SCROLL NEWS / DISCOVERY
Search headlines
Find the stories shaping the conversation.
Results for " pat " 11,963 found 🔀 AI-powered Shuffle
Christian Benford, Six Others Inactive For Bills Against Patriots
The Buffalo Bills have announced their inactives for Week 4 against the New England Patriots, including number one cornerback Christian Benford and six others.
Christian Gonzalez reveals how Patriots can slow down Josh Allen
Christian Gonzalez broke down what makes Bills quarterback Josh Allen great and how the Patriots can slow him down.
Patriots vs Bills live updates: Score, highlights, analysis
The Patriots play the Bills in a pivotal Week 4 AFC clash. Follow live score updates, highlights, injury news, key plays and instant analysis.
From detailing family cars to cleaning rides for Patriots players: Local college student’s business
A local college student’s auto detailing business has grown from helping family and neighbors to servicing the vehicles of professional athletes across New England.
13 Cool New Gadgets to Keep on Your Radar
Catching you up on the past week’s most notable product releases.
The forgotten Chromebook that started it all
On Version History: Marques Brownlee and Nilay Patel relive the release of the Cr-48, Google’s prototype laptop.
Memorial Health offers free mammograms to uninsured and underinsured women and men in October
The Springfield Memorial Foundation covers the cost of the mammograms for eligible patients.
Science Snapshots: October 4, 2026
Three new science finds: forest fragmentation alters temperatures, black-hole jets illuminate pre-existing gas, and butterfly wing patterns confuse predators.
Weird girls, your next shelf collectible is a stack of Robert Pattinsons
Why A24’s nesting dolls are perfect.
Here’s how to watch Bills vs. Patriots in Week 4
All the ways to catch the action live when the Buffalo Bills take on the New England Patriots in Week 4
Gimme Him: Alec Anderson would immediately help Patriots' OL depth
The Patriots could benefit from the depth that Alec Anderson could offer to their banged-up offensive line.
Free Columbus events with a library card. How the Culture Pass works
Are you looking for wallet-friendly entertainment? Find out how a trip to the library can save you big bucks.
Free Columbus events with a library card. How the Culture Pass works
Are you looking for wallet-friendly entertainment? Find out how a trip to the library can save you big bucks.
We Must Fight Health Misinformation With Empathy
People reported being more likely to take advice when they believe, first, that their concerns and experience have been taken seriously, writes Dr. Megan L. Ranney.
My students are politically apathetic. Here’s what colleges can do to get them involved and engaged. (Opinion)
Although colleges might not think it’s their job to teach their students how to talk about civics, government and American democracy, it is. Instead of leaving families, the internet, and the nation’s K-12 schools to do the heavy lifting, i…
Is Patriots CB Christian Gonzalez playing today?
Star cornerback Christian Gonzalez has been ruled out for the Patriots’ matchup against the Bills.
Is Patriots QB Drake Maye playing today?
Patriots quarterback Drake Maye will be available for the pivotal AFC East matchup against the Bills on Sunday.
Festa Italiana, Munson Heritage Festival among this week's big events
Festa Italiana, Munson Heritage Festival, Boo at the Zoo, the Glass & Ceramic Pumpkin Patch and Daniel Tosh are among this week's biggest events.
How to safely use AI for health advice
Many patients use AI for health advice, but doctors warn about accuracy. Learn how to use these tools safely.
How to safely use AI for health advice
Many patients use AI for health advice, but doctors warn about accuracy. Learn how to use these tools safely.
How a patient advocate could help you navigate your family's next health crisis
Here’s what you need to know to work with one most effectively.
Why Ken Paxton could lose a Texas GOP Senate seat to James Talarico
Plagued by ethics allegations, the Senate candidate is unusually vulnerable for a red state Republican.
Thousands run in 2026 Nike XC Twilight Invitational
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) — Thousands of runners from across the country participated in the 2026 Nike XC Twilight Invitational at Lavern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course. Terre Haute North’s Addyson Bautista took fourth place in the girls race. Terre Haute South’s Landon Crawn finished 17th in the boys race.
Salisbury ESU to host politics of late night talk Oct. 15
The Salisbury branch of the English Speaking Union are set to host Dr. Patrick Giamario for his talk “Political Satire Under Fire.” The recent hullabaloo over late night hosts Stephen […]
Hawks' Continuity Could Be Their Biggest Eastern Conference Advantage
The Atlanta Hawks largely stood pat while Eastern Conference contenders reshuffled, giving them a continuity edge entering 2026-27.
Memorial Health System expanding healthcare services at Gulfport clinic
GULFPORT, Miss. (WXXV)- Memorial Health System is expanding services at one clinic in northern Gulfport. Dr. Rolando Barnes now provides comprehensive family medicine services at the Highway 49 clinic. This gives patients more convenient access to both primary and specialty care in their community. Barnes will also provide preventative care, wellness visits, chronic disease management, and ongoing care for patients...
