Author archives: Invited Researcher

Intelligence testing: a history of a fierce debate

Intelligence testing: a history of a fierce debate

HistoryPhilosophy of sciencePsychology

By Invited Researcher

Is the intelligence test an “objective”, scientific device or just a way to “execute” social discrimination? This article (based on ) presents the latest steps to trace the history of one of the most problematic chapters in psychology’s history: the application of intelligence testing. By informing about the history of the IQ debate I want […]

Going postal:  When radiation dosimeters got into a box

Going postal: When radiation dosimeters got into a box

HistoryMedicinePhysicsSociology

By Invited Researcher

What is a radiation dosimeter? Why do we need one? To give you an interesting and short response I will remind you what the Japanese government officials offered to Fukushima evacuees after the 2011 nuclear disaster. Having failed to reach their original radiation decontamination target, the government proposed that evacuees could return to their homes […]

Forming bubbles in liquid light

Forming bubbles in liquid light

Science

By Invited Researcher

For many centuries, the passage of light through matter was regarded as that of a wave in a fixed medium characterized by a refractive index (n), which may depend on the frequency. This description is consistent with plenty of phenomena, including diffraction, interference, refraction, dispersion or polarization, associated to distinguished names of the history of […]

Living beings: systems all the way back to their chemical origins

Living beings: systems all the way back to their chemical origins

BiochemistryBiologyChemistryEvolution

By Invited Researcher

A uthor: Kepa Ruiz-Mirazo, Permanent Researcher, University of the Basque Country (UPV-EHU) The effort of mapping ignorance in biology is especially frustrating –or, if the mood and attitude of the scientist afford it, especially motivating– because solid, definite answers remain minimal compared to the amount of open issues and uncertainties that new discoveries in this […]

To approve or not to approve: this is not the question

To approve or not to approve: this is not the question

EconomicsSociology

By Invited Researcher

Voice and exit are often alternative ways of exerting influence, but with regard to voting the exit option spells no influence; only voice can have an effect[…] A. Lijphart In polls many citizens express some dissatisfaction with politicians. Usual ways to voice this dissatisfaction in elections are absenteeism, spoiled or blank vote, or voting for […]