The document outlines a course titled 'F34PPP: The Politics, Perception, and Philosophy of Physics' taught by Philip Moriarty at the University of Nottingham, covering topics like the nature of science, induction, and the influence of peer review. It includes a timetable of lectures and seminars, assessment details, and suggested reading materials. The document encourages student engagement through suggested blog topics and invites contributions to the course discourse.

1. The Politics, Perception, and
Philosophy of Physics (F34PPP)
Philip Moriarty
School of Physics & Astronomy
University of Nottingham
Room C103
philip.moriarty@nottingham.ac.uk
www.muircheartblog.wordpress.com

2. Lecture 1: Science Proves Nothing
 What we’ll cover in F34PPP (and some disclaimers)
 Timetable and assessment
 Observations and facts (or “facts”?)
 Deduction, induction, and Bacon
 Is science irrational?
 Are we unbiased?

3. DATE TITLE TYPE
Sept 30 Science Proves Nothing. Lecture
Oct. 07 Induction, Deduction, Reduction. Lecture
Oct. 14 The Truth, The Whole Truth, and…?
NO LECTURE
Video lecture + blog post
Oct. 21 Is Peer Review Peerless? Seminar and discussion
Oct. 28 The Science Wars Rebooted Seminar and discussion
Nov. 4 Maybe, Minister? Seminar and discussion
Nov. 11 “The Death of Expertise” Seminar and discussion
Nov. 18 Communication Breakdown Seminar and discussion
Nov. 25 Invited Speaker: Harry Collins Seminar and discussion
Dec. 2 Invited speaker: Karen Lumsden Seminar and discussion
Dec. 9 The real world… Seminar and discussion
F34PPP in brief
All sessions in A16 Psychology, 15:00, Mondays (Autumn
semester)

4. Harry Collins
http://sites.cardiff.ac.uk/harrycollins/main-books/

5. Karen Lumsden
https://karenlumsden.co.uk/

6. F34PPP in brief: Recommended reading
- What is this thing called
science?, 3rd edition,
AF Chalmers (Open
University Press, 1999)
- Understanding
philosophy of science,
J. Ladyman (Routledge,
2002)
- Philosophy of science: A
very short introduction,
S. Okasha (Oxford
University Press, 2002)

8. F34PPP in brief -- assessment
 An opinion piece (along the lines of a one-page Physics World
article, 1000-1500 words) [Deadline: Nov. 15] 30%
 A "feature article" (2000-2500 words, in the style of a
broadsheet article) [Deadline: Dec. 20] 70%

9. Suggested blog post topics
- Should scientists have to justify their research
in terms of its socioeconomic impact?
- Do social media have a role to play in the
scientific process?
- When should scientists “go public” with their
results?
- Was CERN right to sever links with Alessandro
Strumia?
- Is “many worlds”/multiverse theory science?
- Can science be crowd-funded?
- Is peer review working?
- Should universities cut back on funding
of PhD positions?
- Is Richard Dawkins closed-minded?

10. Please send me your suggestions for
blog post themes:
philip.moriarty@nottingham.ac.uk

11. f34ppp.com

12. Science – more than just a technology driver
http://www.4004.com/assets/PB120046.JPG
- How is scientific knowledge
different from other forms of
knowledge? [Epistemology]
- Can we define the scientific
method?
www.spreadshirt.co.uk/logic+t-shirts

13. Science: Rational, logical, objective?

14. Science proves nothing

16. http://xkcd.com/154/

17. http://xkcd.com/154/
“Science is derived from the facts” (Chalmers, p. 1)

18. …but are our eyes good enough?

20. And can we trust our ears?

21. “Your brain is always making use of prior
information to make sense of new
information coming in.”
Preview: Bayes and prior information

24. Robert Wood

25. Seeing is believing?

26. Seeing is believing?: Striped nanoparticles

27. Seeing is believing?: Striped nanoparticles

28. Seeing is believing?: Striped nanoparticles

29. Do we really see intermolecular bonds?
Zhang et al., Science 342 611 (2013)

30. Do we really see intermolecular bonds?

32. https://muircheartblog.wordpress.com/2015/07/05/if-it-looks-like-a-duck/

34. Times Higher Education
26/09/2019