Comments on Arthur Compton's Role as a Public Scientist

[swamidass (S. Joshua Swamidass)]

Continuing the discussion from Ted Davis: Arthur Compton's Role as a Public Scientist:

@swamidass

On August 12-13, @TedDavis will be holding office hours on Arthur Compton, who was:

1. Nobel prize winner in physics (@physicists).
2. Chancellor of my home institution, Washington University in St Louis.
3. A Christian involved in the public dialogue.
4. Deeply committed to opposing anti-Semitism and anti-Catholicism in the post war period.

Compton at is best, is the best of the WUSTL legacy, and it also is the legacy that PS is aspiring to follow. I may never get a Nobel prize or be chancellor, but scientists have a role in society, to serve the common good.

For this conversation, I recommend participants read at least one of the three following articles. Looking forward to seeing the conversation unfold.

Looking forward to the conversation. It can begin here unofficially.

[dga471 (Daniel)]

@TedDavis

OK, here we are after a couple of days of “office hours,” and no one other than Joshua has said anything/asked anything about the articles that we were supposed to be discussing. I won’t respond to additional comments by anyone, unless they are directly related to the articles. That was the basis of my agreeing to do this…

Sorry about this. I’ve been really busy with research these two days. (It would have been easier if the office hours were held over the weekend.) I have just read the three articles, but need some time to digest. Certainly there are a lot of interesting questions now swirling in my head, e.g. about Compton’s skeptical stance on miracles despite his steadfastness in believing in teleology in nature and personal immortality.