Notes on the role of research in society, the value-data dichotomy, and ethics creep
First of all, I must report some shock when coming across a word I did not know in a reading by Sarewitz where he suggest that academics science has become onanistic (Sarewitz, D. 2016. Saving Science. The New Atlantis, Spring/Summer, 2016 pages 5-40). Onanistic means fruitless, self-absorbed; literally it is related to masturbation. So I'm learning that the trick to swearing, ribald humour, or other forays into matters profane in academic writing necessitates the use of polysyllabic latinates in replace of more gritty hearth-words. In this case, my assumption of Latin origins was not correct; onanistic is derived from a Biblical reference. Onan was a son of Judah, the guy who didn't want to father a child with his brother's wife so he pulled out of the arrangement, so to speak.
On to more practical concerns, I was pleased to read Holdren's arguments for the role of science in society (Holdren, J.P. 2008. Science and technology for sustainable well- being. Science 319: 424-434). His explanation of the three pillars (see graphic below) forms an excellent description of human geography (the first two) and physical geography (the last one) as they might be taught in secondary schools. This will be useful for my own research to frame the portion of my literature review that deals with the nature of Geography as a discipline. Taking a look at my copy of the article, and others, I see they are dotted with N.B. which is my cue to come back some time and consider the implications of our course readings and discussions for my own research. N.B. stands for noto beni, which is Latin for "note well." Just when you think we can dispense with Latin, it finds a way to be useful again.
On to more practical concerns, I was pleased to read Holdren's arguments for the role of science in society (Holdren, J.P. 2008. Science and technology for sustainable well- being. Science 319: 424-434). His explanation of the three pillars (see graphic below) forms an excellent description of human geography (the first two) and physical geography (the last one) as they might be taught in secondary schools. This will be useful for my own research to frame the portion of my literature review that deals with the nature of Geography as a discipline. Taking a look at my copy of the article, and others, I see they are dotted with N.B. which is my cue to come back some time and consider the implications of our course readings and discussions for my own research. N.B. stands for noto beni, which is Latin for "note well." Just when you think we can dispense with Latin, it finds a way to be useful again.
source: Holdren (2008) p. 424
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