Word: non-scientists
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...agreed that scientists and non-scientists should communicate, one must determine at what level this communication should take place. Snow would like to see conversations on a rather high plane; he would like, for instance, to have seen the overthrow of parity discussed at Cambridge High Tables. His example is unfortunate. Parity is a most sophisticated concept, and full understanding of it requires considerable grounding in physics and mathematics. As Yudkin points out, such training would be worthless for the average non-scientist, and for many scientists working outside the field of atomic physics...
Yudkin asserts that specific concepts, such as mass or acceleration are useless to the non-scientist. Such a statement contradicts the most common definition of education, as the explication and understanding of the structure of human knowledge. Without these elementary concepts, it is impossible to have any notion of the scientists' view of the world. This does not mean that every man must rigorously understand the most advanced concepts; that is surely a waste of time. But some kind of general conceptual scheme would seem to be valuable...
...report, General Education in a Free Society (the Redbook), the Faculty Committee on the Objectives of a General Education in a Free Society recommended the creation of two new courses in science for the non-scientist. One was on the principles of biological science, the other on the principles of physical science. "Both courses are to be planned primarily to give students an insight into the fundamental principles of the subject and the nature of the scientific enterprise. In neither of them is a systematic factual survey contemplated. Both courses should communicate by discussion and example the methods by which...
Natural sciences concentrators could be required to take an elementary nat sci course, on the grounds that such courses are valuable both to the scientist and the non-scientist. Reversing the recommendation of the Bruner Report of 1959, the Committee could also recomment restricting nat sci courses to the classical sciences: chemistry, physics, and biology...
...reference. This attitude is almost inevitable in the face of difficulties on both sides: the undergraduate science major hasn't the time to see how his work fits into intellectual traditions, and the non-scientist has no ultimate use for technique. That is, strictures of time keep the scientists on their side of the divide, while strictures of value are more important to the non-scientist. This suggests, that, given the chance, the science student could get more from a course with a broader outlook on science, than the non-scientist from the strictly technical course...