Chargers elevate Patrick Herbert
The Los Angeles Chargers are elevating Patrick Herbert
Trump’s spat with GOP lawmaker over Daylight Saving Time
President Donald Trump railed against Sen. Tom Cotton in a series of posts on Saturday, accusing the Arkansas Republican of holding up a bill that would make Daylight Saving Time permanent and encouraging people to call the senator at his cellphone number.
Patrick Mahomes looks to extend mastery of Raiders, AFC West
When the Chiefs play in Las Vegas on Sunday, Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes will be looking to extend his mastery of the Raiders — and of their division.
Doctors Are Revealing Alarming Health Trends They're Seeing In Gen Z Patients
Turns out a few tiny changes in behavior can prevent some BIG issues down the road.
TH North Flag Football advances to sectional championship
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) — Terre Haute North Flag Football defeated North Central, 25-12 in Saturday’s sectional semifinal game at TH South. The Lady Patriots would fall to Terre Haute South in the championship game later in the afternoon.
Patriots fan-favorite fined twice for same Week 3 play
Patriots veteran wide receiver Mack Hollins was hit with two fines from the same play in last week's game against the Jaguars.
Mack Hollins fined twice on the same play, losing $34,441
The NFL fined Patriots receiver Mack Hollins $34,441 for his actions on the same play against the Jaguars.
Baptist Health Calhoun Hospital Foundation Golf Classic Set for Oct. 7
ANNISTON, AL. — The Baptist Health Calhoun Hospital Memorial Foundation will host its annual Golf Classic on Wednesday, Oct. 7, with proceeds benefiting the health system. The tournament will feature a four-person scramble format with a shotgun start. Golfers may participate in either the morning session, beginning at 7:30 a.m., or the afternoon session, beginning […]
In social post, Trump endorses Cunningham, mispronounces Vasquez’s name and doubles-down on renaming New Mexico
By Pat Davis, New Mexico Political Report — President Donald Trump officially endorsed Republican Greg Cunningham’s bid for Congress in a social media post today where the president once again called on New Mexicans to rename the state “New America” and mispronounced the Hispanic pronunciation of current Democratic Congressman Gabe Vasquez’s name. This story was […]
Trump posts GOP lawmaker’s phone number amid spat over Daylight Saving Time
President Donald Trump railed against Sen. Tom Cotton in a series of posts on Saturday, accusing the Arkansas Republican of holding up a bill that would make Daylight Saving Time permanent and encouraging people to call the senator at his cellphone number.
Bills elevate two defensive backs for Week 4 vs. Patriots
DB Te'Cory Couch and CB Kani Walker elevated from practice squad for Week 4
7 Ways Corn Mazes and Pumpkin Patches Became Big Business
Getting lost in a cornfield has become a business model.
South Texas Health System (@stxhealthsystem)
1 likes, 1 comments - stxhealthsystem on October 3, 2026: "A Gathering of Compassion, Commitment & Community: The Texas Association of Healthcare Volunteers (TAHV), a statewide organization dedicated to supporting, training and connecting healthcare volunteers, recently held its District 3 Meeting at South Texas Health System Edinburg. Volunteers from across South Texas and the Coastal Bend gathered to learn, share ideas and strengthen the vital role they play in supporting patients, families and healthcare teams throughout their communities. The Auxiliary to STHS (@auxiliarytosths) is made up of more than 350 student and adult volunteers who help enhance the patient experience across the health system. To help make this year's event a success, auxiliary members from hospitals throughout the Rio Grande Valley came together to plan, coordinate and host the annual meeting. We extend our heartfelt thanks to everyone who attended and contributed to this inspiring event. Your dedication, compassion and service make a lasting impact in hospitals across the Rio Grande Valley and beyond.".
Opposing coaches and scouts reportedly diagnose Drake Maye's struggles
Here's what opposing coaches and scouts are reportedly saying about Patriots quarterback Drake Maye.
Opinion: Voting rights for young Americans remain unfinished business
Broadening democratic participation should be a national priority, including in the newly proposed Youth Voting Rights Act
Flooding forced traumatic moves to Oʻahu for longterm patients, but health, spirits improve with return to Maui
Some residents of Hale Makamae, the only intermediate care facility for adults with developmental disabilities, are now back at Maui Memorial Medical Center as they await the $65 million renovation and reopening of their longterm facility at Kula Hospital.
1 in 8 cancer cases are caused by infections, underscoring the importance of vaccines, experts say
Four pathogens account for most infection-related cancers, a new study highlights, but the tools to prevent them range from well-established vaccines to treatments still under development.
Many men with low testosterone are never diagnosed, and a men's health doctor says a missing lab test is often the reason
Sometimes men are treated for depression when low testosterone is the real cause. A men's health physician explains the signs, the tests, and what to do next.
Chapel Bell Curve:
You’ve got to do something before kickoff. And if you’re looking to maximize your preparations for today’s matchup with Vanderbilt that something should be listening to Nathan and Yara preview the Commodores. Among other audio goodness in this episode you’ll find the following: As always we ask that you like, rate, subscribe, and patreonize the show wherever […]
'It’s a mess': New Bedford businesses reel as ICE detentions escalate
The presence of federal agents on the streets have kept people away from going out and patronizing local businesses in the city.
