Belief in Science

Don’t take my word for it, but scientific method is sound

By: Judi Stuart

Port Discover: Visitor Services Manager

 

What is the truth?

Do you know it when you hear it?

Can you believe it when you see it? Does it even exist?

An ancient Greek philosopher, Diogenes, reputedly wandered the land carrying a lantern looking for a truly honest man. His quest was the beginning of cynicism.

A 2012 survey published by the National Science Foundation revealed that, “4-in-10 American adults doubt evolution, over half are confident that the Big Bang took place, just under 40 percent don’t believe that pollution is causing climate change, and 15 percent don’t believe in the safety of vaccines.”

Why do Americans sometimes reject scientific theories?

Perhaps people have become more cynical because they are bombarded with shocking news every day which is presented as factual. Last week there was news that the sweeteners made from stevia might have an organism that might be harmful to humans. There was no data, no studies that followed the correct protocol, and no information on who put forth the findings.

Science started out as stories which were told in an attempt to answer the question “why.” Much later, thinking became more sophisticated, and as observations became theories, testing, experimenting, and exploration followed.

Science gained respectability in some circles, but there have always been people who have fought new ideas. Fiction favorites like “Frankenstein,” “2001 A Space Odyssey,” and “The Andromeda Strain” suggested that science might one day take us a step too far.

Of course, there is what is known as “junk science” which is presented as authentic science. Usually, the information touted by those presenting these types of studies is not sound and has not adhered to the tried and true scientific method. Rejection of scientific findings can be based on religious, political or personal beliefs.

Students and parents both complain about the yearly school mandated science project which requires that students learn and follow the scientific method. However, knowledge of the process is a tool which can be valuable throughout the student’s life.

The steps of questioning, hypothesis, procedure, experimentation, data analysis, and conclusion are a sound method for analyzing many of life’s problems. The process is orderly and based on logical, time-tested reasoning.

How do we tell the difference between junk science and authentic science?

There are several questions to be considered:

• Is a reputable organization such as a university presenting the information?

• Who will benefit from the general public believing the conclusions?

• Who paid for the research?

• Was the scientific method followed?

• Were there sufficient trials to make the study valid?

• Were the groups being studied large enough?

• Are there words like might, possibly, and could in the presentation?

As consumers of information, we must be extremely critical of what is given to us. Junk science is often the type of science practiced when politics and business enter the picture. The result is that the facts desired by one group or another get emphasized over others.

Like Diogenes, we must seek the truth.

 

(Source: www.workforceinstitute.org)

Birds bring beauty and superstitions into our lives

Birds bring beauty and superstitions into our lives

By: Judi Stuart

Port Discover: Visitor Services Manager

 

One of the delights of retirement is that you have time to notice things in nature that escaped you when you were working.

We’ve been feeding two goose families that regularly visit our backyard and have made themselves quite at home. After their dinner, they just sit down in the grass, and the babies snuggle up under the mother’s wing for a rest.

Being a witness to nature is addictive, and it makes you think and then draw conclusions about what you observe. Sometimes, those conclusions can be more superstition than fact.

People have often viewed birds as messengers with news about future events, and they have tied their appearance to spiritual things. If a death occurred after seeing an owl during the daytime, people wondered. If it happened again, it became a superstition. No doubt you have heard several myths about birds that you might have repeated.

Author Samuel Taylor Coleridge wrote “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” in 1797. In the narrative poem, a haunted seafarer tells the tale of his horrifying experience on a doomed ship. It involves an albatross that is killed, thus bringing bad luck to the vessel and its crew.

Some people believe that albatrosses contain the souls of sailors and bring bad weather and high winds.

Legend tells of robins trying to remove the thorns from Christ’s crown at his crucifixion, and the result was that blood stained their breast red.

If you make a wish when you see the first robin in spring, you will have good luck. Something of yours will be broken, if you break a robin’s egg. You will marry a sailor if the first bird you see on Valentine’s Day is a robin.

