Five Out of Four Scientists Agree

April 22, 2017 was the March for Science.

(A side note that has nothing to do with the topic: Why do we use Month/Day/Year to express the date? It is different in other parts of the world. In the military it was Day/Month/Year. But none of those make a lick of sense to me. Ever try sorting anything by date? Why not go from the broadest to the finest construct? You wouldn’t go Minutes/Hours/Seconds would you? When I need to label something with a date, like in my journal for instance, I use Year/Month/Day.)

I’ve written my fair share of articles concerning science. I’m not anti-science, but I’m not an all-in advocate either. The reason for that is that the term “science” is used in such a broad manner, that to simply say, “Yay science!” can be considered a bit naive.

(Thus my oh-so-clever title.)

I didn’t participate in the march. I find those types of events to have very little impact overall. Mostly they are used to make ourselves feel good. If that is the impact you are looking for, then go get some comfortable shoes and get out there.

(To clarify, most marches TODAY have very little impact. Gone are the days of Martin Luther King where marches had impact. Today they are mostly anti-Trump speech.)

Most marches (I didn’t say “all marches”) are for some type of protest. To say you are marching FOR science means you are marching AGAINST the lack of funding or education, or AGAINST those who don’t agree with your particular scientific “bent”.

What I want to know is, why were you marching? What kind of science were you marching “for”?

Do you agree with advertising? Do you like being manipulated in subtle ways to purchase the latest gadget? Did you like then-candidate Trump spouting off on Twitter to get people riled up? No? Then you don’t agree with the science of psychology, because it is precisely that type of science that provides the basis for human understanding that allows such manipulation.

Or do you agree with “clean energy”? You like that birds are being killed by wind turbines? Or that the global temperature is going up in part by the reflective heat from solar panels that are OVER 60% INEFFICIENT? Or that whole towns that depend on mining coal are becoming ghost towns?

The thing is, we have this overly high opinion of ourselves that says we are SO much more intelligent than those who came before. You know, we aren’t idiots like those so-called scientists in the past that said that machines heavier than air cannot fly, or that if you traveled over 50 miles an hour you would suffocate, or that eggs are good for you (Or is it bad for you? I forget. It keeps changing.)

Remember that complete moron who only changed the way we looked at psychology? You remember: Sigmund Freud? No one would dare follow his scientific discoveries today.

But not all science is bad. It's just that much of it is financially or politically (or am I being redundant?) motivated.

So again, I ask you: when you March for Science, exactly for WHAT are you marching?

© Emittravel 2017