Single diavlogger seeks same for stimulating conversation

[Brenda]

Want to do a diavlog, but don't have a partner in mind? You've come to the right thread. State your conversational interests and, if relevant, your ideological leanings. Then look around the thread and see if anyone else seems like a good match for you. (You can also email us at apollo@bloggingheads.tv if you want us to more discreetly pair you with a diavlog partner.)

[osmium]

Scientist seeks same to discuss:

1) The scientific method
2) The peer-review process
3) Whether or not people in different fields interact with the literature in different ways
4) Whether or not both the general public and well-meaning types like journalists misinterpret the workings of the literature.

PS I'm bad on the phone and fully expect to make an ass of myself.

[PreppyMcPrepperson]

Thank God someone responded to this--I was beginning to worry only Nikki and I were brave/craven enough to do this. Hope you find a partner O.

[Me&theboys]

Originally Posted by osmium

Scientist seeks same to discuss:

1) The scientific method
2) The peer-review process
3) Whether or not people in different fields interact with the literature in different ways
4) Whether or not both the general public and well-meaning types like journalists misinterpret the workings of the literature.

PS I'm bad on the phone and fully expect to make an ass of myself.

I'd love to listen to that! Hope you find a partner. Would like to hear these issues discussed by both a "basic" scientist and a social scientist, either in one diavlog or in separate diavlogs. I suspect the above 4 topics vary considerably between the two, as perhaps do the standards of evidence for each (perhaps add standards of evidence as discussion topic 1a?). I have my fingers non-scientifically crossed for you.

[Starwatcher162536]

Originally Posted by osmium

Scientist seeks same to discuss:

1) The scientific method
2) The peer-review process
3) Whether or not people in different fields interact with the literature in different ways
4) Whether or not both the general public and well-meaning types like journalists misinterpret the workings of the literature.

PS I'm bad on the phone and fully expect to make an ass of myself.

Meh, all of those topics have been beaten to death, now, getting a kind of general summary about where battery technologies are heading from an actual electrochemist would be alot more interesting I think. An added bonus that would come with switching to my proposed topic is that you would not need to wrangle up another scientist, who I bet are in fairly short supply here, and could get by with a generalist instead.

P.S.
Can I take it from your screename that you are working on something trying to make an electrode from osmium for a metal hydride battery? What are yall using for an electrolyte?

[SkepticDoc]

I would like to argue with anyone that Evolution has no practical applications, or predictive usefulness for the scientific practice of Medicine.

My premises:

Evolution happened, and will continue to do so.

Evolution is a random process that cannot be predicted.

Earth is 4.5 billion +/- years old.

Most medical discoveries have been serendipitous accidents.

Other premises can be discussed a priori.

Feel free to send me a PM if you would like to have a debate with me.

[nikkibong]

Originally Posted by osmium

Scientist seeks same to discuss:

1) The scientific method
2) The peer-review process
3) Whether or not people in different fields interact with the literature in different ways
4) Whether or not both the general public and well-meaning types like journalists misinterpret the workings of the literature.

PS I'm bad on the phone and fully expect to make an ass of myself.

osmium, this sounds superb. looking forward to it.

especially the part where you make an ass of yourself.

[whatsinthename]

Scientist seeks same to discuss:

1) The scientific method
2) The peer-review process
3) Whether or not people in different fields interact with the literature in different ways
4) Whether or not both the general public and well-meaning types like journalists misinterpret the workings of the literature.

PS I'm bad on the phone and fully expect to make an ass of myself.

Well, I would love to debate these topics. Still interested?

[osmium]

whatsinthename, thanks!--but I am set now to record a diavlog on Saturday, provided everything works. It's taken a while for me and my fellow-traveller to get our computers knocked into shape.

per the suggestion of both my fellow diavlogger and the bhtv staff, we will begin by discussing what we research, followed by the brief discussion of the literature i was hunting for. so, starwatcher, i'll talk about what i'm trying to do with batteries, biased though it is. and i'll explain how osmium comes into the equation. (or start to.)

see ya on the flipside.

[look]

Originally Posted by osmium

whatsinthename, thanks!--but I am set now to record a diavlog on Saturday, provided everything works. It's taken a while for me and my fellow-traveller to get our computers knocked into shape.

per the suggestion of both my fellow diavlogger and the bhtv staff, we will begin by discussing what we research, followed by the brief discussion of the literature i was hunting for. so, starwatcher, i'll talk about what i'm trying to do with batteries, biased though it is. and i'll explain how osmium comes into the equation. (or start to.)

see ya on the flipside.

Woo-hoo! Happy filming, to you both. You could maybe talk a little about meeting Bob?

