Tag Archives: scientific method

Brecht’s radical Galileo

Posted on May 29, 2017 by Eddie Playfair

Brecht’s ‘Life of Galileo’ is a great piece of theatre with universal appeal. It’s also a particularly good one for science students because it brings the scientific method to life. Galileo’s struggle to get acceptance for the ‘Copernican’ heliocentric model … Continue reading →

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Homology, analogy and metaphor. Science in Society 5.

Posted on October 19, 2014 by Eddie Playfair

Reading ‘Much scientific argument and hypothesis-making proceeds through the use of analogy and metaphor’. Steven Rose. To help us understand a scientific process we often liken it to something we’re already familiar with. We use homology, analogy and metaphor. A … Continue reading →

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Paradigm shift. Science in Society 4

Posted on October 8, 2014 by Eddie Playfair

Paradigm shift: the Earth moves away from the centre In Europe 500 years ago, the established paradigm of 2,000 years was built on common sense ideas about the Earth and its place in the universe. This paradigm was summed up by … Continue reading →

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How we do science. Science in Society 3

Posted on September 28, 2014 by Eddie Playfair

Readings Developing and testing scientific explanations When we make observations we may propose a theory which accounts for them. We judge theories on the basis of the match between their predictions and what we observe. An observation is often explained … Continue reading →

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