Science- a rant
Okay, but not what you think. Granted you have already seen the site title so that must have captivated you somehow. Either for good or for bad. But since this is my blog I’ll be screaming into the void about how science was and always will be a solution. Why? Because I can’t reasonably understand the nonsense that has crept into western culture about logical, empirical, and scientific thought.
What the actual fuck.
Granted I’m not even a scientist; in fact, I did terrible in those subjects in school. Physics was the worst. But I can’t even seem to understand why it’s become such a hot button issue. Maybe that because seven years ago I made the move from the US to Canada. Maybe it’s because Toronto is so diverse and has one of the best universities in the world that Canadian culture here seems to be much more reasonable.
But especially with the orange turd in the White House and his attacks on higher education (read more here) down south is really turning into a shit show. So much so that I’ve read multiple accounts of how different university professors are moving from the US to the University of Toronto. Hell even France is trying to woo academics. The Ais-Marseille University has had eight researchers join their institution because they feared funding cuts under the orange turd’s administration. France as a whole is pushing for a ‘scientific refugee’ status.
And here is the story about a Yale professor moving to the University of Toronto. Funny enough during my undergraduate degree at the Ohio State University, one of my professors studied at Yale and then ended up there in their NELC program. I kind of wanted to write to him to encourage him and his family to move to Toronto, but I never did.
I came to appreciate the scientific method and it’s relationship to reasoning when I was a bit older. As soon as I graduated from my first undergraduate I delved into reading and trying to understand the world around me. But what really keeps me returning back to it as a way to order my life is really how it makes me feel. Sounds silly but hear me out.
When you hear talking heads on any conservative news outlet or social media they have a particular way of conversing. The NYT did a break down of Charlie Kirk’s speaking methodology and I was so grateful to read it because whenever I listen to these people my body has a certain feeling, and it’s yucky. The way they communicate, the way they talk feel so bad, seems so suspicious, and generally leave me with such a bad taste in my mouth that I need to go gargle mouthwash.
Now compare their communication methods with my previously mentioned professor. That man could orate. But what’s more important is the feeling in my body whenever I listen to someone who knows their stuff and is highly educated in their field. They talk and convey meaning rationally. There’s no emotional manipulation. There’s no purposeful offense. Take even the former president Barak Obama. I could listen to him talk for the rest of my life. And it’s because he actually says things that people can understand. He speaks in a way that conveys information clearly, succinctly and with beautiful dictation.
So in conclusion, science is still the solution. Education, specialization, reason, and logic are important. Even more so now because they’re being attacked.