[whatsinthename]

Originally Posted by osmium

whatsinthename, thanks!--but I am set now to record a diavlog on Saturday, provided everything works. It's taken a while for me and my fellow-traveller to get our computers knocked into shape.

per the suggestion of both my fellow diavlogger and the bhtv staff, we will begin by discussing what we research, followed by the brief discussion of the literature i was hunting for. so, starwatcher, i'll talk about what i'm trying to do with batteries, biased though it is. and i'll explain how osmium comes into the equation. (or start to.)

see ya on the flipside.

Best of luck Buddy.

For getting the ball rolling and for setting such a high standard of discussion.

Good luck to others taking up the baton.

One tiny, tiny, tiny, tiny oh so very, very tiny, teensy complaint. Filling the audio vacuum during deliberation with grunts and other assorted forms of inarticulate noise adds very little to the Apollo experience.

Take the time you need to formulate a response or statement. Most of us can deal with the silence. I expect Bob recommends crib sheets. I would.

And thanks, again!

Good luck to all!

[Starwatcher162536]

Not sure if you have recorded this one already or not, but if as yet you have not, you might one to explain what the difference is between a Professional Society's journals and an actual peer reviewed scientific Journal. I have never really been sure on what the differences are.

Just though you might be interested in talking about this, as you seem to want to focus on structural types of subjects

[Starwatcher162536]

It would also be nice if you could give a general summary on any feelings you have towards assigning journal Impact Factors. Do you feel said factors are useful for you to get a good idea of the quality of some arbitrary journal? If not, why?

[Starwatcher162536]

How do you feel those online non reviewed depositories (such as arXiv) measure up to the more standard printed journal that have the more formal application process?

Originally Posted by Starwatcher162536

How do you feel those online non reviewed depositories (such as arXiv) measure up to the more standard printed journal that have the more formal application process?

Concerning your suggestions....

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

[osmium]

My main professional society is the Electrochemical Society, and its journal (Journal of the Electrochemical Society, clever name) is a regular peer-reviewed affair. They also have a more magazine-type thing, called Interface, which is on slick paper and not peer-reviewed.

The main journal of the American Chemical Society, JACS, is also a (fairly prestigious) peer-reviewed journal.

You might be specifically thinking about something like the IEEE Journal, which I have to confess, I don't understand myself.

[osmium]

And this is an insightful question, because I don't find that people agree on this at all. I think impact factors are mainly to be ignored. On a gross level, they kind of mean something because Science and Nature both have high impact factors.

But down among the real workaday journals, there are crappy journals with high-ish factors (4), while some that I would revere are at a 1.5. Some things just do not lend themselves to quantification. I believe this is one of those things.

The best written blog on earth might only have modest traffic, while shitty ones get a billion hits. (Not naming names!) Same with impact factors.

[osmium]

Actually a lot of questions of scientific communication are directly paralleled in social media. It's a question of a mass of information or content, being referenced in a network. Using metrics to pick out "good stuff" is the same whether it's in the scientific literature or on technorati or in google ranks.

All scientists know their H-number, and an H-number is pretty much the same thing as a technorati score or "tumblarity" on tumblr, or maybe (sort of) like how many twitter followers you have.

But, always, you have to use your brain when you read numbers like these. A great scientist who publishes very little would not build a big H-number. But, he/she would still be great.

[hamandcheese]

Topics I'm Interested in Discussing:

* The Shallowness of Right-wing Libertarianism (as a former Ron Paul supporter turned Keynesian Social Democrat)
* Ayn Rand and objectivism (its cult status; its philosophical backbone; etc.)
* The problems of the Environmental movement and the New Left
* Anti-capitalism and why I think capitalism is great, even as a social democrat.
* Ethics and Morality
* The Evolution of God (esp. a discussion on bob's Logos arguments for a 'higher purpose' as someone who liked the book but found that part to be wanting)
* Any Epistemology subject
* Atheism and humanism (as an atheist humanist)
* Virtually anything economics, particularly theory.
* Nihilism/Existentialism as someone who thinks the normal arguments against them are weaker then they should be.

Catch me at:
theham88@gmail.com

Take issue with me at:
http://www.createdebate.com/user/vie...e/Hamandcheese
http://forums.philosophyforums.com/m...ese-18403.html

[TwinSwords]

Originally Posted by hamandcheese

Topics I'm Interested in Discussing:

* The Shallowness of Right-wing Libertarianism (as a former Ron Paul supporter turned Keynesian Social Democrat)
* Ayn Rand and objectivism (its cult status; its philosophical backbone; etc.)
* The problems of the Environmental movement and the New Left
* Anti-capitalism and why I think capitalism is great, even as a social democrat.
* Ethics and Morality
* The Evolution of God (esp. a discussion on bob's Logos arguments for a 'higher purpose' as someone who liked the book but found that part to be wanting)
* Any Epistemology subject
* Atheism and humanism (as an atheist humanist)
* Virtually anything economics, particularly theory.
* Nihilism/Existentialism as someone who thinks the normal arguments against them are weaker then they should be.