Emma Lees: Eight Years of Science, Patients and Progress
Emma Lees: Eight Years of Science, Patients and Progress / Biopharmaceutical Research, BMS, Bristol Myers Squibb, Cambridge Crossing, Cambridge Research,
Bills news: Previewing the Patriots
Josh Allen and the Bills have gotten off to a much better start on offense than Drake Maye and the sputtering Patriots.
Why 'East of Eden' Star Mike Faist Looks Familiar
Mike Faist stars as Charles Trask in the Netflix limited series adapatation. Here's where you may have recognized him before.
Pat Murphy identifies Brewers’ biggest challenge before Padres NLDS
The Milwaukee Brewers will meet the San Diego Padres in the NLDS after Milwaukee posted the best overall record in MLB during the regular season. San Diego enters the series after finishing the year on a strong note and knocking out the Chicago Cubs in the Wild Card round. A major part of the Padres’ [...]
ESA’s Juice just used Earth as a slingshot to Jupiter
ESA’s Juice spacecraft raced past Earth on September 28, using our planet’s gravity to dramatically reshape its path toward Jupiter without burning much fuel. The flyby changed its direction by 20 degrees and increased its speed by 3.5 km/s, while also giving scientists a rare chance to test its instruments on Earth and the Moon.
Video Weekend health roundup
ABC News contributor Dr. Alok Patel shares health advice on topics that are making headlines this weekend.
Chiefs News: Patrick Mahomes’ deep ball is back
The latest Chiefs news, brought fresh to you every morning!
Our Best Stuff on Politics as the Midterms Draw Near
Could a blue wave prompt multiple impeachments?
Bills vs. Patriots: Final injury reports for both teams
Here are the final injury reports for both the Bills and Patriots ahead of their Week 4 clash.
What to Watch For: New England Patriots Defense vs. Buffalo Bills Offense
The New England Patriots begin AFC East play this weekend with a trip to Buffalo to take on the Bills. We review what New England’s defense will need to do to slow Josh Allen and Buffalo’s high-powered offense.
Change to bankruptcy law may help speed up, give relief to small biz
Small businesses may get an easier path to restructure their debt faster while offering greater flexibility in negotiating with creditors under a change in law waiting President Trump's approval.
How I Started My Path to a Career in Healthcare While Still in High School
Student’s View: From observing surgery to developing technical skills, a Health Careers track prepares me for both college and the workforce.
Bills vs. Patriots weather looks nearly perfect Sunday
Sunny skies, temperatures in the 60s and light winds are forecast when the Bills host the Patriots Sunday in Orchard Park.
Anthropic Is Aiming To Transform Healthcare—Here’s How
Anthropic is pushing Claude into prior authorization, medical records, drug discovery and global health. A physician explains what it means for doctors and patients.
Marshall University Top Scholar applications open now through Dec. 15
HUNTINGTON — Applications for Marshall University’s Top Scholar Program opened Thursday, Oct. 1, giving incoming students the opportunity to be considered for some of the university’s most prestigious scholarships through
Brenda Lucas: Community news for Saturday, Oct. 3
Click for community news in the Huntington, West Virginia, and Tri-State area.
Public Health Director Chris Crum honored by KHDA
GREENUP, Ky. — Greenup County Health Department recently announced that Public Health Director Chris Crum was selected as the recipient of the Kentucky Health Departments Association Lifetime Achievement Award.
FNF Week 5: Rummel outlasts John Curtis, 10-9
The John Curtis Patriots took on the Rummel Raiders on Thursday night at Joe Yenni Stadium.
Heritage Hills picks up a victory over Mt. Vernon
MOUNT VERNON, Ind. (WEHT) — The Heritage Hills Patriots beat the Mount Vernon Wildcats, 25-7. The Patriots will face North Posey next week, while the Wildcats go up against Washington.
Breaking down Trump’s new ‘drug factories’ claim about Iranian nuclear sites
The president’s refusal to admit the likely gaffe follows a pattern of insisting he is always correct.
Olivia Insani Perske: Rooted and resonant
Olivia Insani Perske was singing before she was speaking — literally.
Smell the Coffee: When customers say 'I can make that'
“I can make that,” the woman said to her friend, pointing at a pet bed I made from an old suitcase to sell in our booth at last year’s Hinton
What a can of Chef Boyardee taught me about politics...
Four years ago, I asked then-Congressman Sean Patrick Maloney a question about inflation during a video interview. I had no idea that his answer would become the most widely seen moment in Halston Media history. Maloney recalled that when money...
MAKING THE GRADE: From playing school to the science lab, Ca...
First-year Academy of Innovation science teacher Rebekah Cannada shares her path from elementary education to eighth-grade science and her approach to engaging ...
WINK News to host Medicare Help Center as 50,000 Lee Health patients face insurance changes
WINK Investigates is hosting a special event to help answer pressing questions from the community.
