The BioLogos Forum: Steven Benner
Steven Benner is a Distinguished Fellow of the Foundation for Applied Molecular Evolution in Gainesville, FL. He received his doctorate in chemistry from Harvard University. Benner and his group of researchers initiated synthetic biology as a field and invented dynamic combinatorial chemistry, which is currently being used in pharmaceutical development.
Posts by Benner
The Dangers of Advocacy in Science
December 17, 2011
Non-scientists rarely see the kind of uncertainty that drives science forward. The high school science classroom and the distribution science course in college are the end of science education for most lay people. Introductory science courses at both levels are all about teaching fact under the authority of the teacher. A good grade is the desired outcome. Belief in the authority of the teacher is a key to a good grade.
Comments (17)
Challenge or Preserve the Paradigm?
December 10, 2011
Above all, we teach scientists to distrust all measurements, but to distrust most those that confirm what we want to believe. All experiments should be repeated to make certain that their results are reproducible, of course. But the experiments that are most in need of reproduction are those that produced data that support the proposition or theory that the student wants to support.
Comments (94)
Sociological Factors in Science
December 5, 2011
Science is set within a culture. Culture, defined broadly, is a collection of generally-accepted models describing reality (Thomas Kuhn used the word "paradigm"; others have called it a "received view"). Paradigms are so well accepted that members of a scientific community may not even think about them explicitly. Of course, a profound part of the culture underlying science is that something like a "reality" exists.
Comments (5)
Problems with Defining Science Using the Falsification Criterion
November 27, 2011
Unfortunately, things are not so simple in the real world of science. It turns out that whether or not an emerald is observed to be green depends on how it is observed, and who is doing the observing. For example, an emerald may be observed to fluoresce a red color when observed under ultraviolet light.
Comments (14)
Science is Empowering But Hard to Define
November 26, 2011
It is easy to be confused about what science is and what scientists do. In part, this is because scientists do so many different things in so many different ways. By way of illustration, I was a Junior Fellow in the Harvard Society of Fellows in the 1980s. I shared this pleasure with many other young scientists who were also launching their careers within the Society.
Comments (55)
Essays by Benner
What Scientists Do
April 2010
In this scholarly essay, Steve Benner, a Distinguished Fellow of The Foundation for Applied Molecular Evolution in Gainesville, Fla., looks at what the role of a scientist should be. Benner looks specifically at "falsifiability", the acceptance of uncertainty, and the place of the scientist in public discourse.