Coronavirus news is dominating our mental and physical airwaves – I for one have eyes glued to virologists’ Twitter feeds and am constantly refreshing the Seattle Times daily updates. Scrolling through tweets the other night (I have self-diagnosed “Scrolliosis”), I saw a fascinating exchange in the comments. My favorite computational biologist, since that’s a thing Read More…
Category: Science, Technology, and Society Studies
Examining the Intrinsic and Instrumental Value of Personal Genetic Data
“If there was an architect going through the neighborhood and they were drawing plans, I want a copy of the plans of my house…I am not going to build a house, I just want it.” The above quote is from a focus group participant in a research study conducted by some of my colleagues at the University Read More…
Do We Exist Outside of Our Data Flows?
In the opening scenes of Peter Pan, Peter has been separated from his shadow, and he breaks into the Darlings’ house in his efforts to get it back. Wendy is awoken by the sound of the chase and finds Peter, having gotten hold of his shadow, trying to reattach it with a bar of soap. Read More…
Science: Not as Smooth as Its Seams
I was recently introduced to the term “seamful design” which, in contrast to “seamless design,” refers to a way of making things that doesn’t cover up all the messy inner workings — doesn’t remove all signs of the makers and their processes. A seamful design is one that may be more transparent, perhaps making the Read More…
The Myth of “Raw” Data
Previously I wrote about the allure of big data. Now I turn to the question of “raw” data. Is there such a thing or is it a myth, an oxymoron — like “jumbo shrimp” or “just one episode on Netflix”? Why do we cling to this notion of raw data if it doesn’t exist? I recently read “Raw Read More…