Sounds like fascinating subject matter - especially the first two and fourth bullets. I hope you find a diavlog partner. Maybe claymisher or Bobby G would be good candidates, as I'm sure both could opine thoughtfully on those topics.

I'm curious, when did you become a "former" Ron Paul supporter? Are you one of the few living Americans who was actually aware of Paul's existence prior to his 2008 presidential campaign? Or a recent convert? My brother (god help him) voted for Ron Paul in 1988, when he was running on the Libertarian ticket.

[hamandcheese]

Originally Posted by TwinSwords

I'm curious, when did you become a "former" Ron Paul supporter? Are you one of the few living Americans who was actually aware of Paul's existence prior to his 2008 presidential campaign? Or a recent convert? My brother (god help him) voted for Ron Paul in 1988, when he was running on the Libertarian ticket.

I'm actually Canadian :3 but I have an American in my household, and like most Canadians we watch your politics just as intently as our own (actually, way more intently). I was a libertarian well before the 2008 elections originally of a Fraser Institute (our Cato) bent. I followed Ron Paul from the beginning. I didn't so much reject libertarianism as went through a process of disillusion. Strangely, it came from reading more economics. I still hold a lot of my libertarian intuitions though.

[claymisher]

Originally Posted by hamandcheese

I'm actually Canadian :3 but I have an American in my household, and like most Canadians we watch your politics just as intently as our own (actually, way more intently). I was a libertarian well before the 2008 elections originally of a Fraser Institute (our Cato) bent. I followed Ron Paul from the beginning. I didn't so much reject libertarianism as went through a process of disillusion. Strangely, it came from reading more economics. I still hold a lot of my libertarian intuitions though.

You're reading the wrong economics.

[Bobby G]

Well, from what I recall, about 2/3 of economists vote Democratic (and this was in the beginning of the Bush era), so they may be reading the wrong economics too (or they agree with 1/3 who vote Republican about most economics, but disagree about the nature of politics).

[Don Zeko]

Care to elaborate on #3? I doubt that I'd be the best interlocutor, but I'd like to hear what exactly you'd like to discuss. Who knows, maybe I'd be up for a discussion/argument.

[hamandcheese]

Maha was first to email me so I'm taken. We're doing a sort of amalgamation of the topics I suggested with a focus on number 3. If it's enjoyable, down the road I might message those who expressed interest.

[hamandcheese]

Are their any anarchists on bloggingheads? Ideally anyone who accepts the non-initiation of force. Second best would be someone very libertarian, "limited government".

If so, I want to debate your fundamental values in a diavlog.

theham88@gmail.com

[jimM47]

Originally Posted by hamandcheese

Topics I'm Interested in Discussing:

* The Shallowness of Right-wing Libertarianism (as a former Ron Paul supporter turned Keynesian Social Democrat)
* Ayn Rand and objectivism (its cult status; its philosophical backbone; etc.)
* The problems of the Environmental movement and the New Left
* Anti-capitalism and why I think capitalism is great, even as a social democrat.
* Ethics and Morality
* The Evolution of God (esp. a discussion on bob's Logos arguments for a 'higher purpose' as someone who liked the book but found that part to be wanting)
* Any Epistemology subject
* Atheism and humanism (as an atheist humanist)
* Virtually anything economics, particularly theory.
* Nihilism/Existentialism as someone who thinks the normal arguments against them are weaker then they should be.

Catch me at:
theham88@gmail.com

Take issue with me at:
http://www.createdebate.com/user/vie...e/Hamandcheese
http://forums.philosophyforums.com/m...ese-18403.html

I can't speak to the Ayn Rand issue, since I've studiously avoided reading her, but most of the other topics sound interesting, and like ones I have thought about. I was involved somewhat with the Ron Paul Campaign for Liberty during the 2008 caucuses, and it might be interesting to talk about some of my ambivalent feelings on the whole experience. My background is in religious studies, but I've long been interested in economics.

As a caveat, I am a bit busy and I am not an incredibly frequent commenter here, so I don't know if I'm really who should be participating in the Apollo project. But feel free to send me a PM if you are interested and I'll try to get back to you as soon as I can.

[dpc]

I agree that impact factors are highly misleading. Unfortunately, they are 'important' for getting jobs and promotion. I am an ecologist and non-ecologists within a biology department usually do not have a good idea of what the 'good' ecology journals are -- as I cannot quickly assess developmental bio. journals. Sadly, the impact factor is often a short hand for the impact of your individual research.

All of this is especially important in getting in your first job. I am not arguing that this is a good thing but it is a true thing (at least in the ecology/evolution world).

