Histories of Scientific Observation

Histories of Scientific Observation
Author: Lorraine Daston
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Total Pages: 473
Release: 2011-02
Genre: History
ISBN: 0226136787

Includes bibliographical referrences and index.

Anthropic Bias

Anthropic Bias
Author: Nick Bostrom
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 240
Release: 2013-10-11
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 113671099X

Anthropic Bias explores how to reason when you suspect that your evidence is biased by "observation selection effects"--that is, evidence that has been filtered by the precondition that there be some suitably positioned observer to "have" the evidence. This conundrum--sometimes alluded to as "the anthropic principle," "self-locating belief," or "indexical information"--turns out to be a surprisingly perplexing and intellectually stimulating challenge, one abounding with important implications for many areas in science and philosophy. There are the philosophical thought experiments and paradoxes: the Doomsday Argument; Sleeping Beauty; the Presumptuous Philosopher; Adam & Eve; the Absent-Minded Driver; the Shooting Room. And there are the applications in contemporary science: cosmology ("How many universes are there?", "Why does the universe appear fine-tuned for life?"); evolutionary theory ("How improbable was the evolution of intelligent life on our planet?"); the problem of time's arrow ("Can it be given a thermodynamic explanation?"); quantum physics ("How can the many-worlds theory be tested?"); game-theory problems with imperfect recall ("How to model them?"); even traffic analysis ("Why is the 'next lane' faster?"). Anthropic Bias argues that the same principles are at work across all these domains. And it offers a synthesis: a mathematically explicit theory of observation selection effects that attempts to meet scientific needs while steering clear of philosophical paradox.

The Observation and Analysis of Stellar Photospheres

The Observation and Analysis of Stellar Photospheres
Author: David F. Gray
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 536
Release: 2021-12-16
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1009085417

This textbook describes the equipment, observational techniques, and analysis used in the investigation of stellar photospheres. Now in its fourth edition, the text has been thoroughly updated and revised to be more accessible to students. New figures have been added to illustrate key concepts, while diagrams have been redrawn and refreshed throughout. The book starts by developing the tools of analysis, and then demonstrates how they can be applied. Topics covered include radiation transfer, models of stellar photospheres, spectroscopic equipment, how to observe stellar spectra, and techniques for measuring stellar temperatures, radii, surface gravities, chemical composition, velocity fields, and rotation rates. Up-to-date results for real stars are included. Written for starting graduate students or advanced undergraduates, this textbook also includes a wealth of reference material useful to researchers. eBook formats include color imagery while print formats are greyscale only; a wide selection of the color images are available online.

Effective Observation in Social Work Practice

Effective Observation in Social Work Practice
Author: Maureen O′Loughlin
Publisher: Learning Matters
Total Pages: 201
Release: 2014-12-15
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1473908329

Introducing the concept of observation to social work students can be a complex and challenging task. Assessing their observation skills and assignments can be even harder, especially if much of this work takes place implicitly, throughout their training and placements. This book will help students to grasp the fundamentals of social work observation, from the theories and methods to how these can be demonstrated in everyday practice. Skills are covered throughout, as well as effective observation work with different client groups and in different settings. The authors argue that an observant social worker is an effective and resilient one, and demonstrate this through case study material and research summaries.

The Art of Scientific Investigation

The Art of Scientific Investigation
Author: W.I.B. Beveridge
Publisher: Edizioni Savine
Total Pages: 245
Release: 2017-09-25
Genre: Science
ISBN: 8899914354

Elaborate apparatus plays an important part in the science of to-day, but I sometimes wonder if we are not inclined to forget that the most important instrument in research must always be the mind of man. It is true that much time and effort is devoted to training and equipping the scientist's mind, but little attention is paid to the technicalities of making the best use of it. There is no satisfactory book which systematises the knowledge available on the practice and mental skills—the art—of scientific investigation. This lack has prompted me to write a book to serve as an introduction to research. My small contribution to the literature of a complex and difficult topic is meant in the first place for the student about to engage in research, but I hope that it may also interest a wider audience. Since my own experience of research has been acquired in the study of infectious diseases, I have written primarily for the student of that field. But nearly all the book is equally applicable to any other branch of experimental biology and much of it to any branch of science. – (Cambridge, 1957. W.I.B. Beveridge)

What Science Is and How It Really Works

What Science Is and How It Really Works
Author: James C. Zimring
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 407
Release: 2019-07-18
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 1108476856

A timely and accessible synthesis of the strengths, weaknesses and reality of science through the eyes of a practicing scientist.

Philosophy at the Limit

Philosophy at the Limit
Author: David Wood
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 163
Release: 2023-08-11
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 1000962113

First published in 1990, Philosophy at the Limit was originally part of the Problems of Modern European Thought book series. It pursues the theme of philosophy’s confrontation with its own limits, in modern philosophers from Hegel to Derrida, including Nietzsche, Wittgenstein, Heidegger, and Gadamer. The author focuses on questions of philosophical style, dialogue and indirect communication, the structural closure of philosophical texts, and performative strategy in philosophy. The book is an accessible discussion of many of the complex issues that empower continental philosophy. It will appeal to students of philosophy and contemporary thought at every level, and to the general reader interested in the heart of the debates in European thought.