The Problem of the Earth's Figure and the Logic of Measurement in Modern Geoscience
- π€ Speaker: Miguel Ohnesorge, History and Philosophy of Science
- π Date & Time: Thursday 10 March 2022, 13:00 - 14:00
- π Venue: King Richard Room, Darwin College
Abstract
Understanding the inferential structure and justification of scientific measurements is a crucial problem for scientists and philosophers of science alike. However, the classical views that have informed philosophical theories of measurement and various attempts to establish new quantitative measures are almost exclusively based on case studies from experimental physics or behavioural science. My work aims to enrich our understanding about the aims and justification of measurement by focussing on the some central problems in the history of physical geoscience, where measured system are significantly more complex and it is virtually impossible to shield measurements from confounding perturbations. In this talk, I present some of my results based on a study of measures of the earthβs polar flattening in 18th and 19th century physical geodesy.
Series This talk is part of the Darwin College Science Seminars series.
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Thursday 10 March 2022, 13:00-14:00