FBI gives employees a classified 'Patel Report' about times the agency 'fell short'
The document's existence is in keeping with Director Kash Patel's vocal criticism of the leaders who preceded him
State House candidates talk class size, vouchers, mental health in education forum
Candidates for three Tennessee House seats addressed voters at a candidate forum hosted by Clarksville Voices for Education this week.
Group Health Cooperative opens Pathways to Recovery program
The new program aims to expand substance use treatment to reach more people in need.
Patriots make decision on starting right guard vs. Bills
Ben Brown is slated to fill the vacant position along the Patriots offensive line.
Why Is CVS Health (CVS) Reworking Primary Care Around Value Based Care?
CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) is expanding its primary care approach by integrating value-based care across its health system. The company intends to connect health plans, provider groups, clinics, and pharmacies under a single patient-centered care model. Management is targeting shared accountability for outcomes that include social determinants of health alongside traditional clinical metrics. This push to embed value-based care across CVS Health's operations reshapes how the group manages care,...
Bills Face Difficult Roster Decision Amid New Running Back Injury
The Buffalo Bills are in danger of missing running back Ray Davis for Sunday's game against the New England Patriots. The post Bills Face Difficult Roster Decision Amid New Running Back Injury appeared first on HEAVY.
3 bold takes for Bills-Patriots in Week 4
Quarterback Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills are likely extra motivated to face the New England Patriots in Week 4
Former UCF F Keyshawn Hall Granted TRO, Gains Eligibility
A New York court ruling clears the path for the dynamic "Big Guard" to join Rick Pitino at St. John’s, bolstering the Red Storm’s offensive arsenal.
Live & Local: Where to find upcoming local music, open mics and live entertainment
Rafters
Local girl overcomes health challenges, chosen to encourage runners at Columbus Marathon
The 7-year-old and former patient at Nationwide Children's Hospital was selected as a Mile Champion to inspire runners as the run over 26 miles through Columbus.
Patient-zero drill put health facilities to the test—40% of them failed
Actors with makeup and fake symptoms staggered into 73 healthcare facilities.
Scouting Patrick Mahomes : Las Vegas Raiders Chiefs Week
Las Vegas Raiders enter the Week 4 matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs. Keeping the passing attack grounded is key.
Drake Maye on track to play in Week 4
Patriots QB Drake Maye should be available after three full practices
Patrick Mahomes expected to play in Week 4
Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes ready to play after three full practices
Studying Science in an Anti-Scientific Time
This Chronicle Review Deep Cut was first published in 2025. By Julianne Werlin Thanks for reading The Chronicle Review! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. Subscribe The last two decades have not been kind to science studies. Already bruised and battered by the “science wars” of the 1990s, by the 2000s sociologists of science — who had long argued that science had to be understood in its human context — were encountering the funhouse-mirror version of their own views in right-wing critiques of climate scientists. It was enough to give some prominent scholars pause. “Was I wrong to participate in the invention of this field known as science studies?” asked Bruno Latour, the most famous sociologist of science in the world, in 2003. “Should we apologize for having been wrong all along? Or should we rather bring the sword of criticism to criticism itself and do a bit of soul-searching here: What were we really after when we were so intent on showing the social construction of scientific facts?” In response, Latour proposed a change of method and attitude. Science studies, now chastened and contrite, would no longer seek to strip facts of their authority, but to enrich and enhance them. What this meant in practice was never fully clear. But his diagnosis of problems resonated, even if his solutions did not. Latour’s exercise in public hand-wringing signaled a shift in mood. By 2016, with the first election of Donald Trump, the idea that skepticism of science was a right-wing position, not a left-wing one, had become a commonplace, discussed eagerly in The New York Times. For liberals, vaccine denial during the Covid era and Trump’s second-term attacks on the funding of scientific research, covered extensively in these pages, added a new urgency to the defense of science on both practical and principled grounds. There was little appetite for a sociology or philosophy of science that emphasized the messiness and missteps of the scientific process rather than its integrity and triumphs. The distinguished historian of science Peter Dear’s new book, The World as We Know It: From Natural Philosophy to Modern Science (Princeton University Press, 2025), which seeks to tell the story of 18th- and 19th-century science for a general public, may seem comfortably remote from these bitter contests. In its 16 short chapters, Dear draws swift, sure sketches of major discoveries from Newton to Einstein, ably guiding the reader through debates on stellar nebulae, animal taxonomy, atomic chemistry, evolution, and other flashpoints in the history of science. But though a work of history, Dear’s book must still negotiate our polarized present. In a blurb on its back cover, the historian of biology Lynn K. Nyhart alludes to the “present moment, when scientific knowledge is being swamped by misinformation and its institutions are under siege.” Dear himself, in his conclusion, refers to the “yard signs” and “bumper stickers” that proclaim “Science Is Real.” One antidote to both anti-science propaganda and to reductive slogans in science’s defense is a robust history and philosophy of science: exactly what Dear’s scholarship has long offered. But his new book illustrates how difficult such work has become. Dear, an emeritus professor of history at Cornell University, is best known as a creative and philosophically minded historian of the Scientific Revolution. His edited volume The Literary Structure