A walk into a century ago might shed some light. A review of Eugenics and the Firewall:
The pop science media today strenuously market the idea that “science” is threatened by “anti-science.”
But “science” has a restricted meaning in the view of many journalists. It means, for example, the truth of human-caused global warming, the necessity of human embryonic stem cell research, and the view that human mind is indistinguishable from the chimpanzee mind. “Anti-science” means, by contrast, doubt about human influence on global warming compared with the Sun’s cycles, confidence that adult stem cells (especially the patient’s own cells) work well, and doubt that chimpanzees really think like people.
Something is obviously wrong with the pop picture. For one thing, real sciences don’t work that way. In real science, reasoned doubt is always legitimate. Even in mathematics. Yes, even in mathematics. Recently a mathematician offered evidence that the natural numbers were inconsistent. He turned out to be mistaken, but no one blamed him for wondering. Physics has been convulsed recently as well, by neutrinos that apparently move faster than light, which is generally held to be impossible. That may turn out to be a mistake too, but reporting the data was okay. Because, contrary to the pop science media, real science happens when evidence matters.
To see how that works, let’s take a quick walk by one popular science certainty from a century ago. In the early 1900s, when Einstein and Bohr were reshaping physics, their work wasn’t considered nearly as important as this incontrovertible truth: The wrong people were having all the children.
More.
Looking for a place to feel inspired and challenged? Like to share a smile or a laugh? Interested in becoming more familiar with Canadian writers who have a Christian worldview? We are writers who live in different parts of Canada, see life from a variety of perspectives, and write in a number of genres. We share the goal of wanting to entertain and inspire you to be all you can be with God's help.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Popular Posts
-
Our coordinator suggested that in our April posts on this blog site we might “write a post about who we are and what we write. . . . [and w... -
Write Canada is more than a professional networking conference. It’s a safe place where beginning and intermediate writers can learn ...
-
I've been writing professionally for most of my adult life. My first novel, THE JOSIAH FILES was published twenty years ago by Thom... -
A few people have been talking about what they took home from this year’s Write! Canada conference this year. ( E.g. Janet Sketchley's... -
To what would we have turned in our low times had David had not written about his experiences? When he was down, David created songs ... -
For years I’ve begged my husband to bring me mustard seeds, eager to lay eyes on the tiniest Black mustard seeds grown in Canada seeds ... -
By Linda Hall I write by hand. I have the dubious distinction of having written twenty books in twenty years all by hand. I get big pil... -
by Linda Hall If you haven't seen the “Which Downton Abbey Character Are You?” quiz, you soon will. It’s all over Facebook. Being a... -
I am always amused when I hear people say, “Oh, I’d like to write a book someday,” as if writing a book is something they can just decide t... -
When I slump in my chair and search for a television show conducive to relaxing, one that doesn’t leave my soul disturbed or my mind burde...
1 comment:
Enlightening and thought-provoking, Denyse.
"... contrary to the pop science media, real science happens when evidence matters" -- I like that!
For some, that's an "inconvenient truth"!
Post a Comment