The moral economy
Sometimes, you look at why people do things and you think “why on earth are they doing this?”.
Author: Osnat Katz
PhD student with UCL and the Science Museum; space history, public engagement and all kinds of other fun stuff
Expertise, imposter syndrome and Rice Krispies
There are a couple of things I’d like to unpack in this blogpost: the feelings of not being a “real” expert, how they come about, and what someone might be able to do about them.
What Goes Unsaid
The important parts of an oral history, I think, are as much about what people don’t say as anything else.
What can we learn from printed circuit boards?
This is a post that mainly exists because my research has thrown me a curveball and I need to think out loud about what I’m doing. I research the history of the Mullard Space Science Laboratory, a space lab housed in a Victorian mansion in the middle of nowhere. (Yes, really.) Part of my research […]
Is quantitative always better?
When it really comes down to it, the wild success of mathematics in describing physical concepts is what makes it matter so much. The mythologies and folk legends that have sprung up around the history of science tell us that it was mathematics that led us out of our ignorant state, that it was quantitative […]
The many violences of ableism
I’ve not usually had to add content warnings to my posts, but in this session we discussed death, dying, suicide and genocide. Not only is that a lot to cover in an hour, it’s also quite heavygoing. Friday 15th marked the last Science and Disability reading group of the decade. To be fair, this isn’t […]
Views from above and epistemic injustice
As some of you may know, I have started a Science and Disability reading group. I thought it might be useful, too, to record some of what goes on in a reading group, so that people who couldn’t make it or people who don’t know what to expect can see what goes on. This session, […]
On writing popularly, and writing for children, and sometimes both
Not so long ago, I came across a comment suggesting that writing for “the general public” (I have issues with this term, but they’ll wait for another time) is a little bit like writing for children. The implication, I think, is that nonspecialists are ignorant, have short attention spans and will not understand or appreciate […]
Passing on wisdom: from those who have left physics
International Women’s Day is never easy for me. I love celebrating other women, but I see myself as too awkward and abrasive to do anything worth celebrating. This year was especially hard, because it was my first International Women’s Day since I left physics properly and became a science communicator. I’m still in touch with […]
I played through that “Crossing Divides: Brexit” game so you don’t have to
The BBC is creating a “Crossing Divides” season, which is all about having difficult conversations. For the record, I do believe that we need to have difficult conversations with others. Most of the conversations we need to have are difficult. I just don’t believe this particular game is modelling good or sensible behaviour. The game […]
