- Arne Mortensen
A Whale Story
This is a nice article; it should be fun to read. It did cause me, as many article do, to wonder about the world I see. I see a holistic world where people typically see special cases. By exploiting "special cases" we get worked into cures of non-problems and more; this goes to our serious detriment.
All too often we hear that science is settled, when it is "settled," at best, in a limited circumstance of facts and assumptions and mistakes.
Some observations and explanations have rigor that have withstood many tests over time... only to be discovered to be part of the answer. Newtonian mechanics works pretty well for most of us, but where would we be without those pursuing quantum mechanics?
My point is to remind all of us that the value of science is the agnostic search of truth/facts. Any unexplained observation is a clue that the facts are not yet known, so the science cannot be settled.
Today we are destroying humanity in a variety of ways by the involvement of politics with science. We repeat the mistakes of the Spanish Inquisition, with, of course, more sophistication than burning at the stake. But, like with Torquemada, the purpose of those in power is to keep and grow power.
The climate crisis as well as the Covid crisis are in the forefront of using "science" for political purposes. Can you imagine a sane world in which Greta would get any attention?
The only reason we advanced past the dogma of the times was because we could not hold back the Age of Reason. The only reason most of us are alive today is because the US founders fostered the search for answers; they did this very simply: They honored privacy and individuality.
Unless we figure out how to return humanity its unique values of individuality and responsibility, we are doomed to ever growing misery and destruction. (Of course, along the way we will do what we have been taught to do: Blame the other guy.)
Is it too late to fix this? It is up to you.
================= ACM