Just wanted to say a few quick things about Haag’s theorem, now that Marian (Gilton), David (Freeborn), and I have finished our first paper on it (hopefully! it was conditionally accepted prior to this most recent revision). 1 I’ve heard quite a few folks react to our interest in Haag’s theorem as an instance of…
All posts by Chris Mitsch
About Chris Mitsch
Chris studies the history and philosophy of science and mathematics. He is currently translating several works by Hilbert, Nordheim, and von Neumann as part of a project on the philosophy of mathematics that informed early quantum mechanics formalisms. He is also interested in: historical method and how this should inform general philosophy of science; the cognitive foundations of mathematics; and the construction of identity in (especially American) politics. Chris posts under the banner "Method Matters".
The Book Report Problem
Posted on Author Chris MitschPosted in Authors' corners, Method Matters, Philosophy of ScienceLeave a Reply
I’m currently sick and having trouble thinking through actual work, so instead I’m going to scratch an itch I’ve had for a while now. Many philosophers of science take close engagement with the relevant science to be necessary to their work. But, what does (should) this engagement look like? I’m going to sneak up…
Announcing the PSA DEI Caucus Affinity Group for Philosophy of Physics
The purpose of this post is to provide some information about a group I started early this year, dedicated to DEI in philosophy of physics, as part of the Philosophy of Science Association’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Caucus (formerly the Women’s Caucus). So far, the group has existed in name only, so you’ve not missed…
A quick heads up about spam email
I am currently trapped under two cats–hence unable to move for the foreseeable future–so why not write a quick blog post on something annoying about academia? Get ready for the spam email. Doubly so if you are in philosophy of physics. I get (almost) daily spam messages, now that I have publications. These come in…
Habit-forming in early career
It has become increasingly clear to me that I developed some bad habits in graduate school. These come in many forms, but a lot of those I’m noticing now relate to work-life balance. I was struggling with undiagnosed ADHD, so your mileage may vary here. But that said, I think this is a fairly common…
How we give feedback
Recently I’ve been thinking about giving feedback, partly spurred by Kino’s post. I’ve spent a lot of my time over the years thinking (and reading) about what feedback should do and should look like, as well as what it (typically) does do and does look like. This is for a lot of reasons: my own…
Inexpert Reactions: “American Nations” and Insurrection
Hey, it’s been a while! Now that I’ve defended my dissertation and gotten through most of this year’s job applications, I figured I’d dip my toes back into blogging with some book “reviews.” (Like Kino–in fact, inspired by Kino–I listen to a lot of audiobooks when I’m not working, so I “read” a lot.) Note…
Professionalism in Philosophy: Writing
I’ve not enjoyed substantial parts of my time as a graduate student, and I’ve finally decided to openly discuss it. These will all be posted under the title “Professionalism in Philosophy.” This first post is about writing evaluation. In particular, I’ll talk about writing instruction, including soliciting and understanding feedback as well as coursework-style instruction.…
Course Idea: Historical Method in Philosophy and Science
I think a lot about how and why philosophers of science do historical research. I am working on a series of papers about the relationship between the hows and whys of a particular kind of philosopher of science–those who want (something like) a theory of scientific methodology so as to guide to contemporary practice. However, this…
Multi-Disciplinary Mindset and Cross-Disciplinary Claiming
I’ve been doing a bad job posting regularly. Part of this is due, I think, to expecting too much of my blog posts, so to counteract this I will be writing only short posts for a while (<300 words). I’ve been reading a lot about interdisciplinarity recently, which has forced me to think more carefully…