It seems important to check misconceptions as they occur or they get out of hand. This morning I heard a story (NPR) where a Chinese father was recommending frequent physical punishment of children under 12 years old. He said these children are undeveloped animals so he had to resort to Pavlovian methods. Pavlov did work with animals as many scientists do, but he never recommended punishing children in development. It is easy to discredit important scientific contributions in the public eye by describing them inaccurately.
posted by Martin Ivancic
December 14, 2011
About once a month at Sigma Xi headquarters, we liven up the lunch hour with an American Scientist Pizza Lunch talk. In these informal lectures, scientists describe new research to nonscientists. The series is light on jargon but heavy on solid science. Each Pizza Lunch offers an in-depth look at its subject, whether it's bedbugs or the smart grid. Click below to read about and download these talks -- and to subscribe!
JSTOR, the online academic archive, now contains complete back issues of American Scientist from its inception in 1913 (as Sigma Xi Quarterly) through 2005.
The table of contents for each issue is freely available to all users; those with institutional access can read each complete issue.
View the full collection here.