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El día del escepticismo científico, la alquimia y la Química moderna.
Hoy 20 de diciembre de 2010 se conmemora el decimocuarto aniversario del fallecimiento de Carl Sagan. Por este motivo, desde el año pasado se celebra el Día del Escepticismo y Contra el Avance de las Pseudociencias, al que numerosos blogs del mundo nos vamos a adherir. Es una buena oportunidad para denunciar el auge que ciertas «prácticas» están alcanzando entre la población.
Los científicos tenemos que decir basta ya de parasicologías, pulseras milagrosas, homeopatías, quiromancia, astrología, ufología, numerología, grafología, etc… En España, el asunto está tomando una deriva peligrosa cunado observamos que las universidades públicas están permitiendo, e incluso financiando, actividades relacionadas con la pseudociencia.
El debate científco sólo se puede seguir con las reglas del Método Científico. Es muy importante que los científicos nos tomemos este asunto en serio y que seamos capaces de transmitir a la sociedad, datos y opiniones contrastadas científicamente. Una de nuestras obligaciones es contribuir a aumentar la Cultura Científica del ciudadano, para que este pueda tomar decisiones y opinar con base científica sobre cuestiones que afectan a nuestar vida.
El origen de la química fue la alquimia. Aunque los alquimistas realizaron numerosos experimentos que pudieron ser útiles en ciertos aspectos de la Química (especialmente relacionados con técnicas experimentales), la influencia de la alquimia en el desarrollo científico de la Química fue nefasto, pues la impidió alcanzar una madurez científica durante siglos (a diferencia de lo que ocurrió con la Física). Hoy en día, ningún científico serío realizaría experimentos alquimistas, aunque nos lo quieran «vender» como algo científico, como ha ocurrido con el reciente artículo en PÚBLICO sobre el «Newton alquimista» (algo ya conocido hace muchísimos años, auque intentado ocultar por dignidad y respeto hacia el personaje).
La unidad de materia en Química es la molécula. Puesto que la molécula es muy pequeña, se usa el concepto de mol (un Número de Avogadro de partículas, el Número de Avogadro es aproximadamente 602.200.000.000.000.000.000.000, ¡un número de 24 cifras!). Esta cantidad (o sus múltiplos o divisores) se usa para expresar cantidades de manera científica en Química. Si se especifica el número de moles en un determinado volumen o peso de un medio, se está hablando de concentración, otro concepto fundamental en la Ciencia de la Química. El uso de estos conceptos tiene valor comparativo entre las sustancias químicas presentes en un medio o sistema. El empleo de cualquier otra magnitud no tiene sentido en Química y sólo sirve para crear confusión o un titular en los medios de comunicación. Por eso, noticias como «El río Ebro carga con 620 kilos de cocaína y 430 kilos de otras sustancias» o «El aire de Barcelona y de Madrid contiene varias drogas en suspensión y, entre ellas, destaca la cocaína«, dónde no se especifica la concentración (por cierto, del orden de 0’0000000000001 molar, ¡casi cero!) no tienen ningún valor científico.
Direcciones de interés sobre escepticos científicos:
Sociedad para el Avance del Pensamiento Crítico
Bernardo Herradón
IQOG-CSIC

Generally I bookmark sparingly to avoid building up a bookmark graveyard but this one earned a permanent slot, and a stop at progressmoveswithdesign extended that permanence designation, the few sites I keep permanent bookmarks for are sites I expect to use repeatedly and this one has clearly cleared that expectation bar today.
Coming back to this one, definitely, and a quick visit to focuscreatesdirection only made me more sure of that, the kind of writing that makes you want to set aside time later rather than rushing through it now while distracted by everything else competing for attention on the screen today across so many tabs.
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Quietly the post solved something I had been turning over without quite knowing how to phrase the question, and a look at growthoriented extended that quiet solving, content that addresses unformulated needs is content with reader insight and this site has demonstrated that insight at a high rate across the pieces I have read recently.
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Liked that the post resisted a sales pitch ending, and a stop at businesssynergyhub maintained the no pitch approach, content that ends without trying to convert me into a customer or subscriber is content that has confidence in its own value and this site is clearly playing the long game on reader trust.
Solid value for anyone willing to read carefully, and a look at claritystarter extends that value across the rest of the site, this is the kind of place that rewards return visits rather than offering everything in a single splashy post and then leaving readers nothing to come back for later which is unfortunately common.
Reading this with a fresh mind in the morning brought out details I might have missed in the afternoon, and a stop at momentumtrack earned the same fresh attention, content that rewards being read at full attention rather than at energy lows is content with real density and this site has that density consistently.
Now thinking about how to apply some of this to a project I have been planning, and a look at ideatoimpact added more material for the planning, content that connects to my actual creative work rather than just being interesting in the abstract is the kind that earns priority placement in my reading rotation consistently going forward.
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Started reading skeptically because the headline seemed overconfident, and the post earned the headline by the end, and a look at trustedpartnerhub continued that pattern of earning its claims, sites that can back up their headlines without overpromising are rare and this one has clearly developed editorial calibration on that front consistently.
Closed the laptop after this and let the ideas settle for a few hours, and a stop at trustedvaluepartners similarly rewarded reflective time, content that benefits from sitting with rather than racing past is the kind I want more of and the kind that this site appears to consistently produce week after week here.
Approaching this site through a casual link click and being surprised by what I found, and a look at directionalshiftlab extended the surprise, the rare experience of stumbling into excellent independent content rather than predictable mediocrity is one of the actual remaining pleasures of casual web browsing and this site provided it cleanly.
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Speaking carefully because I do not want to overstate things this site is genuinely above average across multiple measurements, and a stop at claritysetsdirection continued the above average performance, the calibration of judgement against potential overstatement is something I take seriously and this site clears the higher bar even after that calibration applies.
Worth marking this site as one to come back to deliberately rather than by accident, and a stop at actionbuildsforwardpath reinforced that intention, the difference between sites I find again by chance and sites I return to on purpose is meaningful and this one has clearly moved into the deliberate return category for me.
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Now sitting back and recognising that this was a small but real win in my reading day, and a stop at strategylogic extended that quiet win, the cumulative effect of small reading wins versus the cumulative effect of small reading losses is real over time and this site is contributing to the wins side of that ledger.
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More original than the recycled takes I keep finding on the topic elsewhere, and a quick look at strategicgrowthbond confirmed it, the kind of site that has its own voice rather than echoing whatever is trending which makes it stand out as a refreshing change from the usual rotation of generic content I see daily.
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Following a few of the internal links revealed more posts of similar quality, and a stop at unitedcapitalbond added more to that growing pile, sites where internal links lead to more good content rather than to more of the same recycled material are sites with depth and this one has clearly built that depth carefully.
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This actually answered the question I had been searching for, and after I checked signalpowersgrowth I had a few more pieces I had not realised I needed, that is the sign of a site that knows what its readers want before they even know how to ask it which is impressive.
Vague feelings of recognition kept surfacing as I read because the writing names things I have been thinking, and a look at progressactivator produced more of those recognition moments, content that gives shape to private intuitions is content that makes me feel less alone in my own thinking and this site has that effect.