Re: [ccp4bb] Combating disinformation in science and other areas

[Navdeep Sidhu]

Dear Daniel,

When board members expressed their opinions on social maladies (e.g. 
real or apparent sexism, anti-migrant bias, etc.) in the sciences in the 
past, that was being (divisively) political too--and thankfully so, I think.


An exhortation to refrain from political issues is, like it or not, 
itself political. Why so? Because it implies an exhortation to be 
complacent with the status quo level of various social maladies in the 
sciences and in the society at large, from which the sciences hardly 
stand isolated. (American historian Howard Zinn put it aptly when he 
said, "You Can't Be Neutral On A Moving Train." There's also a nice book 
of his of the same name, with some alternative views on other issues you 
touch on.)


Best regards,
Navdeep

---
Navdeep Sidhu
Germany
Web: https://scholar.google.de/citations?user=ZqU1AE0J=de
---



On 15.02.24 04:40, Daniel M. Himmel, Ph. D. wrote:

Dear all,


That’s a very nice idea to have an app to combat misinformation that can 
undermine the integrity of science and foster mistrust of scientific 
inquiry.But to launch such an app raises the obvious question:



Who is to be the arbiter of what is true and what is “misinformation”?


The way to uphold the integrity of science is with a free exchange of 
ideas, not an app or document that decides which publication or which 
interpretation of the data is real science and which is misinformation.



Thanks go to Bryan Lepore for pointing out that the work of Herbert 
Marcuse (a strong advocate of a brand of Marxism once popular in 
Germany) led to much violence in the USA.Violent revolutions are how a 
great deal of science has been lost during the last several thousand 
years of human history, which is why we’re first determining atomic and 
near-atomic resolution structures in the 20th and 21st centuries, not 
eons ago.



So, my humble request:Can we stick to crystallography and allied fields 
of structure determination on this e-mail list, and not digress into 
divisive politics, please?



Respectfully submitted,

Daniel




Daniel M. Himmel, Ph. D.

Principal, Himmel Sci Med Com, LLC

E-mail: danielmhim...@gmail.com 

URL   : https://himmelscimedcom.com 




On Wed, Feb 14, 2024 at 7:52 AM Bryan Lepore > wrote:


The idea of "Global Sustainability" can be found in the documents
for the noted projects, so the United Nations "Sustainable
Development Goals" appear to be worth reviewing as background - even
though it appears the UN or UNESCO (below) is irrelevant to them :

“Transformation is the red thread running through all the
Sustainable Development Goals, the United Nations’ agenda for
responding to global challenges facing humanity and the planet.
Setting our world on a more sustainable course requires radical
shifts in current development paradigms that are exacerbating
inequalities and imperilling [sic] our common future. This
transition is dependent on new knowledge, research and competences
that only higher education institutions are in a position to
provide, rooted in their historic role of service to society.”

[...]

“In 1964, inspiring the 1968-student revolt a couple of years later,
Herbert Marcuse wrote a key text against “one dimensional man”,
urging universities and campuses around the world to become places
that resisted reductionism. ”


Source:


Parr, et. al.


“Knowledge-driven actions: transforming higher education for global
sustainability”


2022
UNESCO
https://doi.org/10.54675/YBTV1653 




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Re: [ccp4bb] Combating disinformation in science and other areas

[David J. Schuller]

"Who is to be the arbiter of what is true and what is “misinformation”?


The way to uphold the integrity of science is with a free exchange of ideas, 
not an app or document that decides which publication or which interpretation 
of the data is real science and which is misinformation."


The problem with this approach is that not all participants are acting in good 
faith.

===
 All Things Serve the Beam
 ===
 David J. Schuller
 modern man in a post-modern world
 MacCHESS, Cornell University
 schul...@cornell.edu

From: CCP4 bulletin board  on behalf of Daniel M. 
Himmel, Ph. D. 
Sent: Wednesday, February 14, 2024 10:40 PM
To: CCP4BB@JISCMAIL.AC.UK 
Subject: Re: [ccp4bb] Combating disinformation in science and other areas


Dear all,


That’s a very nice idea to have an app to combat misinformation that can 
undermine the integrity of science and foster mistrust of scientific inquiry.  
But to launch such an app raises the obvious question:


Who is to be the arbiter of what is true and what is “misinformation”?


The way to uphold the integrity of science is with a free exchange of ideas, 
not an app or document that decides which publication or which interpretation 
of the data is real science and which is misinformation.