of Scientific Argument (1991) analyzed the rhetoric of Galileo’s thought experiments to brilliant effect. Discipline and Experience: The Mathematical Way in the Scientific Revolution (1995) was a major contribution to the analysis of scientific experiments in early modern Europe and beyond, while Revolutionizing the Sciences: European Knowledge in Transition, 1500-1700 (2001), now in its third edition, remains one of the best overviews of the profound epistemological upheavals of 16th- and 17th-century science. But Dear has also ventured into later periods. Nearly two decades ago, in The Intelligibility of Nature: How Science Makes Sense of the World (2006), he turned to the 18th and 19th centuries to sketch a history and theory of scientific knowledge. Aimed at a generalist audience, Dear’s simple prose belied serious philosophical ambitions. Science, Dear argued, has two aspects: “natural philosophy,” the quest to understand the true nature of the universe, and “instrumentality,” the applied skills and technologies that allow us to manipulate the world for human advantage. Both strands are ancient, but the innovation of the phenomenon we call “science” was to yoke them together. As Francis Bacon wrote, “Human knowledge and human power meet in one; for where the cause is not known, the effect cannot be produced,” an insight typically abridged to “knowledge is power.” Or, in Bertrand Russell’s characteristically blunt phrase, science has two functions, “1. to enable us to know things, and 2., to enable us to do things.” So far, so conventional. But Dear took issue with this familiar story in one respect. Bacon’s formula implied that theory and practice could be fused in a single method. In fact, Dear argued, the quest to understand nature and the desire to manipulate it were coupled only loosely. They could come together, but they could also pull apart. Focusing on natural philosophy, the “knowing” half of the scientific circle, he used a series of case studies from cosmology, taxonomy, chemistry, electromagnetism, and quantum theory to show how theories changed over time, in dialogue with practice, but never reducible to it. Take the case of matter, the basic substrate of the physical world. In the 18th and 19th centuries, scientists not only disagreed about what it was, but also about how well it could be known. In 1789, the chemist Antoine Lavoisier dismissed speculation about the atomic composition of chemicals as “discussions entirely of a metaphysical nature,” as he sought to orient chemistry away from philosophical abstraction and toward laboratory results. But in the 19th century, atoms returned with a vengeance in the atomic chemistry of John Dalton, who wanted to explain the underlying structure of nature. It was not just that Dalton and Lavoisier had a different set of experimental results, or even a different theory, Dear showed. What counted as an explanation had changed. In arguing that scientific theories depended on their intelligibility to human beings with complex arrays of beliefs and commitments, Dear was in sympathy with science studies. Key figures such as the sociologist Steven Shapin emphasized the importance of psychological mechanisms like trust in the formation and acceptance of scientific ideas. But in focusing on the scientific pursuit of knowledge, not its politics or economics, Dear resisted the more cynical perspective of some of his colleagues. The Intelligibility of Nature strikes a very different note than Shapin’s collection of a few years later, Never Pure: Historical Studies of Science as If It Was Produced by People With Bodies, Situated in Time, Space, Culture, and Society, and Struggling for Credibility and Authority (2010), to name just one example. Walking a very fine line, Dear depicted science as driven at once by complex social dynamics and by the intellectual power of real discoveries. It was a testament not only to his own acumen but also to the vitality of the field that he was able to do so. Nearly two decades later, The World as We Know It returns to the questions broached in The Intelligibility of Nature. Like Dear’s earlier study, it begins with the Newtonian cosmos and ends with debates between Einstein and Bohr on quantum physics. Beyond its terminal figures, many of the same characters appear in both studies, including the naturalists John Ray and the Comte de Buffon; the chemists Étienne François Geoffroy, Antoine Lavoisier, and John Dalton; as well as Charles Darwin and Michael Faraday, among others. Its subject is nearly identical: As in The Intelligibility of Nature, The World as We Know It considers natural philosophy as opposed to instrumentality, here defined as the “desire to create a picture of what the world is really like — the world as God knows it — rather than simply having instrumental or operational control over it.” The two books also overlap in insights — and sometimes even in language. The reader who has learned in The Intelligibility of Nature that Buffon’s method of classifying animals “reflected his belief in the importance of the senses and empiricism in learning about nature (a doctrine associated with Newton and the philosopher John Locke)” will experience a sense of déjà vu on reading, in The World as We Know It, that the classification “reflects Buffon’s commitment to the epistemological stance of Newton and his philosophical underlaborer John Locke, who stressed the role of the senses in creating natural knowledge.” Later in the passage, we read that, “because of its stress on understanding the ways of life of animals in their environments, Buffon’s approach could almost be labeled (anachronistically) as ‘ecological.’” And again, “an anachronistic way of putting it would be to say that Buffon recommends an ecological mode of understanding.” Likewise, in The Intelligibility of Nature we read of Dalton that he was initially drawn to meteorology, and that: He did a bit of experimental work on these things, especially having to do with the water-holding capacity of gases, but his real interest lay in understanding what, at an underlying natural-philosophical level, was really going on physically.” Whereas, in The World as We Know It: He did experimental work on these things, especially concerning the water-holding capacity of gases — although not at a very refined level quantitatively — but he was continually