Episode 14: Capax Mentis

In this episode we reflect on the role of intelligence in scientist. How much does intelligence matter in science, and which other characteristics might play a role in doing good science? Do scientist need to be extremely intelligent or can anyone do science? And what is the role of stupidity in science? 

Capax Mentis roughly translates to "capacity of mind."

Smriti stupidly messed up her audio so the quality isn't great. Apologies! 

 

Shownotes

• Schwartz, M. A. (2008). The importance of stupidity in scientific research. Journal of Cell Science, 121(11), 1771. https://doi.org/10.1242/jcs.033340
• Bernal, J. D. (1939). The Social Function Of Science. Routledge.
• Paul Medawar: Advice to a Young Scientist 
• Feynman talking about the uncomfortable feeling of confusion  
• A good scientist always keeps learning – Nobel Laureate Peter Doherty 
• Flatland (1884) by Edwin Abbott Abbott 
• A zero-order correlation simply refers to the correlation between two variables (i.e., the independent and dependent variable) without controlling for the influence of any other variables. Essentially, this means that a zero-order correlation is the same thing as a Pearson correlation.