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Lisa, I appreciate your response.
Perhaps you may be combining two ideas- that scientific theory is
authentic because it conforms to the facts and the social application of
knowledge scientists have established by presenting the theory, is
problematic. The time consuming simple process of systematically
accumulating raw data in a lab or in the field then combined and checked
with other scientists data in order to create a body of work that is tested
over a period of time is what is meant by "Facts". It is not subjective.
Richard Osborn
Project Manager/Designer
St.Louis Science Center
(314) 533 8923
mobile 660 2507
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Lisa Jo Rudy
<[log in to unmask]> To: [log in to unmask]
Sent by: Informal cc:
Science Education Subject: pure science.
Network
<[log in to unmask]
.LSOFT.COM>
03/28/05 04:03 PM
Please respond to
Informal Science
Education Network
ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related
institutions.
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What I find most difficult is the process of selecting the facts to which
one
should conform.
That is -- WHICH of several apparently conflicting "scientific research
projects" is truly factual? And -- if both are factual, which is ALSO
tainted in
some way by (a) faulty research protocol; (b) faulty premise; (c)
insufficient
numbers; (d) conflict of interest relative to funding... etc.? (or are
they
both actually tainted?)
"Pure Science" is so rarely pure, in that it so often is in service of
something, be it faith, funding, hope, military action, etc.
Is a "Star Wars" defence shield practical? Are vaccines responsible for
neurological injury? Can fetuses experience pain? Are men and women
neurologically distinct? Are different human races neurologically
distinct? These are
questions that, in theory, can be answered through "pure" science and
reason.
But frankly, it's hard to believe that ANY scientist can be so separate
from
the world that he/she could investigate these questions in a "pure" manner.
This, once again, is the basis for my belief that no human project can be
said to be absolutely objective. We start somewhere -- and the place where
we
begin is embedded in our time, place, culture, personal aspirations and
fears.
The fact that we are someone particular -- and that we are human -- MUST
have
an impact on our ability to test, conclude and reason.
And on the same hand, consider this. The tools we have available to us
radically change the way we perceive the world. Prior to the invention of
the
microscope, we had no notion of the universe of microscopic life. Prior to
the
invention of the prism, we saw light as wholly white. What new ways of
seeing
will we discover after the next significant breakthrough in scientific
"visioning" technology??
A scientific Theory is authentic because it conforms to the
facts.
Lisa Jo Rudy, Writer/Consultant
625 Chelten Hills Drive
Elkins Park, PA 19027
http://www.lisarudy.com/
215-635-9735
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