Area 51 » Science

followers

Follow It!

Announcements

If this isn't for experts, then who will answer the questions? – Blorgbeard Jun 9 '10 at 9:14

@Blorgbeard: good question but I think that such a forum (1) can play an important role in science popularisation, especially as a counter-pole to the constant misrepresentation in the media, and (2) experts might still be drawn to it, because of (1). Popularising science is a quite important (and interesting!) part of science, and unfortunately one that gets a raw deal. – Konrad Rudolph Jun 15 '10 at 8:27

I used to get annoyed at the extremely basic questions I'd find on Stack Overflow sometimes thinking "Why couldn't he have found this information in the first chapter of a book on X, or in the first hit from a google search on X". Then I realized that part of the draw of the experts is being able to act as teachers to even the most beginning students. I submit that if there were a 'SO for beginners' it would be almost deserted. I think this should be folded in with another science topic, instead of being a poor cousin where newbies are sent for asking 'dumb' questions. – Jherico Jun 23 '10 at 17:05

show 17 more announcements

This proposal is now in the Commitment phase — example questions are locked!

52 Example Questions (8 closed)

active oldest votes

up vote 23 down vote

added by Philippe Leybaert Jun 16 '10 at 9:11

up vote 21 down vote

added by Tobias Kienzler Jun 9 '10 at 8:17

up vote 20 down vote

added by Juan Manuel Jun 10 '10 at 12:44

up vote 20 down vote

added by Vortico Jun 13 '10 at 18:49

up vote 19 down vote

added by Tobias Kienzler Jun 9 '10 at 9:55

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Large_Hadron_Collider – Tobias Kienzler Jun 9 '10 at 9:55

It might cause discussion/flame, but I'd prefer it here than on Physics area51.stackexchange.com/proposals/1908/physics – Tobias Kienzler Jun 10 '10 at 8:06

up vote 17 down vote

added by Konrad Rudolph Jun 15 '10 at 8:17

	Whether or not this question is on-topic, I bet that it will make an appearance. So … right place or not? – Konrad Rudolph Jun 15 '10 at 8:18
	(Perhaps I should propose two questions, one on and one off-topic, by removing the “just a theory” or perhaps rephrasing to “Why is evolution true?” – Thoughts?) – Konrad Rudolph Jun 15 '10 at 8:19
	"just a theory" sounds too much like a discussion starter IMHO. Maybe you could rephrase it into "What evidence is there to support evolution?" to make it great-on-topic? – Tobias Kienzler Jun 15 '10 at 8:30
	@Tobias: changed. I’m still thinking about providing an additional off-topic question to mark this site off from quack/pseudo-science sites. – Konrad Rudolph Jun 15 '10 at 8:37
	@Konrad thanks, I appreciate your help – Tobias Kienzler Jun 15 '10 at 8:49

up vote 13 down vote

added by Philippe Leybaert Jun 18 '10 at 10:40

up vote 10 down vote

added by sgeek Jun 26 '10 at 4:08

I like it. This would probably be on the more complicated side of this category since even string theory studies this question, but it could have a relatively simple answer. If this was asked on the Physics proposal, I would consider it on-topic as well, but with higher expectations. – Vortico Jun 26 '10 at 4:32

up vote 8 down vote

added by Philippe Leybaert Jun 16 '10 at 9:09

up vote 7 down vote

added by Stefano Borini, edited by WikiSpeedia hang-around Jul 10 '10 at 1:24

up vote 6 down vote

added by nik Jun 19 '10 at 9:59

a nice reference: maths.surrey.ac.uk/hosted-sites/R.Knott/Fibonacci/… – nik Jun 19 '10 at 9:59

up vote 5 down vote

added by Philippe Leybaert Jun 16 '10 at 9:10

I like it. Good on-topic question. – Vortico Jun 16 '10 at 15:56

up vote 5 down vote

added by Michał Piaskowski Jun 17 '10 at 13:53

up vote 5 down vote

added by Stefano Borini, edited by WikiSpeedia hang-around Nov 5 '10 at 9:22

	don't you mean "measure" instead of "calculate", or at least "determine"? – Tobias Kienzler Jun 23 '10 at 10:26
	yep. measure is much better. Sorry, got into a lexicon hiccup. – Stefano Borini Jun 23 '10 at 22:31

up vote 5 down vote

added by Vortico Jun 22 '10 at 23:39

up vote 5 down vote

added by gmale Jul 15 '10 at 6:50

up vote 4 down vote

added by nik Jun 17 '10 at 16:39

up vote 4 down vote

added by nik Jun 17 '10 at 16:41

up vote 3 down vote

added by Kyra Jun 18 '10 at 20:25

up vote 3 down vote

added by Stefano Borini, edited by WikiSpeedia hang-around Nov 5 '10 at 9:25

up vote 3 down vote

added by Wolkenmacher Jun 28 '10 at 23:23

	Doesn't look offtopic to me... – serg Jul 13 '10 at 15:33
	Agreed. I think questions like this would be fairly common, and the trick would be to make sure the provided answer fits the scope of "popular science" even if the question begs for a more detailed response. – sgeek Jul 13 '10 at 22:51

up vote 2 down vote

added by Tobias Kienzler Jun 9 '10 at 8:15

up vote 2 down vote

added by Philippe Leybaert Jun 18 '10 at 10:34

up vote 2 down vote

added by Wolkenmacher, edited by WikiSpeedia hang-around Nov 5 '10 at 9:26

pv cell = Solar Cell – Tobias Kienzler Jun 29 '10 at 8:20

up vote 2 down vote

added by Gerard Aug 11 '10 at 11:13

up vote 2 down vote

added by endolith Aug 13 '10 at 2:38

up vote 1 down vote

added by Tobias Kienzler Jun 9 '10 at 8:17

closed as off topic by Konrad Rudolph, Philippe Leybaert, Kyra, DarenW, asalamon74 Nov 12 '10 at 19:25

This question does not relate to the topic of the proposal.
It was closed as part of an automated migration of off-topic to close votes on September 29, 2011.

I'd say this one is off-topic and belongs to Physics area51.stackexchange.com/proposals/1908/physics – Tobias Kienzler Jun 10 '10 at 8:05

up vote 1 down vote

added by Konrad Rudolph Jun 15 '10 at 8:20

Typical media misrepresentation, genetic determinism. Compare headlines along the lines of “Gene for XYZ found”. – Konrad Rudolph Jun 15 '10 at 8:21

and, you mean 'extent', not 'extend'... – nik Jun 17 '10 at 16:37

Right now that seems more a matter of opinion. Somewhat similar to the nature vs nurture question. – Kyra Jun 18 '10 at 20:28

@Kyra: I don’t agree that it’s a matter of opinion. This is the hard, scientific equivalent of nature vs. nurture and it was meant to be an on-topic question. That somewhat failed. Perhaps someone has a suggestion to phrase it better? – Konrad Rudolph Jun 22 '10 at 7:15

@Konrad Maybe "To what extend does out DNA influence certain [diseases]?" (separate comment so "great comment" votes can be used to indicate liking) – Tobias Kienzler Jun 22 '10 at 11:43

show 4 more comments

up vote 1 down vote

added by nik Jun 17 '10 at 16:38