules:
>
> First, we're not an animal farm :)
> A scientist who has published in Nature has gone through very tight
> private peer-refereeing rules and will have his/her work exposed to the
> criticism of the whole academic community from all disciplines.
> This does not have the same value as a couple of emails on an obscure
> mailing list.
>
> Second, journals are not in an animal farm either :)
> There are literally thousands of journals, but not all of these are equal.
> No one would see a problem with a SS series of journals A-D, but the
> honour of having these listed in Thomson ISI is a different matter
> altogether.
>
> Third, Scientists show off to their peers, not to the general public.
> The peers, who are the experts, are the final judges of our work.
> Heated discussions are frequent and these are often aimed at separating
> the baby from the bath water and science from science-fiction.
> If you can't deal with your peers, then you're out of science, thank you.
>
> Fourth, science historians (Popper, Khun, etc) make sociological models of
> science.
> But this has little to do with the process of doing science, as every
> practicing scientist will know.
> Watts and Crick did not turn to a classical book on the history of science
> to discover the structure of DNA.
>
> Simply put: science is NOT Marxist, thank you, the same way that not
> everybody can climb the Everest.
> But anyone can try.
>
> Rui
--
Dipl.-Ing. Joachim C. Otto
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