trying to develop a theoretical conception of what was happening physically. The final full chapter of each book closes on the same resigned note. Intelligibility: These days, most serious work on the natural philosophical underpinnings and implications of quantum mechanics is performed not by physicists but by philosophers of science. Among scientific practitioners themselves, Bohr’s attempt to use instrumentality as sufficient grounds for a respectable science has met with a high degree of success. And again, in The World as We Know It: Bohr’s and Einstein’s concerns are now questions that are mostly discussed by philosophers of science rather than by physicists themselves. The marginalization of these sorts of questions amounts to the demise of natural philosophy, at least in physics, in the 20th century. Quantum mechanics “works,” and that’s good enough for most scientists who encounter it. Examples could be multiplied. When handling the same subject matter, some echoes are inevitable. Scholars should not feel that because they have written “Isaac Newton died in 1727” in one book, in the next they must describe him as perishing, expiring, or meeting his maker. But the repetitions of language and arguments (not to mention six reproduced images) threaded throughout The World as We Know It are more extensive than that. They should have been caught by Princeton University Press or its reviewers, and revised. Because the two books have so much in common, it is easy to see where they diverge. The World as We Know It is a less theoretical work than its predecessor. The sociology of knowledge that organized The Intelligibility of Nature has been reduced in scale and folded into readings and examples. The taut interplay between history and theory, which gave the earlier study so much interest, is there, but it is subtle. In the earlier book, the case studies demonstrated theoretical claims about the character and development of science. In the later work, each narrative of discovery is an end in itself. Insights emerge from the history, but they do not control the organization of the study. With the theory muted, it can be hard to understand the logic uniting Dear’s sprawling history of more than two centuries of scientific knowledge. The 16 brisk chapters cover an enormous amount of material. But the closer the volume edges to comprehensiveness, the more obvious the missing elements become. A chapter on “Institutions and Pedagogy,” describing the birth of the research university, illustrates the problem. Inserted roughly halfway through the book, the unnumbered chapter is designed as an “entr’acte,” in acknowledgement that it does not fit the study’s organization around scientific discoveries. Yet as Dear is well aware, no general history of the development of modern science can bracket its 19th-century institutionalization and professionalization. It was the 19th-century university, after all, that gave us the “scientist,” a term coined by the Cambridge philosopher William Whewell. Dear’s history of scientific discoveries implies a wider social and institutional history, but it remains largely subterranean, only occasionally extruded under the pressure of the narrative. It must be said that the balance is not all on the side of the earlier study. There are some advantages to the more historical, less theoretical organization of The World as We Know It. Dear’s accounts of paradigm shifts are remarkably lucid, no small accomplishment given that they span fields and centuries. He makes excellent use of the wealth of new scholarship on Darwin and his influences, to which he has himself contributed. It is satisfying to see puzzle pieces from Buffon’s natural history, Georges Cuvier’s animal taxonomy, Thomas Robert Malthus’s demography, and Charles Lyell’s geology recombined seamlessly in the Darwinian jigsaw. Likewise, Dear’s discussion of stellar nebulae, divided between chapters two and 15, shows vividly how Newton, Kant, Herschel, and Hubble reimagined insights and observations as they sought to discover whether the diffuse light that filtered through early telescopes was a glowing, gaseous substance or discrete but distant stars. Yet despite such pleasures, the book remains a more modest work than The Intelligibility of Nature. Dear has clearly not changed his views about the history of science. But in the two decades that have elapsed, the discipline and the world around it have changed, making it harder to write a sociologically and philosophically ambitious history of science for the general reader. That is a shame, because in the age of Silicon Valley and biotechnology, both the reciprocity and the tensions Dear identified between the epistemological and instrumental ambitions of science are more evident than ever. In recent years, some of the most exciting new books on the history of science in early modernity have focused precisely on this pressure point. Important studies such as Pamela H. Smith’s From Lived Experience to the Written Word (2022), James Poskett’s Horizons: The Global Origins of Modern Science (2022), and Vera Keller’s The Interlopers: Early Stuart Projects and the Undisciplining of Knowledge (2023) all shed new light on how early modern science negotiated the relationship between its instrumental and epistemological ambitions, or in Russell’s phrase, knowing and doing. There is every opportunity for a philosophically informed approach to draw new insights from this wealth of material. Dear, unfortunately, has not done so in The World as We Know It. But for future scholars of the history of science, his body of work over nearly four decades may provide just the model. Julianne Werlin is an associate professor of English at Duke University. Thanks for reading The Chronicle Review! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. Subscribe
Scientists search for answers as baby whales wash up dead in Argentina
Scientists in Argentina are trying to find out why unusually high numbers of baby whales are washing up dead along the Patagonian coast
5 Patriots to watch in Week 4’s game at Bills
For the second straight week, Buffalo faces off against an opponent desperate for a win
New Macomb-Kettering deal enables business students to transfer straight into bachelor’s program
The Flint-based university will provide a pathway to its Bachelor of Science in management degree.
