Science is depressing

etudiant · Wed Mar 17, 2010 6:48 pm

I find it interesting that not only does human behavior spread itself across a wide spectrum, but the spectrum itself can also shift dramatically depending on the contemporary paradigm.

Many young men signed up to fight in the First World War, one of the biggest bloodlettings in history. For the most part, I would wager that they were pretty average and representative of their time, with no more than the usual (very small) percentage of sociopaths or others from the tale end of the spectrum. And yet they did what would have been considered crimes in more normal circumstances, committing murder and mayhem.

They were supported, encouraged, even compelled to do these things. The rallying cry was freedom and defense of the empire at that time, although even then these rationalizations were a bit thin. So why did they do it? And can we judge them to be “bad”, or really can we judge them at all…

It can be amazing the lengths individuals will go to if certain factors are in place. If the currently accepted cultural belief system says something is a certain way, and the vast majority lean in that way, and if those close to us whose opinions we respect buy into the belief, and the state of science at the time tells us that this sort of belief is reasonable and rational, then may it surprising, certainly in retrospect, to see what comes out of this. When a system is set up that makes going against the grain very difficult, even dangerous; and going with it seeming, on the surface anyway, reasonable, then I think we have seen in the past that not too many will go against the grain. Even those in relative positions of power can be swept along. In this case, 20 million ended up dead because of the acceptance of great power politics and posturing.

Today we have the less dramatic example of the exploding real estate market. Some have pointed a finger at those that took on huge mortgage debt under foolish terms. But how much blame can we assign to them- if one has a family, owing a home is not all that optional in our system. Renting can be horrendously expense, and non-productive in the end. Many apartments will not accept families with young children, and financially, one is still loosing out. So it is the casino of the market, like it or not. This was another case where having a system in place that seems to leave few options, and that most believe in, and does have some reasonable aspects, gets the herd moving and makes it hard to buck the trend. Everyone trundled along, with a few misgivings no doubt, but how to back up when you are part of a wave that is hard to get off? Many bought Byzantine investment products like derivatives, including bundled mortgages, that were so complicated even investment bankers struggled with them. But it was the accepted wisdom at the time. In the recent case the wave didn’t keep rolling as expected, but crashed into the rocks, leaving quite a mess.

It’s even tougher to sort out who is right or wrong when a large proportion of the population veers to one side of the scale.

Iluvbookz13 · Wed Mar 24, 2010 8:11 pm


	KipperSnacks wrote: Any minute the world could come to an end. Any minute a meteorite could smash into the earth with the destructive power of a hammer to a babies head. Any minute the ocean could eat your city. Any minute a super volcano could fill the air with poison ash. Is is just me or is earth science depressing. I wish I could go back to being a kid when I didn't know the sun could burp and kill us all. All I ever hear any more is that we're all tippy toeing around in a Dragons den. Every show and article I read is about the end of the freaking world. The worst part is they're right, and there is no cure. It's like your doctor telling you your very sick then walking out of the room. The more we learn about the Earth and the universe the more it becomes clear that each day could end in a major bummer. I believe I've had enough, I'm going back to cartoons and girly magazines where I never have to think about the end of the world again. Talk to you later unless we're all on fire.

The thing is, your perception of science (likewise with religion) is what fuels your thoughts about it. Science is one of those things that goes both ways -- it's wonderous, awesome, and exciting; but it's also depressing, scary, and nerve-wracking. It just depends on how you want to think about it.

If you think about the many ways science makes the world go round, and what it is capable of accomplishing, your viewpoint on life will brighten and you will be much happier with how you live.

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