Thanks go to Bryan Lepore for pointing out that the work of Herbert Marcuse (a 
strong advocate of a brand of Marxism once popular in Germany) led to much 
violence in the USA.  Violent revolutions are how a great deal of science has 
been lost during the last several thousand years of human history, which is why 
we’re first determining atomic and near-atomic resolution structures in the 
20th and 21st centuries, not eons ago.


So, my humble request:  Can we stick to crystallography and allied fields of 
structure determination on this e-mail list, and not digress into divisive 
politics, please?


Respectfully submitted,

Daniel



[https://ci3.googleusercontent.com/mail-sig/AIorK4yaaDCOito7kuxLPC8Vy7HwqDw5i6DzTzprxgG0ijHkV1cwNX6leSeq_9r7EK46_M0TzQrRM-c]

Daniel M. Himmel, Ph. D.

Principal, Himmel Sci Med Com, LLC

E-mail:  danielmhim...@gmail.com<mailto:danielmhim...@gmail.com>

URL   :  https://himmelscimedcom.com<https://himmelscimedcom.com/>



On Wed, Feb 14, 2024 at 7:52 AM Bryan Lepore 
mailto:bryanlep...@gmail.com>> wrote:
The idea of "Global Sustainability" can be found in the documents for the noted 
projects, so the United Nations "Sustainable Development Goals" appear to be 
worth reviewing as background - even though it appears the UN or UNESCO (below) 
is irrelevant to them :


“Transformation is the red thread running through all the Sustainable 
Development Goals, the United Nations’ agenda for responding to global 
challenges facing humanity and the planet. Setting our world on a more 
sustainable course requires radical shifts in current development paradigms 
that are exacerbating inequalities and imperilling [sic] our common future. 
This transition is dependent on new knowledge, research and competences that 
only higher education institutions are in a position to provide, rooted in 
their historic role of service to society.”

[...]

“In 1964, inspiring the 1968-student revolt a couple of years later, Herbert 
Marcuse wrote a key text against “one dimensional man”, urging universities and 
campuses around the world to become places that resisted reductionism. ”


Source:


Parr, et. al.

“Knowledge-driven actions: transforming higher education for global 
sustainability”

2022
UNESCO
https://doi.org/10.54675/YBTV1653



To unsubscribe from the CCP4BB list, click the following link:
https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/WA-JISC.exe?SUBED1=CCP4BB=1



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Re: [ccp4bb] Combating disinformation in science and other areas

[Daniel M. Himmel, Ph. D.]

Dear all,


That’s a very nice idea to have an app to combat misinformation that can
undermine the integrity of science and foster mistrust of scientific
inquiry.  But to launch such an app raises the obvious question:


Who is to be the arbiter of what is true and what is “misinformation”?


The way to uphold the integrity of science is with a free exchange of
ideas, not an app or document that decides which publication or which
interpretation of the data is real science and which is misinformation.


Thanks go to Bryan Lepore for pointing out that the work of Herbert Marcuse
(a strong advocate of a brand of Marxism once popular in Germany) led to
much violence in the USA.  Violent revolutions are how a great deal of
science has been lost during the last several thousand years of human
history, which is why we’re first determining atomic and near-atomic
resolution structures in the 20th and 21st centuries, not eons ago.


So, my humble request:  Can we stick to crystallography and allied fields
of structure determination on this e-mail list, and not digress into
divisive politics, please?


Respectfully submitted,

Daniel



Daniel M. Himmel, Ph. D.

Principal, Himmel Sci Med Com, LLC

E-mail:  danielmhim...@gmail.com

URL   :  https://himmelscimedcom.com



On Wed, Feb 14, 2024 at 7:52 AM Bryan Lepore  wrote:

> The idea of "Global Sustainability" can be found in the documents for the
> noted projects, so the United Nations "Sustainable Development Goals"
> appear to be worth reviewing as background - even though it appears the UN
> or UNESCO (below) is irrelevant to them :
>
> “Transformation is the red thread running through all the Sustainable
> Development Goals, the United Nations’ agenda for responding to global
> challenges facing humanity and the planet. Setting our world on a more
> sustainable course requires radical shifts in current development
> paradigms that are exacerbating inequalities and imperilling [sic] our
> common future. This transition is dependent on new knowledge, research and
> competences that only higher education institutions are in a position to
> provide, rooted in their historic role of service to society.”
>
> [...]
>
> “In 1964, inspiring the 1968-student revolt a couple of years later,
> Herbert Marcuse wrote a key text against “one dimensional man”, urging
> universities and campuses around the world to become places that resisted
> reductionism. ”
>
>
> Source:
>
>
> Parr, et. al.
>
>
> “Knowledge-driven actions: transforming higher education for global
> sustainability”
>
>
> 2022
> UNESCO
> https://doi.org/10.54675/YBTV1653
>
> --
>
> To unsubscribe from the CCP4BB list, click the following link:
> https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/WA-JISC.exe?SUBED1=CCP4BB=1
>



