Talk for Senior 1 pupils at the Edinburgh Academy, 23 May 2019
Michela Massimi speaks to S1 pupils at the Edinburgh Academy about the interplay between philosophy and physics in Scottish history: from the problem of induction and Hume on causation to Maxwell’s use of models for his discoveries.
Shining a Light on Dark Matter
Michela Massimi joins Peter Higgs, Alex Murphy, John Peacock, and other Edinburgh Physics & Astronomy colleagues in the video, Shining a Light on Dark Matter. It was written and produced by the high-school student, Kristin Hopley (George Watson’s College) for the Nuffield Foundation. Watch the whole video at https://youtu.be/VwhdRge1BIg.
Summer School at George Heriot’s School for Primary 6 Children, 28-29 May & 6-7 June 2018
Evidence, disagreement and controversies in the history of electricity
Our ERC team is back at George Heriot’s, and this time we latched onto the science curriculum on electricity and introduced all Primary 6 classes to the history of the topic: from Galvani’s frogs, to Volta’s invention of the pile; from Faraday’s magnetic lines of force to Maxwell and J.J. Thomson’s work on cathode rays. Exciting philosophical discussions about evidence and disagreement in science followed from it.
The Philosophy of Science Association Conference (PSA2016), Atlanta, 4 November 2016
Our project will feature in the PSA16 in Atlanta in a dedicated poster session on teaching philosophy of science in schools.
Sixth Form Lecture at Loretto School, Musselburgh, 29 August 2016
Perspectival Realism in the Sciences and Humanities
Michela Massimi spoke to over 100 Sixth Form students at Loretto Senior School about the realism debate in Philosophy of Science and the importance of perspectival modelling in the sciences.
Summer Sch
ool at George Heriot’s School for Primary 7 children, Edinburgh, 2-6 May 2016
From traits to DNA. Models and perspectives on genetics
In this week-long summer school at George Heriot’s, we introduced five classes of P7 children to the topic of traits and inheritance in biology: from Mendel’s laws in classical genetics to the Watson–Crick model of the DNA in molecular genetics. Via hands-on activities, including building your own DNA model, we explored the importance of perspectival modelling in science and discussed its implications for current debates on anti-reductionism in science.
Please see our AV gallery for a selection of photographs from the week.