You Can't Argue With Science

So on Saturday, I am sitting at a popular family restaurant for lunch really enjoying time with my wife and little guys. These are those rare occasions when I am not thinking, but rather just living in the moment. (For all of us out there who spend our lives contemplating, allow me to add that we should have more “just living”, and “enjoying” moments.) Anyways, I was suddenly snatched from my solace when I heard one of those phrases. You know what I am talking about, one of those phrases that sounds like someone taking their fingernails and scratching them across a chalkboard. A waiter was passing our table talking to another waiter and I heard him say, “You can’t argue with science.”

Really? Science is the absolute that can never be questioned?

I’ll bet there are many astronauts that are very glad Galileo went against the “science” of his day, established by Aristotle, and decided that the earth does in fact revolve around the sun and not vice versa. Otherwise, wouldn't they be floating around in space somewhere right now?

There are people all over the world who are enjoying a warm room to sleep in because of a nuclear power plant providing their abode with the energy necessary to create warmth. This is no thanks to engineer Paul Weyland who called Einstein’s theory of relativity nothing more than “scientific dada”.* How dare Einstein go out on a limb and argue with established science!

Isn’t the fundamental nature of science the fact that it begs the question, “How does it work?” and then doesn’t rely on preconceived theories, scientific or otherwise to answer that question? Science asks a legitimate question, and then sets about in an empirical way to answer that question. The question is always allowed to be asked and tested again, and again, and again, until it becomes a law, and even then it can be tested again it’s just that once it's a law you will know the outcome.

If great science is to continue and even greater discoveries and advances are to be made, then we must end the popular notion that science cannot be questioned. This notion is dangerous, because it will cause scientific stagnation.

One way to end this notion would be for non-scientist like Al Gore (for whom I do actually appreciate his work on a few environmental fronts) to quit saying there is no longer any scientific debate on global warming. Well, obviously there is still debate or we wouldn’t be having the discussion.

Science can and should be questioned. Questioning it will produce better and more accurate science.


*Bolles, Edmund Blaire. Einstein Defiant. Washington: Joseph Henry Press , 2004. 70.

No Handouts, No Bailouts, No Shortcuts.

He was born of an interracial couple in an unfortunate time of American history when such relationships were frowned upon. As a result he would experience the scathing sting of racism throughout various encounters in his life. His parents were divorced when he was two, and because of this he would never get to know his father. Eventually, it would be his grandmother who would bare the largest responsibility for his upbringing.

He went to two different colleges to achieve an undergraduate degree, and from there decided not to use that education to supply himself with a good salary, but rather went to work in the rough part of town in order to help the struggling lives of others. He saw that this work wouldn't be enough to make the difference, and so he went back to school to achieve a law degree hoping that by eventually achieving political power he could better shape the lives of those he had seen suffer.

Achieving political power is exactly what he did. First in a State House, then as a U.S. Senator, and on January 20, 2009 we saw Barack Obama elected as the 44th President of the United States.

It may sound like I am a fan, and to a certain degree I must admit that I am. I am a fan of anyone who can face the tough blows that life throws their direction, and keep on keeping on. I am a fan of anyone who makes mistakes like experimenting with drugs yet overcomes that to achieve something. I am a fan of one who works hard and makes the grades to be accepted to Harvard Law School (any higher education for that matter), and is also able to complete the degree they set out to accomplish. And most of all I am a fan of anyone who desires to make a difference by serving their fellow man, and those less fortunate among us.

However, I only wish he would expect the same hard work and sacrifice of others that he himself put in to get to where he is today. No handouts, no bailouts, no shortcuts. Be honest with those who find themselves in dire straits, either of their own making or just unfortunate circumstance. He should look them in the eye and say, "I know what it's like. I've been there. If you work hard and sacrifice your dreams too can come true, like mine have. Keep on keeping on, and I will leave you alone to achieve."

Oh well, I guess it's easier to get votes by telling people, "Relax, everything is going to be fine. Big Brother is here now."

Whatever Happened to Common Sense?

"SOME writers have so confounded society with government, as to leave little or no distinction between them; whereas they are not only different, but have different origins. Society is produced by our wants, and government by our wickedness; the former promotes our happiness POSITIVELY by uniting our affections, the latter NEGATIVELY by restraining our vices. The one encourages intercourse, the other creates distinctions. The first is a patron, the last a punisher.

Society in every state is a blessing, but Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state an intolerable one: for when we suffer, or are exposed to the same miseries BY A GOVERNMENT, which we might expect in a country WITHOUT GOVERNMENT, our calamity is heightened by reflecting that we furnish the means by which we suffer."

These were a few of the words penned by Thomas Paine that were influential in assisting the average citizen of the early American colonies to understand the reality that government had intruded much to deeply into their lives.

In a world of government bailouts, stimulus packages designed to concentrate power into an elite few, and a growing belief among the general populace that "big brother" can keep us safe, maybe it's time to listen to some voices of our past that spoke Common Sense.