Solo law firm owner shares advice on running your own business
It offers general legal services but also has niches in representing other attorneys as well as designers, artists and publishers in the board gaming industry.
Bishop’s computer science chair says AI is eliminating ‘grunt work’ and reshaping digital jobs
Dr. Russell Butler, chair of Bishop’s University’s Department of Computer Science, says artificial intelligence is increasingly taking over routine digital “grunt work,” changing the skills students and workers may need in the years ahead. Photo courtesy of Bishop’s University. Click here to read our platform! Get local news like this every morning. Subscribe free below. Subscribe Pulse Newsroom Artificial intelligence is already taking over some of the routine digital work once performed by entry-level employees, according to Bishop’s University Computer Science chair Dr. Russell Butler — a shift he believes will make expertise, judgement and the ability to evaluate AI-generated work increasingly important. Butler described the change as automation reaching what he calls the “bottom of the cognitive pyramid” during an interview with The Pulse about AI, university education and the future of digital work. His argument is not that humans are disappearing from the workplace. Instead, he sees their role changing as AI becomes capable of handling more of the repetitive tasks involved in computer-based work. “Everything’s converging on just AI basically doing all the grunt work,” Butler said. The bottom of the cognitive pyramid Butler is from Lennoxville, completed his undergraduate studies at Bishop’s and later earned his PhD at the Université de Sherbrooke. He joined Bishop’s in 2019 and now chairs its Department of Computer Science. He uses AI in research, teaching and other creative work, and said the technology is increasingly capable of handling routine digital tasks that once required substantial human time. “You’ve got the grunt work, like moving things around in Excel, doing basic programming tasks,” Butler said. “That’s like the bottom grunt work that the entry-level worker would have done two or three years ago.” Butler went further, saying in his view that much of this type of work has already been absorbed by AI tools. He connected that change to a shift he sees taking place in computer science, where entry-level roles have declined while experienced workers can use AI to increase what they can produce. “A senior developer now has access to essentially an unlimited amount of junior developers on demand,” Butler said. He was describing AI systems metaphorically, not literal employees. His point was that one experienced developer can now ask AI tools to produce code or other technical work that might previously have been assigned to more junior workers. That raises a broader question for universities and employers. If some of the simpler work traditionally given to newcomers can now be done by machines, how do people gain the experience needed to become senior workers themselves? Students doing work that once required years of programming Butler said he is already seeing the change inside his classroom. He created a Bishop’s course called CS208, Coding in Plain English, to show students — including those without traditional programming backgrounds — what they can accomplish using AI. Some come from disciplines such as psychology or neuroscience with no previous programming experience. “What I’m finding is that students who have zero programming experience, they come in from another discipline like psychology or neuroscience or something, they are now able to get up and running with real data sets,” Butler said. Butler’s own doctoral work involved neuroimaging, and he said he has assigned students work he considers comparable to the kinds of analysis he performed during his PhD. He described giving students a real dataset, an expected result and instructions to use AI to complete the analysis. Butler said those students have been able to carry out work at a level he associates with tasks he once performed after years of programming experience. That does not mean a student using AI instantly acquires the same knowledge as an experienced computer scientist. But Butler sees it as evidence that AI can dramatically lower the technical barrier between having a problem to solve and producing a working result. The role of the person using the system then changes. They need to know what to ask for, understand enough about the subject to judge the answer and take responsibility for what is ultimately produced. What about AI hallucinations? One persistent concern surrounding generative AI is hallucination — when a system produces information that sounds convincing but is false or unsupported. Butler said that problem has improved substantially in newer systems and is not as severe as it was with earlier models. He pointed in particular to newer AI systems’ ability to search the web, consult scientific databases and return source links rather than simply generating a citation from their internal model. Butler nevertheless said users should verify what AI produces. “You should verify,” he said while discussing citations generated with AI. His position is that hallucinations have become less common in the systems he uses, not that incorrect AI output is impossible. Human checking remains part of the process. Hours of work compressed Butler offered another example from his administrative work at Bishop’s. The university has been comparing CEGEP courses with first-year Bishop’s courses to determine where students may qualify for advanced standing. Traditionally, Butler said, that means reviewing two sets of course descriptions and manually matching one institution’s courses with another’s. As department chair, that could require hours of reading and comparison. He said AI can now be given both sets of material and asked to generate an initial mapping automatically. “It saves me hours and hours of work,” Butler said. Butler said the AI-generated mapping can also produce a better result than he would produce himself. He sees similar opportunities in businesses. A company may receive specifications, drawings, emails or other digital material from customers and then have employees convert that information into an internal format before anything can be manufactured or delivered. AI can increasingly perform parts of that intermediate processing. In Butler’s view, the employee does not necessarily disappear. Instead, the job becomes more about checking the result. “The human is still there,” he said. Judgement could become more valuable That change is central to Butler’s view of where digital work may be headed. If AI can produce a first draft, write basic