Science is never settled, as History demonstrates time and again, and that is the glory of Science.
Quotes Suitable For Framing: Will Durant
- Donald R. McClarey
Donald R. McClarey
Cradle Catholic. Active in the pro-life movement since 1973. Father of three, one in Heaven, and happily married for 43 years. Small town lawyer and amateur historian. Former president of the board of directors of the local crisis pregnancy center for a decade.
The James Webb Space Telescope as exhibit A.
https://www.space.com/james-webb-space-telescope-imax-documentary-earth-day
What’s equally amazing to me is the expanse of one’s own soul once it is found in God.
As science has to change the current thinking of the size of the universe, due to Webb, man “wants” to change his current thinking regarding his relationship with his neighbors, acquaintances and family once his vision beholds the reality of God in a concrete way, gifted not earned. Supernatural intersects with natural and like the big-bang, a universe is created. The creation now beholds the universe and it’s wonders, but only a minute portion, and is ever joyful at the coming reunion when creation see his creator as He is.
This is a science that is truly above all others.
The science of Love.
What we teach students about science is all wrong. Instead of balancing chemical equations, doing pulley problems, students who don’t intend to be scientists or engineers should study the history of science and learn how theories 1) require empirical confirmation and 2) are superseded by other theories that explain new data or resolve paradoxes (e.g. the UV catastrophe and Planck’s invention of the quantum of energy).
One of my favorite quips about Science comes from Dr. David Berlinski (The Dawkins Delusion). First, he outlines the “scientific method” (I’m paraphrasing):
Then he adds, “All of these statements are meaningless.” He says that he basically follows this exact “method” when evaluating a putt in golf.
He’s provocative but very amusing.
Bob-
I agree with you entirely, in principle., except for the pulley problem aspect.
I think the third leg of your otherwise admirable science curriculum for those not headed for that career should be practical science – use of pulleys, understanding heat gain and loss, entropy, optics, electricity, garden biology. There should be an understanding of basic scientific applications which will be part of their lives.
Perhaps that would be covered in your history of science, though. Or, perhaps I just find pulleys too interesting to be cut from the program. 😀
@Bruised Optimist: I didn’t mean to denigrate such, and I think a course in thermo (I invented one at SUNY/AB) unifying science would be valuable for non-scientists. But we have to get the masses used to the principle that science is fallible.
Bob:
Conant tried to introduce such a course at Harvard (for non-majors) in the late 1940s, but it never took. The American Chemical Society has developed high school and community college programs of the same type. The problem is that the grant-chasing profs have no interest in programs that don’t generate grad students. As a former high-school teacher, I can tell you that the parents don’t want anything that isn’t “college prep” (even if their kid isn’t).
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Bob K, I think we need both. When I was in Traffic Engineering, I would sometimes wish that all students would have the truth of f=ma thoroughly drilled into them. It would have made aspects of my work much easier, and would reduce the workload on emergency rooms.
Forgot to add that I also strongly encourage introducing children to the older Coyote/Roadrunner educational films at an early age. The physics is actually pretty good.