More on Thoughtful Argumentation

I've been reading How to Read a Book by Mortimer Adler.  This morning I came across the following quote that I felt fit well with my previous post about argumentation.  

"What is important is that there is an intellectual etiquette to be observed.  Without it, conversation is bickering rather than profitable communication.  We are assuming here, of course, that the conversation is about a serious matter on which men can agree or disagree.  Then it becomes important that they conduct themselves well.  Otherwise, there is no profit in the enterprise.  The profit in good conversation is something learned."  (page 138) 

Thoughtful Argumentation

Answers in Genesis recently had a rather interesting article up about what arguments to use.  I think I would add that this goes for anyone - regardless of the topic.  When stating out arguments for the sake of dialog and for the sake of increasing the understanding of others, then the arguments brought forth should be reasonable and valid.

Bernoulli's Principle - Nice Lesson Plan

The last couple of weeks I've been starting to gear up for the coming school year.  I had come across this website last school year and found some good ideas.  The search-ability of the site is nice.  Most of the lesson plans and activities are rather extensively detailed.  
I was working today on tweaking a lesson plan about Bernoulli's Principle and highly recommend Teach Engineering's lesson plan.  

Global Warming or Global Cooling?

I recently read a rather interesting article on global warming.  While the article is a bit technical, it does present an interesting viewpoint.  And, for once it is refreshing to read a scientific presentation for a different perspective on the global warming debate.

Thoughts from Francis Bacon

Sir Francis Bacon was a noted English scientist and statesman. The foundation of scientific reasoning has been attributed to him. Bacon once stated, "Reading maketh a full man, conference a ready man, and writing an exact man."

Exactness is necessary for every scientist. It is the quality of being precise instead of being approximate. It is the quality of being accurate instead of being incorrect. Why is this quality so important when we approach science? First, because it details how minute we can be. How detailed our information is. How pointed our research is. Second, because it indicates how closely we can replicate our findings and our experiments.

In regards to Bacon's quote, how does writing make us exact? It makes us consider carefully what we are saying. Once words have been written down, it is even harder to retract them than spoken words. Also, the mere process of writing forces us to carefully weigh what we are writing. As we approach science, therefore, writing about our findings helps us to hone our research.