Peacocks, though beautiful, are considered by some to bring bad luck because of the evil eye at tip of their feathers. In the theater world, costumes adorned with peacock feathers or set decoration including them are believed to bring bad luck to the production, so they are avoided.

Owls are well-known for their symbolism. Mythology claims that the hoot of an owl occurred before the deaths of Agrippa, Julius Caesar, and Augustus Caesar.

Screech owls supposedly bring bad news. An owl skin nailed to a barn wards off bad luck. Eating owl broth will help with whooping cough, and eating their eggs improves vision, epileptic seizures, and drunkenness.

Doves are viewed as spiritual in nature. Because they mate for life and carry the spirits of lovers, they are often released at weddings to ensure a long and faithful marriages. Old timers believe that the dove is the one bird that the devil cannot change into, and miners worry if they see doves at the opening of a mineshaft.

Chickens have many beliefs attached to them. Bringing eggs into the house after sunset causes bad luck, while a chicken entering a house means a visitor is coming.

All of these beliefs bring new meaning to the practice of bird watching.

Source: “Eerie Bird Superstitions,” by Emma Springfield, Nature Center Magazine. www.superstitionsof.com

 

New taste treat for all

Insects are a culinary delicacy around the world, but will we bite?

By: Judi Stuart

Port Discover: Visitor Services Manager

 

You will not believe this; I didn’t.  On Amazon, you can find new mealtime delights like Fluker’s Gourmet Canned Crickets, Ultimate Insect and Bug Candy, Larvets (BBQ), Edible Pupae, and Crickettes in sour cream and onion and bacon and cheese flavors.  They can be delivered right to your doorstep for your pleasure.

            Often, when I am enjoying a dinner of shrimp which is one of my favorite foods, Hubby says, “You know that you’re eating bugs.” Of course, he’s kidding, and he knows better, but they do resemble bugs so I always wonder a little.  Some people even refer to them as the “cockroaches of the sea.”

            People of western European decent who now inhabit places all over the earth are generally not too keen on eating bugs.  In Asia, China, Africa, South America, and many other areas, insects are a daily part of the diet and are often considered a delicacy.  Two billion people consume insects as part of their diets.

            Early Europeans were farmers who quickly recognized that insects were fierce enemies of the crops they tried to raise.  Killing the creatures was their goal, not eating them.  Our innate belief is that we should not eat anything that our mothers did not feed us.  To go against that belief is a giant leap for most people.

            Entomophagy is the practice of eating bugs for their nutritional value.  Insects are a readily available, natural source of carbohydrates, protein, fats, minerals, omega-3s, and vitamins.  As the world population approaches eight billion people, scientists say that there will be little choice but to use insects to stop starvation.

           The United Nations is promoting a campaign to make this cultural shift happen. The International Society of Sports Nutrition is enthusiastic about the use of insect protein products to enrich the food of athletes.  Bodybuilders are often on the leading edge of progressive nutritional trends, and if people see them consuming insect protein supplements, the tide might turn.

One way to assist people in rising above the disgust factor is to make them believe that the food has a high status by labeling it a delicacy and charging more for it.  Lobster was once plentiful along the eastern coast of the U.S. and Canada, but it was considered a poor man’s food.  Today lobsters are the most expensive item on the menu.

Pound for pound insects have a greater concentration of life sustaining protein and other nutrients than chicken, pork, or beef.  Insects also contain less saturated fat and their production is more environmentally friendly than other meats.

           What if you are stuck on an island and the only food includes bugs?  Which ones would you choose?  It is best to avoid the brightly colored ones, but there will be plenty to select from since there are fifteen orders of edible insects.  They include lice, grasshoppers, crickets, cicadas, bees, ants, flies, mosquitoes, dragonflies, and termites.

Get your frying pan out and give them a try!

(Source: www.theblaze.com)