[Don Zeko]

We are yet to have an Apollo diavlog about afghanistan or any other foreign policy topic. If anyone has some ideas, I'd be happy to try and rectify this situation. I'd prefer to discuss the feasibility and desirability of counterinsurgency in Afghanistan, but I'm always open to other ideas too. Any takers?

[kezboard]

I want to talk about foreign policy, but I specifically don't want to talk about Afghanistan because I don't feel sufficiently informed. I'd like to talk about democracy promotion in general, though, if you're interested.

[PreppyMcPrepperson]

I'm game. I'm in Pakistan now, so I have a slightly different view onto things than you probably do from there.

[Don Zeko]

Sounds promising. Would you mind giving me a quick summary of your attitudes towards what we're doing in Afghanistan and Pakistan, so we can get a sense of how much ditto-ing would be likely to occur? Also, if you don't mind me asking, where in Pakistan are you?

[Don Zeko]

I'm more interested in talking specifically about the Afghanistan situation, but would be up for chatting about democracy promotion as well. Do you have a particular point in mind that you would like to discuss?

[kezboard]

Sort of, not really. I'd like to talk about the future of democracy promotion and what that whole idea even means, and to what extent democracy is exportable. I emailed the Bloggingheads people saying that I wanted to have a diavlog about the fall of the Berlin wall and what that meant for American foreign policy in terms of validating the idea that democracy is somehow inevitable and exportable -- I specifically wanted to talk about Eastern Europe, because that's what I know about, but I can talk about anything.

I just won't talk about whether what Obama's doing is a good strategy or not, because I have really no informed opinion beyond "Wow, I hope it doesn't fail". If you specifically want to talk about counterinsurgency vs. counterterrorism and what are the benefits and drawbacks of these strategies, I'm probably not the person for you, but I would like to talk about the sort of theories of democracy promotion and whether it's what the US should be doing.

[nikkibong]

Originally Posted by kezboard

I want to talk about foreign policy, but I specifically don't want to talk about Afghanistan because I don't feel sufficiently informed. I'd like to talk about democracy promotion in general, though, if you're interested.

I would be very interested in hearing from you, kez.

[jimM47]

Remember when there were more law-related diavlogs? Bh.tv has been missing that lately.

Would anyone be interested in trying to do a primarily informational apollo diavlog on McDonald v. Chicago? (Oral Argument is in early March, and these take about a month to get up, so we'd need to record it by early February so as not to be out-of-date by airtime.)

[Don Zeko]

So I'd like to do an apollo DV in which I argue that American political institutions, i.e. the filibuster, holds, the electoral college, etc. etc. etc. need major reform. Anybody interested in disagreeing with me for a half hour on this stuff?

[ledocs]

Don Zeko said:

So I'd like to do an apollo DV in which I argue that American political institutions, i.e. the filibuster, holds, the electoral college, etc. etc. etc. need major reform. Anybody interested in disagreeing with me for a half hour on this stuff?

I don't want to disagree with you, because I tend to agree. I do have a suggestion, though, and that is that, if you find a willing partner, you focus on the book by Robert Dahl, "How Democratic is the American Constitution?" This is a strange suggestion to make, perhaps, because I have not read the book, although I just ordered it. I did read a lengthy review of the book when it appeared.

In Frank Rich's NYT column of last Sunday, he refers to a recent statement or speech or article, it's not clear what, by Alan Brinkley, a sort of left-wing historian at Columbia, to the effect that the American system is in a state of sclerosis that is preventing America from confronting its many serious problems (education, structural federal deficit, etc.). But when I clicked on Rich's link to Brinkley, I got more or less nowhere, and I could not find out what Rich was referring to by using Google either.

On the radio show "Left, Right, and Center," to which I listen regularly, there were one or two recent segments posing the question of whether the American political system is in crisis. Answer, going right to left: Tony Blankley, "No," Matt Miller, "Yes", Arianna Huffington, "Yes", Robert Scheer, "No," at least I think Scheer implied a no. I would not swear to this. He might have been equivocal. But my guess would be that the only respondent who is really looking at the question seriously from an institutional point of view is Matt Miller. Brink Lindsey just said, at the end of a diavlog with Josh Cohen, that he, Lindsey, unlike some progressives, does not think that the American political system is in crisis.

I think this is something bhtv should be exploring and has not been. I like your general idea for a diavlog.

[Could someone explain to me how to insure that one's post goes into the correct place in the Threaded display mode? I just realized that the number assigned to a post is not absolute, it depends upon what display mode one is in. That seems very strange to me. This post was intended to come immediately after Don Zeko's post about doing an Apollo diavlog, but my initial post came before that post in Threaded Mode and after it in Linear Mode, and the same post was assigned different numbers in the two cases.]