RORTY VERSUS HARTSHORNE,OR, POETRY VERSUS METAPHYSICS

Abstract: The purpose of this article is to explore the relationship between the thought of Richard Rorty and that of his former teacher, Charles Hartshorne. There are important similarities between the two, but ultimately the differences are more readily apparent, especially in terms of the battle between poetry (in the wide sense of the term conceived by Rorty) and (Hartshornian) metaphysics. Hartshorne is defended against Rorty.     

SELF-RECORDING OF ATTENTION VERSUS PRODUCTIVITY

We investigated the relative effects of self-recording of attentive behavior and self-recording of academic productivity with 5 upper elementary-aged special education students in their special education classroom. Following baseline, both self-recording treatments were introduced according to a multielement design. After the multielement phase, we assessed the pupils' performance under a choice condition, faded the overt aspects of the treatment program according to a withdrawal design, and probed maintenance over 5 weeks. Results revealed that both treatments produced clear improvements in arithmetic productivity and attention to task, neither treatment was clearly and consistently superior to the other, pupils preferred the self-recording of attention treatment, the effects were maintained for all pupils, achievement test scores improved, and pupils generally recorded accurately.     

JUDGMENTAL VERSUS STATISTICAL PREDICTION:

Abstract— The relative predictive accuracy of humans and statistical models has long been the subject of controversy even though models have demonstrated superior performance in many studies. We propose that relative performance depends on the amount of contextual information available and whether it is distributed symmetrically to humans and models. Given their different strengths, human and statistical predictions can be profitably combined to improve prediction.     

HUMANISTIC VERSUS SOCIAL-SCIENTIFIC APPROACHES TO RELIGION

Abstract. Whereas Robert Segal (1990) identified seven misconceptions of the social sciences that he thinks scholars in religious studies make, this response argues that each of the alleged misconceptions involves the "oversight" of key distinctions that radically alter the complexion of Segal's case.     

BBC NATURAL HISTORY VERSUS SCIENCE PARADIGMS

In 1979 the finale of David Attenborough’s Life on Earth featured Attenborough’s iconic forest floor romp with mountain gorillas. Two decades later and Sir David was still being asked to re-enact this memorable piece of television on the Parkinson chat show. Life on Earth had become the BBC’s first David Attenborough blockbuster to be followed by The Trials of Life, The Living Planet, The Life of Plants, up to the most recent, The Life of Mammals, in 2002. The outcome of this success has been to invest BBC natural history television with scientific authority. The BBC Natural History Unit and BBC Wildlife Magazine have become dominant conduits for popular natural science in the UK. Natural history television often relied implicitly upon science for advice and subject material. Recently the links have been made explicit with wildlife filmmakers and scientists’ research depicted working hand in hand, e.g. The Blue Planet and Walking with Dinosaurs. However the very success of the BBC’s wildlife output has produced a schism between the presentation of natural history and of the other sciences, e.g. cosmology, geology, non-wildlife biology. These sciences, explored in other generic programmes, e.g. Horizon or specific series e.g. Space, are promoted separately from natural history programmes. This schism extends to the BBC’s website, www.bbc.co.uk, which separates the genres between ‘/science’ and ‘/nature’, respectively. The science of natural history not only occupies its own broadcasting niche; it works to a different paradigm.