Science and Technology
Items related to technology and science
A useful exercise for leaders
Fri 20 Mar 2009 by Peter Edman
Alan Jacobs calls our attention to the blog of Douglas Bowman, a lead designer at Google who is leaving that company. Bowman explains his rationale for moving on in a provocative post:
Without a person at (or near) the helm who thoroughly understands the principles and elements of Design, a company eventually runs out of reasons for design decisions. With every new design decision, critics cry foul. Without conviction, doubt creeps in. Instincts fail. “Is this the right move?” When a company is filled with engineers, it turns to engineering to solve problems. Reduce each decision to a simple logic problem. Remove all subjectivity and just look at the data. Data in your favor? Ok, launch it. Data shows negative effects? Back to the drawing board. And that data eventually becomes a crutch for every decision, paralyzing the company and preventing it from making any daring design decisions.
It would be a useful exercise to extend this argument to other fields, notably ethics. Do you find parallel situations in the organizations you lead? How important is it for to leaders to understand the principles by which their organization is run?
Are there situations where you are tempted to rely too much on data—science, polls, market “demands,” what is technically possible—to take the “subjective” factors out of the decision and make sure no one is ultimately responsible for a decision. Is this what causes a “corporate mindset”?
By what standards do you evaluate criticism of yourself or your organization? How do you help other people in your organization understand core principles, whether ethical, operational, or aesthetic?
Integrity in Science
Fri 13 Mar 2009 by Cherie Harder
Human experience is larger than science can describe
Trinity Forum President Cherie Harder reflects on ideology and science. Scientific integrity includes a recognition of the limits of an analytical approach to life.
‘I Have Got the Courage’
Fri 13 Mar 2009 • Responses: 1 • by Robert Musil
An excerpt from The Man Without Qualities: Volume 1 (Volume 2 is here), as used in our curriculum When No One Sees.
Trinity Forum President Cherie Harder introduces the excerpt here.
The picture that he had been drawing relieved him, like the successful conclusion of a work of art; it was not he who had brought it forth, but outwardly, linked with a mysteriously successful beginning, word had followed word, while inwardly something dissolved without his becoming conscious of it. By the time he had finished, he realized that Ulrich was the expression of nothing but this dissolved condition that all phenomena are in nowadays. . . .
“A man like that isn’t really human at all!”
Clarisse had finished chewing. “That’s just what he says himself!” she declared.
The Selfish Gene Delusion
Mon 23 Feb 2009 by Nicholas Beale
Science and Religion in a Post-Dawkins Phase
Nicholas Beale, co-author of a new book with John Polkinghorne, looks at the climate for public discussion of science and religion (and how they hope to change it) as Richard Dawkins moves into retirement.
Are Thoughts Material?
Mon 23 Feb 2009 • Responses: 2 • by John Polkinghorne and Nicholas Beale
A selection from Questions of Truth (Westminster John Knox, 2009).
I viewed a recent discussion on the topic of whether our thoughts are material. The Christian holds that the process of thought is material but thought itself is not. Atheists generally hold that all processes and outcomes of thought are solely material. They claim that all neuroscientists would agree. What are the implications for the Christian if our thoughts are wholly material?
Beale: This is a complex topic that we address in some detail in an appendix to the book. Let’s try and give an outline of our position here.
Me Me Me Me!
Thu 26 Jun 2008 by Mark Meador
Jennifer Byrne, in her recent column at PopMatters, posted an excellent piece on the “My” phenomenon that has taken hold of the Internet. The ubiquity of the word struck her as she navigated a “My UPS” page to track a package.
“Out of curiosity, I decided to do a search under the word 'My', just to see what came up. Here’s just a smattering of what I found: My T-Mobile, My New York Times, My Widgets, My Feeds, My Tupperware, My Anime, My Netscape, and My Monster.”
Firm Foundations?
Sun 27 Apr 2008 by Pete Peterson
Is there a difference between earthquake-proofing and terrorist-proofing our buildings?
The next steps in the eventual building of One World Trade Center were taken last month in a desolate patch of the New Mexico desert about ninety miles south of Albuquerque with little media fanfare, but a large bang. There, the building’s architects from Skidmore, Owings & Merrill witnessed the explosion of a three-story replica of the structure’s aluminum and glass casing. The test was a success as only few of the glass panels were smashed in the blast.
In a post–9/11 world, that’s how we must design and build the skyscrapers of the future: capable of withstanding acts of God and man. Here in California, earthquake-testing our tall buildings has been a mandated practice for decades, and in other regions of the country, formalized tests for withstanding high wind and rain are not only well-known, but are a required part of architectural education.
The Pursuit of Science in a Christian Context
Thu 14 Feb 2008 • Responses: 2 • by Randy Isaac
Modeling Dialogue Rather than Warfare
Physicist Randy Isaac, executive director of the American Scientific Affiliation, argues that the prevailing public view of the relationship between science and faith as a conflict is sadly incomplete. He offers another model of dialogue and integration based on the experience of his colleagues.
The Elusive Goal of Mastery
Tue 11 Dec 2007 • Responses: 1 • by Wilfred M. McClay
The Shadow Side of Technological Control
Senior Fellow Wilfred M. McClay recently had a friend die of cancer. It got him to pondering again about the implications of our ever-expanding control of our bodies and our world. In this essay, originally presented at an October meeting of the Trinity Forum’s Senior Fellows, he looks at the inescapable ironies of our quest for control. Progress is good, right? Longer lives and less suffering is good, right? Sure. But all treatments have side effects and every advance has unintended consequences.
Attention Deficit Disorder
Wed 21 Nov 2007 • Responses: 10 • by Fred Harburg
The blinding pace of our world makes it tempting to split the signal rather than to give our full attention to the people with whom we are engaged at any given moment.
Increasingly common stories of traffic accidents involving people “texting” while driving add poignancy to the epidemic of fractured attention in our world. There is a presumption that multitasking is a necessary, even admirable skill in our hyper-speed age, but nothing could be farther from the truth.
As an Air Force instructor pilot one of the first myths I had to dispel for aspiring young pilot candidates was the idea that good pilots are multitaskers. Research supports a different conclusion. The best pilots are excellent at rapid sequencing. They give full and complete attention to a visual indication, an aural signal, or a kinesthetic sensation, interpret it accurately, act on it effectively, and then move to the next appropriate point of focus. Scientists from the NASA Ames Research Center conclude that attempting to split attention is deadly for a pilot.
