Our society has fallen for the myth that science is omnipotent.   We tend to believe anything that is “scientific”.    In school we were taught that anything scientific is right and not to be questioned.

Since science gets top billing in our academic world, then scientists must naturally be the all-knowing purveyors of truth.  After all, they simply report the facts, right?

In the realm of human experience facts are very important.   For facts are the basis of knowledge.    But more important than facts and knowledge is understanding.   It is more important to be able to understand facts and properly interpret those facts and place them in the proper perspective than to possess facts alone.   For example, if in the process of working with a saw if you were to observe the fact that blood is dripping from your hand that fact would be very important.   But understanding that your hand is wounded and that you need to stop the bleeding is just as, if not more, important than the fact that blood is gushing from your hand.

But above understanding is a higher order of human cerebral function and that is wisdom.   Knowing facts, knowledge and understanding is very important.  In our sawing accident above it would be wise to stop the bleeding, find your severed finger in the sawdust, make your way to the hospital and seek the proper medical attention to save your life and maybe even your finger.

Should we trust science?   Absolutely.  To a point.

All humans approach life with a bias.   Everyone of us has it.   My bias is that of a business owner, father, construction general contractor, wrestling coach, author, speaker, hunter, skier, climber, coal miner, farmer, horseman and steel building designer.  I believe in self-reliance, personal responsibility, and toughness.   I am sick of arrogance, irresponsibility, greed, and oppression in our culture.   Therefore, my bias is toward truth, personal responsibility, hard work, adventure, lifelong learning, challenge, and growth.

What about scientists?  What if a scientist has a bias toward a political agenda that wants to control other people.  What if one scientist sees an air sample and concludes the sky is falling while another sees the same exact sample and says it is normal?   What is one scientist sees a sample of Anarctic ice and concludes the earth is melting while the next scientist sees the same sample and concludes the earth’s temperatures are within their normal range?  Who are we to believe?   Whose opinions and recommendations do we follow?

How about common sense?

Look around you.   Observe your environment.    Don’t be duped by the unfounded biases of those who want to manipulate you.

For instance, if you have been told the earth is warming and will cause melting at the polar ice caps and the oceans will rise and flood low lying lands, look around you.    Have you heard any mention of rising sea levels?   Have the seasons been warmer or colder in your area?    Have you observed any changes in the world around you?   

Because when you are told that Global Warming is coming but you observe the coldest winters in decades, do you become suspicious.  When the purveyors of Global Warming suddenly change the name of their cataclysmic event to Climate Change, do you become suspicious?   When you observe snow drifts that survive the summer heat for the first time in decades, do you become suspicious that the Global Warmers might be interpreting scientific data wrongly?

The need for common sense is real.  The need for healthy skepticism is in order.  Just because a story  is in print, on the radio, on the TV or on the internet does not make it factual, understandable or wise.    A published story simply means a person is expressing their interpretation of an event or a situation.   S/he is expressing that interpretation from the bias they carry in life.

Filed under: Real Men Don't Talk Trash by tim