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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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