science

PDF File: http://docbrandmusic.com/Uni/Feynman%20on%20Science.pdf Damn! Did the 50’s produce some exceptional scientists or what. I miss science.  

Frightening story from ChemBark.com My graduate work was done in synthetic organic chemistry. This story is particularly close to me since I too have been engulfed in flames caused by t-Butyllithium. I was not seriously injured but I can tell you that few lab workers are properly trained to handle the incredibly dangerous materials required to earn an advanced degree in organic chemistry. While I was on fire, not a single person present (there were at least 3 people) knew where the proper extinguisher was located or how to use it.

Pretty much everything about this is fantastic. They can record light bouncing off of a surface.  Via BoingBoing

I'm not arguing that sour candy is good or bad. I certainly don't enjoy it. However, this garbage posted to Kottke (Kottke has an update which is a bit better) and BoingBoing is just inflammatory abuse of science. pH is a log scale. So to say sour candy is like battery acid is like saying the moon is about as far away as the sun. I'd also point out that the scale used does not go low enough.

Julian Brooks at Rolling Stone has an interesting, if not thorough, look at what is happening to the mainstream understanding of science.1 <li id="fn:1">I'm linking to an Instapaper version to save you from a bunch of unwanted RollingStone popups when you visit their page. Seriously, two popups and an inch tall banner? If that offends you then visit the main page an click through to their Budweiser ad and buy some bad beer.

This kind of stuff is why I fell in love with Organic Chemistry and spent half my life in school to learn it. Chemists have favorite reactions. They have favorite reactions not because of what they make, but because of what they feel like. Chemists can imagine things so small and so fast that they can not be directly observed. And they can have a specific affinity to one. I like it when people have favorite intangibles.

Here are two contrasting posts from the "In the Pipeline" site. One epitomizes what's wrong with a little knowledge and taking the easy path to a conclusion. The other demonstrates the extraordinary accomplishments possible to those that take the difficult path.

In case you thought software development was all fun and games, read the story of the Therac-25. I have participated in software validation for FDA regulated equipment. This kind of event is unlikely to be discovered during normal testing. I would guess that medical equipment has a much more detailed and lengthy testing protocol than what I have written.

I’m not sure what the answer is, but the data is interesting. I’ve worked in the pharmaceutical industry for over a decade and there are a lot of hard problems still to be solved. But return on investment is still the hardest problem for the industry.  

I’m a scientist by training. A chemist, to be specific. While I am no longer a practitioner of the craft, I will always be tied to the romanticism and mythology of the endeavor. Sadly, the romanticism is giving way to a new reality. William Lipscomb passed away last week and I think this tribute is fitting. You can sum up the old traditions of chemistry in this single quote: “You can see the fire in his eyes.