‘Hypernormal science’ has minimal potential for contestation on matters of principle and practice... more ‘Hypernormal science’ has minimal potential for contestation on matters of principle and practice so that information exchange can be unproblematic. Sciences comprise hypernormal domains and more contestable ‘normal’ domains where knowledge diffusion, like acquiring linguistic fluency, depends on face-to-face interaction. Hypernormal domains belonging to molecular biology are contrasted with normal domains in gravitational wave detection physics. Sciences as a whole should not be confused with their typical domains. The analysis has immediate implications for proposed transitions out of the Covid-19 lockdown, proposed solutions to the replication crisis, and, perhaps, our understanding of the early development of social studies of science.
Since the early 1970s, in social studies of science and technology (STS), the ‘logic of scientifi... more Since the early 1970s, in social studies of science and technology (STS), the ‘logic of scientific discovery’ has been displaced by detailed examinations of science in practice; this has eroded the cultural position of scientific expertise. Furthermore, the ‘crown jewels’ of science, Newtonian physics and the like, are no longer accepted as justifying science’s contribution to citizens’ more diffuse technical concerns. Scientific expertise now seems more fallible, less removed from ordinary decision-making and less insulated from political and social forces. Populist leaders, who attack scientific expertise because it limits their power, can draw on these ideas. STS must stop celebrating the erosion of scientific expertise and, without sacrificing the new insights, rethink the justification for the role of science in democratic societies.
We report a small empirical study on the way the transcription used to represent speech affects i... more We report a small empirical study on the way the transcription used to represent speech affects its meaning. We show that ‘disfluencies’ in speech indicate far more uncertainty in the speaker when transmitted in text than when transmitted in recorded sound. This has important implications for how transcribed interviews should be edited when they are being used to convey meaning rather than the organization of phonemes. We propose the implications of different ways of representing speech in text could be a new subject for investigation. Presented here is one possible empirical approach to such studies.
What is scientific consensus for policy? Heartlands and hinterlands of physics (2014-2016); Briti... more What is scientific consensus for policy? Heartlands and hinterlands of physics (2014-2016); British Academy Post-Doctoral Fellowship to Luis Reyes-Galindo, (PF130024) £223,732, The social boundaries of scientific knowledge: a case study of 'green' Open Access (2013-2016). The second of these projects was initially based on the thinking that inspired the first. Andrew Bartlett was the full-time researcher on the first project. Interviews with Paul Ginsparg and most of the research on arXiv and viXra were conducted by Reyes-Galindo; nearly all the ongoing fieldwork on the 'beyond-arXiv' fringe was conducted by Bartlett. The paper has been greatly improved following discussion at the weekly seminar of the Centre for the Study of Knowledge, Expertise and Science (KES) 2 We now know how to reconstruct the rationality of any scientific claim, including some that have long been excluded in the unfolding of science's history. We know how to show that given different social contexts, phlogiston would still be a possibility, N-rays could be revived, tobacco might be safe to smoke, the Michelson-Morley experiment would be seen as flawed, the theory of relativity could be wrong, and it would not be impossible to accept the existence of a fifth force that would make the paranormal normal. See Chang (2012) for phlogiston, though Kusch (2014) has developed a detailed criticism of his argument. For N-Rays see Ashmore (1993) and
Abstract: This essay critically examines whether there are ethical dimensions to the way that exp... more Abstract: This essay critically examines whether there are ethical dimensions to the way that expertise, knowledge claims, and expressions of skepticism intersect on technical matters that influence public policy, especially during times of crisis. It compares two different ...
The risk of populism is ever-present in democratic societies. Here we argue that science provides... more The risk of populism is ever-present in democratic societies. Here we argue that science provides one way in which this risk can be reduced. This is not because science provides a superior truth but because it (a) preserves and celebrates values that are essential for democracy and (b) contributes to the network of the checks and balances that constrain executive power. To make this argument, we draw on Wittgenstein’s idea of a form of life to characterize any social group as being composed of two opposing elements: an organic aspect that defines what the group has in common and an enumerative aspect that describes the differing ways in which the organic core can be displayed. Whilst the organic faces of science and democracy are clearly different there are significant overlaps that include values such as disinterestedness, universalism and honesty. This overlap in values is the first way in which science can prevent populism: by providing moral leadership. The second, its role in a...
We describe and then elaborate the model of trading zones first presented in Collins et al 2007, ... more We describe and then elaborate the model of trading zones first presented in Collins et al 2007, Trading Zones and Interactional Expertise. We believe this expanded version of the model includes some very important but previously overlooked ways for separate language communities to communicate. We illustrate the argument with examples.
The Third Wave in Science and Technology Studies, 2019
This chapter elaborates the model of trading zones first presented in Collins et al., “Trading Zo... more This chapter elaborates the model of trading zones first presented in Collins et al., “Trading Zones and Interactional Expertise” (Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part A 38 (4): 657–666, 2007). It argues that this expanded version of the model includes important but previously overlooked ways for separate language communities to communicate. This chapter introduces the referred expertise model, and when researchers add “deliverables,” the model can be thought of as a means of communication. Multidisciplinarity is the fourth extension of the specific deliverable model, and differs from interdisciplinarity because there is no attempt at common understanding by either home group or foreign group. Under multidisciplinarity, many deliverers, or groups of deliverers, are brought together to contribute their skills to some project without understanding the overall goal or their contribution to it.