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Re: [ccp4bb] Combating disinformation in science and other areas

[Bryan Lepore]

The idea of "Global Sustainability" can be found in the documents for the noted 
projects, so the United Nations "Sustainable Development Goals" appear to be 
worth reviewing as background - even though it appears the UN or UNESCO (below) 
is irrelevant to them :

“Transformation is the red thread running through all the Sustainable 
Development Goals, the United Nations’ agenda for responding to global 
challenges facing humanity and the planet. Setting our world on a more 
sustainable course requires radical shifts in current development paradigms 
that are exacerbating inequalities and imperilling [sic] our common future. 
This transition is dependent on new knowledge, research and competences that 
only higher education institutions are in a position to provide, rooted in 
their historic role of service to society.”
[...]
“In 1964, inspiring the 1968-student revolt a couple of years later, Herbert 
Marcuse wrote a key text against “one dimensional man”, urging universities and 
campuses around the world to become places that resisted reductionism. ”

Source:

Parr, et. al.

“Knowledge-driven actions: transforming higher education for global 
sustainability”

2022
UNESCO
https://doi.org/10.54675/YBTV1653


To unsubscribe from the CCP4BB list, click the following link:
https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/WA-JISC.exe?SUBED1=CCP4BB=1

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Re: [ccp4bb] Combating disinformation in science and other areas

[John R Helliwell]

Dear Focco,Thankyou for drawing attention to this important domain, and I will look at your initiative with interest.Dear Colleagues on CCP4bb,I (virtually) attended the recent, excellent, USA National Academy of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine+Nobel Foundation Symposium entitled Truth, Trust and Hope details of which are here https://www.nationalacademies.org/our-work/nobel-prize-summit-2023-truth-trust-and-hope including recordings. It is a general interest level event, not crystallography per se, but is something we can take a useful interest in I think.Greetings,JohnEmeritus Professor John R Helliwell DScOn 13 Feb 2024, at 23:16, Focco van den Akker  wrote:Dear all,

 

As fellow
scientists specializing in structural biology, it's disheartening to witness a
decline in society's trust in science; perhaps many of you have come across the
remarkable book "The Deadly Rise of Anti-science: A Scientist's
Warning" by Dr. Peter Hotez. To help restore this trust, we co-founded a non-profit
and launched an educational app. If you are concerned as well, please read on
(the app even touches on structural biology):

 

As you know,
scientists and other fact-finding professions like journalism currently face
significant challenges. Our crucial work as reputable sources and the
scientific consensus we build can be readily undermined by misinformation and
conspiracy theories.

 

There is
probably no bigger problem in today’s world than the battle between facts and
mis- and disinformation, a conflict that not only fuels other large global
struggles such as vaccine hesitancy and climate change denial but also leads to
societal division and its consequential challenges. These dynamics collectively
contribute to heightened stress and suffering, both on individual and global
scales.

 

It's unlikely
that any of the world's biggest challenges can be solved as long as people
remain so easily swayed by misinformation and disinformation. To address this
pressing issue, we co-founded the non-profit organization Knowledge Advances
Inc., dedicated to educating individuals on navigating the complex ecosystem of
information and misinformation. We assert that information of higher
reliability is a basic human need, akin to water, food, and shelter.

 

To initiate our
efforts, we recently launched an app called Advance: Life training. The
app employs a comprehensive, active learning approach through quizzes to teach
users how to identify sources of higher reliability, discern information of
greater credibility, and understand biases.

 

For additional
details and to download the free Advance: Life Training app, please
visit our website: https://knowledgeadvances.org/

 

If our approach
and app resonate with you, we kindly ask you to support us by rating our
application on the app stores and sharing this information with your friends
and colleagues.

 

Please feel
free to contact us for further information or feedback.

 

Best regards,

 

Focco

 

Focco van den
Akker, Ph.D.

President,
Knowledge Advances Inc.

Associate
Professor, Dept. Biochemistry, Case Western Reserve University

Email:
focco.vandenak...@knowledgeadvances.org

https://knowledgeadvances.org/

https://case.edu/medicine/biochemistry/faculty/focco-van-den-akker


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