終於翻看了早應該完成的“Practicing interdisciplinarity", 老早就發現自己想的這個題材沒有甚麼價值。現今的人文題材就離不開話語和歷史，因為除了這兩個大範疇比較值得關注外，其他的甚麼sociology of scientific knowledge, organizational research 說穿了都是權力的建構。Klein的文章很概括地總結了和interdisciplinarity相關的研究和措辭，其中Bechtel1986年關於Biochemistry的個案對我有直接幫助, Weingart 更明確地指向interdisciplinarity的話語層面。加上disunity of science一書上對heterogeneity 和 differences 的總結，我對自己的研究仍是有信心，只是我明白我的想法和思路早已有人想過，我只是跟著別人的步法走。

今天還收到舊時城大的IS學生的來信，問我關於申請Youde fellowship的經驗。這讓我想起很多人還是很羨慕我的留學生活的。珍惜和把握是這個時代流行的話語吧。

開學的第一天，早上為了趕坐同房的順風車，不惜8點鐘起床（昨晚看紅樓夢至凌晨2：30，終於把第三部看完）。下午2點才有課。整個早上我做了：

• 在Journal of East Asian Science, Technology and Society(EASTS) 最新一期找到一篇有關19世紀European naturalists 和Indo-European indigenous people 的文化交匯和indigenous herbal medicine產生的文章。看了摘要，簡介和結論，挺有趣的描述，發了給Ann。
• 在FB 更新了 "我正在閱讀的書目", 並提交了紅樓夢的書評，Qin 和Robin馬上留言。
• 看了 John Anner "Beyond Identity Politics: Emerging Civil Movements in the US"的第一章，進而查看最近一期的Signs，全是有關reproductive technology的。我更必要速度這幾篇文章，為了自己claim to feminist expertise 也好，為了在Shannon 或外行人面前拋拋書包也好。但是我更有興趣的是Leslie McCall 的 the complexity of intersectionality, 2005 發表於Signs, 是近年在Signs最經常被引用的文章。看了一半左右，一開始覺得對攢寫這個學期的論文（尤其是feminist theories 的課）很有幫助，但是看下去就覺得一點為了爭論而爭論。怎樣也好，Signs的文章，又是高度被引用的，先看完再說。
• 有點不想去修Biophysics的課。不想騙自己，科學的知識的確需要累積的，而自己的底子＋興趣都不怎樣。連寫個minor field summary都沒法合理地去說服自己為甚麼要去選這些課。是純粹為了做STIR的項目和攢寫民族志嗎？那麼應該看Latour 和 Traweek的example和不斷地寫就夠，為甚麼要……

算了，先去上課再說。

利物浦遊記

早上10時左右到達利物浦John Lennon機場，在機場的ATM取英鎊不需手續費，兌換率也很合理，機場人員還很友善指點巴士站的位置，並對我說5－10分鐘便會有巴士，等了好一陣子，其他乘客都上車了，我還在等。其實我沒有介意，就這樣感受一下英倫的味道也是很自在的。當我等的那一路巴士接近時，那個叔叔還特地過來跟我說今天這路巴士比平時來得遲，讓我久候了。殷勤的態度 讓人感到很溫暖。雖然是初次踏足這片土地，卻有似曾相識的感覺。在候車時，我問身後的兩位英國帥哥車費多少，我本來是打算向他們找零錢，沒想到其中一位帥哥毫不猶疑地掏出£1.6，接著一聲“Welcome to England!" 上車後我才知道原來在英國是可以跟司機找續的（香港和美國都不容許）。也就是說，那兩位英國帥哥早知道我是可以用紙幣的，他們根本沒有必要特地掏£1.6給我。微薄的禮讓洋溢著一份對外國人的友善和好客，和我在荷蘭的經歷大相徑庭。

Liverpool是一個寧靜的小城。從機場到青年旅館的路上都是一幢幢樓高兩三層的房子，車子整齊地在兩邊平排並列。我下榻的Nightingale旅館離市中心很近，放下行李後往市中心購物曲出發，途經China Town，但是在正午12點鐘，China Town所有的店鋪大門都緊緊關上，怎麼回事？路人說這裡的店晚上一般營業至凌晨，所以開店時間也相對較晚。繼續徒步上路，意外發現一家小書店，在書店的 “bargain” 角落如穫珍寶，很多經典的讀物只售£1。Marx's Captial, Nietzsche‘s Beyond Good and Evil, The Symposium, Bertrand Russel's What I believe！心存感激。老闆娘也很友善，明天一定會再拜訪，記下書店名字。再往前走是市中心的大型購物區，很多店鋪打折至少50％。由於我的傷風還未完全痊愈，加入北歐的天氣會更清涼，我打算買一件較厚的外套甚麼的，本以為買不著了，卻幸運地在H&M找到一件特價的風衣，£15，款式也很好，就算在香港也絕對不祇這個價。太陽眼鏡只售£2.59！後來我買了一份小禮物給Maj，在Marks & Spencer買兩件衣服給家人，滿載而歸！

