Back from Vienna

The ISHPSSB meetings in Vienna were a resounding success. The program was rich and varied, and the facilities were excellent. We met on the campus of the old University in downtown Vienna. The campus is a series of courtyards, each enclosed by classroom buildings. The largest courtyard contains several restaurants serving beer and pretty good meals, as well as a small supermarket. The setting thus perfectly encouraged the milling conversation which has worked so well in the past.

Our local host was the Konrad Lorenz Institute in suburban Altenberg. Gerd Müller (Chair), Werner Callebaut (Scientific Manager), Astrid Juette (Executive Manager) and the staff of the Institute did an outstanding job of making the meeting exceptionally pleasant and effective.

All in all, it's clear that both the Society and the research area are strong and getting stronger, with new members, new ideas, and new procedures all promising.

Comments

[James Griesemer]

Elihu,

I agree entirely with your assessment of ISHPSSB. Two comments, one about ISHPSSB and one about your entry.

It seems to me that in recent years, the non-US meetings have been the really great ones. What accounts for that?

Second, I have been thinking about a virtual museum of science studies for some time and it strikes me that blogs are a useful tool for this project. One important question for a science studies museum, indeed THE question, is: what is a specimen? I'm intrigued that your blog format suggests that a blog entry might constitute a specimen-sized text: not as big as a research paper, but rather a coherent memo-sized item that may serve as a node in a web of research. What do you think?

[EMG]

Well, it's clear why the two European meetings (1995 and 2003) have been great; there are two reasons. First, beer. European beers are more varied than American ones, and some of them are a lot stronger. This seems to improve the quality of information flow no end.

The second reason in Werner Callebaut, who did an eye-popping amount of hard work for both meetings (Astrid J. and the KLI staff with him, for Vienna), and this made all the difference.

As for your point about specimen-sized texts-- yes. I've been listening to you. This is something like an experiment along those lines. I'm thinking about this, and I'll eventually post something.