Some of the loudest Proponents of Science — an identity moreso than a descriptor — are scientifically illiterate. If you say stuff like "there's a consensus in the field" or "this has been established for 50 years," and can't go any deeper than that, you're just chanting doctrine
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The subtext is often something like "I'm smart enough to leave the science to the professionals" — this is *not* pro-science, it's pro-institution. At the population level, I suspect it hinders progress as or more effectively than many flavors of religious fervor
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In a pro-science society, we'd all be able to participate in the human project — a landscaper notes a yet-undescribed interaction between warring ant colonies, a housekeeper notices a new trend in urban mold. We'd not pride ourselves on accepting our own cognitive impoverishment.
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Consider for a moment that a housekeeper may have 20+ years of experience, 40-80 hours/week, learning the regional ins-and-outs of locating mold, removing it via a variety of physical + chemical agents, anticipating regrowth, etc. How many mold researchers consult w housekeepers?
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For your consideration: Lyme disease. Here's the Wikipedia-level explanation of the history of the discovery of Lyme in Old Lyme, CT: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyme_disease …pic.twitter.com/4nwCub1jJi
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...and here's the beginning of the story, wiped entirely or reduced to a one-liner or footnote in most popular summaries: https://www.ozy.com/flashback/solving-the-mystery-of-lyme-disease/82008 …pic.twitter.com/6JEVs8m04d
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End of conversation
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It’s pretty interesting to know the problems, often because one must know many solutions in order to outline a problem properly. Would like to see a better version of this but it’s still good. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lists_of_unsolved_problems …
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“The men in white coats don't own the nature of the universe.”
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Honey one question
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