When I was a kid, I loved Ms. Frizzle, oh heck, I still love her… I mean, I practically became her…red hair, crazy science earrings, constant quest to prove that science is fun in the face of all adversity.
Though, there is one notable difference between me and Ms. Frizzle…she is magic…my science and I sadly, are not.
However, in this most joyful year of 2020, I think my fellow
people of earth have forgotten this small fact.
Constantly, on the news, social media, or in casual conversation the
word “science” is proclaimed as if it were an omniscient being, that will give
us all of the answers should we only kneel before it and beg. If this is you, then you my dear, need Jesus,
not science. Being intimately acquainted
with both, I feel entirely confident in my ability to recommend one over the
other.
Science does not hold the answer and deliver it at the
moment we ask, it does not solve our deepest problems with magic, or tell us only
what we want to hear. Science is a
process by which we discover the truth about the world around us. Did you hear that…I’ll say it again just in
case…science is a process. Like all good processes, there is a method...The Scientific Method. I went through
this last winter with my 7 and 5 year old nephews, so I am confident you can
handle it.
The Scientific Method consists of:
-
Asking a question – Important here, the question
must be as simple as possible, provable by some sort of experiment where you
can control the environment, reproduce your evidence, and over time hopefully find
the answer to your question.
-
Forming a hypothesis – An educated guess about
what you think the answer to your question will be and no, contrary to what you
may have learned in 2020, this will often not match your conclusion (more on
this important detail below).
-
Designing an experiment – At this stage you design
a way to test your hypothesis, making sure the steps are as simple as possible,
controlling for as much variability as you can, and that you can repeat them.
-
Performing the experiment – Ideally, you run your
experiment many, many times. Keeping
excellent notes, running statistical analysis, modifying your experiment as
necessary and ALWAYS making sure that your data is reproducible.
-
Drawing a conclusion – Again, this may or MAY
NOT match your hypothesis. You must
always allow the data uncovered to lead you to the truth, whether or not you
like, or wish to believe this truth.
This process takes time, lots and lots of time, the bigger
the question and the less that is known on the subject, the more time it
takes. However, we already know a fair amount
about a lot of things, so we can also draw on historical knowledge to help us
form our hypotheses and draw conclusions from our data. But remember, EVEN THE HYPOTHESES OF
SCIENTISTS ARE NOT ALWAYS CORRECT. We MUST
always go through the process in an objective way.
I have remained, relatively quiet on the topic of the
pandemic lately,, not because I don’t have opinions…I most definitely do. I have stayed quiet because frankly, the
whisper of common sense I could offer, felt like a mouse going over Niagara Falls
on a leaf…no way is he making it out alive.
So, I have watched, and read, and contemplated, and cried, and become
completely enraged at the total bastardization of my one true love…science. So, let me clear some things up for those of
you new to this relationship.
Science Does NOT:
-
Care about your opinion – Whether you believe COVID-19
to be a group hallucination or the absolute WORST disease in the history of the
planet. Science does not care. The process will give you data and that data
(if reviewed objectively) will give you the truth, whether or not that truth
hurts your preconceived notions of reality.
-
Fear argument or questions – Science is
objective, it does not have a dog in the fight.
It wants only information and truth.
You think the outcome of a particular experiment is wrong GREAT! Design a new one, ask the question in a
different way, gather more data, find more truth.
-
Settle – There is not phrase that makes my blood
boil faster than, ”The science is settled.”
Science does not settle, it will always seek more information, data,
questioning. This is not to say that
there are not facts and truths we have already discovered, but science isn’t
afraid of your skepticism. You think
there is something new to discover about gravity…fantastic Isaac Newton, have
at it…see process detailed above.
-
Have emotion – Science is cold and unfeeling. It does not base it’s conclusion on what
makes the population feel safer, or what we really need to hear. If you want something to make you feel secure
in a messed up world I suggest the Bible, a cup of hot tea, and a weighted blanket.
-
Change its mind on a whim – As I noted before the
process of science takes time, in this time it will produce data, data can be
complied for analysis, and that analysis can lead us to a conclusion. This conclusion will not then change because
it is unpopular. Science is not Glinda…it’s
definitely Elphaba and couldn’t care less about the wizard. Analysis can be open to interpretation, so
you may have two people who can look at the same data and draw different
conclusions. Conclusion drawing is sometimes
the artsy part of science, so beware the over confident conclusion and if the
data doesn’t give you a clear conclusion…yep you guessed it, more questions and
back to the process.
-
Have a political party – The last point I will make
here is really the most crucial for 2020.
There is not a “political party of science.” Science doesn’t give a crap who you want to
be the president, or what you feel is the best structure for government. It will continue to chug through its process
of questions being asked, data being gathered, and conclusions being drawn as
if you and your opinion are meaningless…I know….rude.
In conclusion, science is a process by which we can find
truths, it is not a god. It is a tool in
our tool box we can use to understand and explore the world. Please, stop worshiping at the altar of science,
she can’t handle the pressure to know everything right now….it’s not her
process…