code, compare documents or process large amounts of information, he argues that knowledge and judgement become increasingly important. “The real scarce resource going forward is going to be domain knowledge, expertise, and… credentials, authority, the ability to work with other people,” Butler said. He is therefore encouraging students not only to learn AI tools but also to broaden their education. He mentioned acting, fine art and photography as examples of courses that can help develop what he described as taste and intuition — the ability to recognize what is good, what is not and what should be changed. “And that’s the skill that they need now because the grunt work has been automated and now it’s about evaluating what the AI produces and telling it how to improve or expand the output,” Butler said. That does not remove the need for technical knowledge. Butler’s argument is that the emphasis may shift away from manually completing every step of a task and toward directing, checking and improving work produced with AI assistance. He also stressed that humans remain responsible for final decisions. “At the end of the day, the human has to make the final call,” Butler said, pointing to the question of accountability. Physical work may be different Butler draws a distinction between digital work and jobs requiring people to manipulate the physical world. He expects AI to continue advancing quickly in tasks performed almost entirely on computers. He is more cautious about claims that humanoid robots will soon be able to replace workers such as plumbers or electricians. Butler said those trades would not be replaced “anytime soon” in his view and described some current robotics demonstrations as overhyped. He described the situation as counterintuitive. “It’s almost like we solved the highest level first,” he said, contrasting advances in digital AI with the harder problem of building robots capable of operating reliably in the physical world. Butler’s argument is that some digital occupations could face automation sooner than trades requiring complex physical work. The wider AI shift in the Townships Butler’s comments come as local institutions are increasingly grappling with how AI should be used. The federal government recently announced up to $162 million over five years for 10,000 AI-related placements through Mitacs. The Université de Sherbrooke told The Pulse that the number of its collaborative research and innovation projects supported through Mitacs has approximately doubled since 2018-19, while the number of placements has approximately tripled. UdeS also said it already has projects involving both AI adoption and the application of AI to other fields. At Bishop’s, Butler said part of his role involves building the Computer Science department’s local presence, connecting students with regional partners and strengthening relationships with the Sherbrooke technology ecosystem. Those developments put universities in a difficult position. They have to prepare students to use the tools employers increasingly have available while also making sure graduates understand enough to recognize when those tools are wrong, incomplete or being applied to the wrong problem. The risk of losing human skills Butler does not see AI as risk-free. Later in the interview, he raised a separate concern: as AI becomes better at reading, writing, programming and other cognitive tasks, people could lose some of the underlying skills that historically helped produce new ideas. “The other danger is that we’re going to lose the human skills,” Butler said. He specifically mentioned reading and writing and argued that people could lose some of the lower-level understanding that contributes to breakthroughs. Butler said AI systems are based on existing human knowledge and argued that they become much more powerful when paired with a capable person. That tension runs through his view of the technology. AI can remove hours of routine work. It can allow beginners to perform tasks that once required substantial technical training. It can give experienced workers significant leverage. But the more capable the technology becomes, the more important it may be for people to develop the judgement needed to decide what should be done in the first place. For Butler, that is where education may have to change. Students still need to understand their field. They still need to know when something is wrong. And they still need to be able to make the final decision. But if AI increasingly handles the bottom of the cognitive pyramid, the value of a worker may depend less on how quickly they can perform the grunt work and more on whether they understand what the work is supposed to accomplish. Don’t miss the next story that affects your community. Join thousands of readers getting The Pulse every morning—plus breaking news alerts when it matters most. If you value this kind of local journalism, consider supporting it. Subscribe, share and like! Subscribe Share
New Mexico group seeks to ban all corporate, ‘dark’ money spending on politics
The Money Out of Politics New Mexico group argues that states have authority to amend corporate charter powers to prohibit political spending.
How Optum, Owensboro Health teamed up to build a virtual nursing program
Kentucky-based Owensboro Health is teaming up with Optum Insight to pair bedside nurses with virtual nurses, freeing up frontline clinicians to dedicate more time to patient care. | Owensboro Health is teaming up with Optum Insight to pair bedside nurses with virtual nurses to free up frontline clinicians to dedicate more time to patient care.
FBI releases classified ‘Patel Report’ examining past failures at the bureau
The FBI has released a classified report to the workforce examining what it says are chapters from the bureau’s history when it "fell short." That's according to an internal message
Christopher Ward Brings Back a Modern Classic, with Serious Improvements
Christopher Ward reimagines its original jump-hour watch with a new limited edition featuring an elevated design and a more compact size.
UT's $25 million health AI project has big ambitions and unanswered questions
Experts say only a few university health systems have launched such comprehensive plans around AI, with the potential to impact millions of patients, students and faculty.
Miami Heat To Wear Grand Theft Auto VI-Inspired Uniforms For “A Night In Vice City”
The Heat have teamed up with Rockstar to promote the release of the highly anticipated game during their Nov. 18 matchup with the Milwaukee Bucks.
Patriots DC Zak Kuhr's initial thoughts on Josh Allen matchup
Defensive coordinator Zak Kuhr knows the Patriots face a tall challenge in slowing down Bills quarterback Josh Allen.