今晚就不出去了，先做些research，計劃一下明天的行程。又或是看剛剛的戰利品，又或翻閱書籍，又或準備ppt，又或寫報告。

Sokal and alternative therapies

cross-posted at http://alternative.asu.edu/

The infamous physicist Alan Sokal, who gained a “reputation” in SSK and STS by his critical parody “Transgressing the boundaries: the Hermeneutics of Quantum Physics” published in Social Text in 1996, recently launched another round of assault to what he called “pseudo-medicine” in his public lecture “What is science and why should we care?” given on February 27 2008 in London (podcast available from the Guardian)

His talk commenced with his discontent and fury with the school of “social construction of science/ scientific knowledge/ scientific facts” by quoting excepts from notable scholars in SSK and STS such as HM Collins, B. Latour, B. Barnes, D. Bloor, K. Hayles and demonstrate how their writings on “social construction of science” constitute a hazardous move toward intellectual relativism and vanity. Then he traversed to what he conceptualized as a “second set of adversaries of the scientific worldview”, namely the advocates of pseudo-medicine. By “pseudo”, he meant the sloppy and unscientific mechanism by which alternative therapies such as homeopathy can function within the existing knowledge system in science.
According to Sokal, the utter scientific implausibility of homeopathy lies at its “unproven (or disproven) mechanism by which homeopathy could possibly work, unless one rejects everything that we have learned over the last 200 years about physics and chemistry….” and that “existence of such a phenomenon would contradict well-tested science, in this case the statistical mechanics of fluids”.

In short, Sokal is angry about the sum of money spent on promoting homeopathy because he saw homeopathy as antagonistic to “credible” methodology in Western science. Since western science is the canonical archetype among the existing knowledge systems, everything against it is relegated as “bad science”.

What is the other side of the story? According to some defenders of homeopathy, the preference for homeopathy stems partly from the recognition of impossibility of separating such an ever-changing body from its environment–health is affected by diet, water, air, mood, stress, relationships, the past, colors, work, and so on. Often, people turn to alternative medicine to address these concerns. Emily Martin elaborated on the interconnection between (internal) immune system and (external) environment:

“Inside the citadel of science, there is a group of scientists who are focusing on the links between the immune system and the world outside the body. much as alternative medicine treats the body in its life environment. They are claiming that the immune system is a self-organizing network, a complex system of the sort Vera Michaels evoked, But today these scientists are considered ‘unconventional’ and their views controversial….” (Anthropology and the Cultural Study of Science: From Citadels to String Figures 1997: 139)

Alright, enough of the acrimonious dispute. Now is there any way to reconcile the dichotomous views? If we believed in Sokal’s criticism on the deconstructive (and thus destructive) signpost the school of “social construction of science” is taking us to, how can we be more constructive? Apparently some people believe in homeopathy and some people don’t. But is it simply a matter of faith? What is at stake here? Power asymmetry? Credibility & authority? Misconception? Disciplinary and institutional barriers?

Are sarcasm and parody and mutual hatred the best way to handle the dispute?

咳嗽好多了，現在輪到鼻子不舒服了。呼吸時覺得有甚麼頂著的，吃了藥又很想睡…我剛起床沒多久呢。

我要快點好起來！

此刻在心裡迴盪著的Small happiness可不是因為早上的presentation 。雖然今天是我第一次在一群科學家面前作報告，我也為此準備了很久，而且效果也不錯。可是也沒有甚麼因此而值得高興的地方。

做完報告後我到學校的診所看病，不用擔心，不是H1N1，只是輕微的傷風，那個醫生也很隨意地給我一個“cold pack“，就是那種在超市藥房能買到的成藥，還好價格比外面低廉。省下來的錢馬上就被圖書館吃掉了。我是知道有一本書昨天是recall的due date，但是昨天是Memorial Day，是全國假期，圖書館沒開門，怎麼還啊？那個圖書館員說可以放在外面的還書箱內，假期照樣有人處理。我還是不相信，美國人是辦事效率差勁的一個國家。放在還書箱要是弄丟了，誰負責呢？誰能證明我真的有把書放進去呢？現在我居然需要為此罰款10美元！才一本書，過期一天而已！讓我知道是誰recall這本書的話……

小開心的原因是在圖書館找到老殘遊記和紅樓夢的英譯版。The Travels of Lao T'san 是1952Harold Shadick的譯本；紅樓夢是嶺南年代眾人推崇的David Hawkes的譯本。那種感覺真是如獲至寶。聽著 “情書”的主題曲，手邊拿著老殘遊記，就這樣，已經很滿足；雖然被不公平地罰款10美元，雖然搬家的事還未告一段落，雖然仍然不時隱約咳嗽。然而此時此刻在我眼前，只有悠揚的音樂和優美的文學作品，夫復何求？

Jane Maienschein's video lecture

Jane Maienschein's lecture on transplanational stem cell research and translation issues. She is such a good public speaker. Dig in!