To show scientific information flow between disciplines, Columbia University’s W. Bradford Paley and colleagues categorized about 800,000 papers into almost 800 areas based on citations of each in other papers. They produced a map of nodes in which node size is proportional to citation frequency and color distinguishes between 23 broader areas of scientific inquiry, from mental health to fluid mechanics.
A write-up outlining the details appeared on the Discover Magazine site recently and the number 1 section heading announced that “Social Scientists Don’t Do Chemistry”. Presumably, the reverse is also true as the relationships between disciplines are mutual in Paley’s map. So, what I’d like to know is aren’t there examples of social scientists studying the impact of chemistry on our lives, perhaps touching on chemophobia and other phenomena and what about those chemists who take a philosophical view of their science considering its wider sociological implications in their work. If you have any examples or thoughts on this please leave a comment.