‘Hypernormal science’ has minimal potential for contestation on matters of principle and practice... more ‘Hypernormal science’ has minimal potential for contestation on matters of principle and practice so that information exchange can be unproblematic. Sciences comprise hypernormal domains and more contestable ‘normal’ domains where knowledge diffusion, like acquiring linguistic fluency, depends on face-to-face interaction. Hypernormal domains belonging to molecular biology are contrasted with normal domains in gravitational wave detection physics. Sciences as a whole should not be confused with their typical domains. The analysis has immediate implications for proposed transitions out of the Covid-19 lockdown, proposed solutions to the replication crisis, and, perhaps, our understanding of the early development of social studies of science.
Since the early 1970s, in social studies of science and technology (STS), the ‘logic of scientifi... more Since the early 1970s, in social studies of science and technology (STS), the ‘logic of scientific discovery’ has been displaced by detailed examinations of science in practice; this has eroded the cultural position of scientific expertise. Furthermore, the ‘crown jewels’ of science, Newtonian physics and the like, are no longer accepted as justifying science’s contribution to citizens’ more diffuse technical concerns. Scientific expertise now seems more fallible, less removed from ordinary decision-making and less insulated from political and social forces. Populist leaders, who attack scientific expertise because it limits their power, can draw on these ideas. STS must stop celebrating the erosion of scientific expertise and, without sacrificing the new insights, rethink the justification for the role of science in democratic societies.
We report a small empirical study on the way the transcription used to represent speech affects i... more We report a small empirical study on the way the transcription used to represent speech affects its meaning. We show that ‘disfluencies’ in speech indicate far more uncertainty in the speaker when transmitted in text than when transmitted in recorded sound. This has important implications for how transcribed interviews should be edited when they are being used to convey meaning rather than the organization of phonemes. We propose the implications of different ways of representing speech in text could be a new subject for investigation. Presented here is one possible empirical approach to such studies.
What is scientific consensus for policy? Heartlands and hinterlands of physics (2014-2016); Briti... more What is scientific consensus for policy? Heartlands and hinterlands of physics (2014-2016); British Academy Post-Doctoral Fellowship to Luis Reyes-Galindo, (PF130024) £223,732, The social boundaries of scientific knowledge: a case study of 'green' Open Access (2013-2016). The second of these projects was initially based on the thinking that inspired the first. Andrew Bartlett was the full-time researcher on the first project. Interviews with Paul Ginsparg and most of the research on arXiv and viXra were conducted by Reyes-Galindo; nearly all the ongoing fieldwork on the 'beyond-arXiv' fringe was conducted by Bartlett. The paper has been greatly improved following discussion at the weekly seminar of the Centre for the Study of Knowledge, Expertise and Science (KES) 2 We now know how to reconstruct the rationality of any scientific claim, including some that have long been excluded in the unfolding of science's history. We know how to show that given different social contexts, phlogiston would still be a possibility, N-rays could be revived, tobacco might be safe to smoke, the Michelson-Morley experiment would be seen as flawed, the theory of relativity could be wrong, and it would not be impossible to accept the existence of a fifth force that would make the paranormal normal. See Chang (2012) for phlogiston, though Kusch (2014) has developed a detailed criticism of his argument. For N-Rays see Ashmore (1993) and
Abstract: This essay critically examines whether there are ethical dimensions to the way that exp... more Abstract: This essay critically examines whether there are ethical dimensions to the way that expertise, knowledge claims, and expressions of skepticism intersect on technical matters that influence public policy, especially during times of crisis. It compares two different ...
The risk of populism is ever-present in democratic societies. Here we argue that science provides... more The risk of populism is ever-present in democratic societies. Here we argue that science provides one way in which this risk can be reduced. This is not because science provides a superior truth but because it (a) preserves and celebrates values that are essential for democracy and (b) contributes to the network of the checks and balances that constrain executive power. To make this argument, we draw on Wittgenstein’s idea of a form of life to characterize any social group as being composed of two opposing elements: an organic aspect that defines what the group has in common and an enumerative aspect that describes the differing ways in which the organic core can be displayed. Whilst the organic faces of science and democracy are clearly different there are significant overlaps that include values such as disinterestedness, universalism and honesty. This overlap in values is the first way in which science can prevent populism: by providing moral leadership. The second, its role in a...
We describe and then elaborate the model of trading zones first presented in Collins et al 2007, ... more We describe and then elaborate the model of trading zones first presented in Collins et al 2007, Trading Zones and Interactional Expertise. We believe this expanded version of the model includes some very important but previously overlooked ways for separate language communities to communicate. We illustrate the argument with examples.
The Third Wave in Science and Technology Studies, 2019
This chapter elaborates the model of trading zones first presented in Collins et al., “Trading Zo... more This chapter elaborates the model of trading zones first presented in Collins et al., “Trading Zones and Interactional Expertise” (Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part A 38 (4): 657–666, 2007). It argues that this expanded version of the model includes important but previously overlooked ways for separate language communities to communicate. This chapter introduces the referred expertise model, and when researchers add “deliverables,” the model can be thought of as a means of communication. Multidisciplinarity is the fourth extension of the specific deliverable model, and differs from interdisciplinarity because there is no attempt at common understanding by either home group or foreign group. Under multidisciplinarity, many deliverers, or groups of deliverers, are brought together to contribute their skills to some project without understanding the overall goal or their contribution to it.
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Papers by Harry Collins