Showing posts with label Daniel Dennett. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Daniel Dennett. Show all posts

Tuesday, 4 February 2014

The Law of Feynman

I've considered writing this entry a number of times from multiple different angles but in light of the recent Edge.org debacle, I've gone with this: The Law of Feynman. Stated simply, I view the relationship as such:

As a scientist's popularity increases, the probability of them making silly statements outside of their area of knowledge also increases. 

To help clarify this unique interaction of a scientist's popularity with silliness, I also propose that it be quantified and measured in terms of "Dawks". The unit of measurement here ranges from 0-10, with a Dawk score of "10" being comparable to the silliness of Richard Dawkins himself. If you don't think Dawkins makes silly statements outside of his area, I recommend you browse his Twitter feed. I particularly liked this one:


You showed them, Richard! Just er, let's not talk about Western Medicine or even (more broadly) Western Science.