What Science Guide Those Who Love Hatehb: What Is Science? a Guide for Those Who Love It, Hate It, or Fear It

https://www.worldscientific.com/worldscibooks/10.1142/12055 What is Science? A Guide for Those Who Love It, Hate It, or Fear It, provides the reader with ways science has been done through discovery, exploration, experimentation and other reason-based approaches. It discusses the basic and applied sciences, the reasons why some people hate science, especially its rejection of the supernatural, and others who fear it for human applications leading to environmental degradation, climate change, nuclear war, and other outcomes of sciences applied to society. The author uses anecdotes from interviews and associations with many scientists he has encountered in his career to illustrate these features of science and their personalities and habits of thinking or work. He also explores the culture wars of science and the humanities, values involved in doing science and applying science, the need for preventing unexpected outcomes of applied science, and the ways our world view changes through the insights of science. This book will provide teachers lots of material for discussion about science and its significance in our lives. It will also be helpful for those starting out their interest in science to know the worst and best features of science as they develop their careers. Contents Preface 1 Science as Exploration Carl Linnaeus and the Lapland Voyages Charles De La Condamine Explores the Amazon Alexander Humboldt and The Cosmos Charles Darwin and the Voyage of the Beagle Darwin’s Evolutionary Theories Led to Controversy Our Knowledge of Space and its Components Relies on Exploration Exploration was the Basis for Anatomy 2 Science as Discovery Classical Genetics was Dependent on Discovering New Mutations Discoveries Lead to Theories Francis Bacon Stressed Induction as Essential for Science Mendel Inferred his Laws of Transmission From Years of Growing Peas We do not Know How Insight or Induction Arises Some Scientists Attributed Insight to their Dreams 3 Science as Invention Model Building and Science Every Scientist is Influenced by the Teachings or Habits of Other Scientists A Mathematician’s Insight Into Population Genetics 4 Science as Scholarship Why Scientists Read Journals Scientists Vary in Their Interests Outside of Science The Importance of Narrative in Discussing Science Some Scientists Prefer to Write Books 5 Science as Experimentation Demonstrating the Germ Theory is a Classic Example of Experimentation Experimental Results Often Require Statistical Analysis Not all Findings in an Experiment can be Interpreted at the Same Time Chemicals Differ from X-Rays in How They Produce Mutations Each Experiment has the Potential to Stimulate New Experiments Money and Talent do not Always Produce Positive Results Experimental Embryology has its Origins in Nineteenth Century Germany T. H. Morgan Shifts from Embryology to Genetics and Launches a New Field Mouse Embryos Provided Insights into the Process of Organ Formation The Findings of Experimental Embryology Lead to Challenges in Philosophy and Theology 6 Science as Theory Theoretical Biology is Less Common than Theoretical Physics Some Scientists are Good at Both Theory and Experimentation Some Scientists Extract More Insights From Their Data Than Do Others Experiments Frequently Modify or Lead to New Theories Theory and Experimentation are Both Necessary in the Sciences Scientific Revolutions have Different Ways of Arising 7 Science as Technology How Galileo Changed Science Using a Telescope Invention Requires Imagination for New Uses Hooke’s Microscope Opens up a New World of Life Ideas and Theories Evolve in Science Scientific Progress Follows an Erratic Path Stain Technology Developed in the Mid Nineteenth Century Sometimes Luck Enables a Science to Advance Laboratory Work Leads to the Invention of Tools to Make Work Easier or Possible 8 Science and Values Devices Designed for Military Use are not Value Neutral Scientists May not Foresee Possible Bad Outcomes from Their Work Both Utilitarian and Universal Values are Used by Scientists Radiation Protection is Inherently Controversial Muller’s Radiation Experiments Extended the Controversy on Radiation Protection Distinguishing Risks from High and Low Doses is Sometimes Ignored by the Public Is Basic Science Inherently Value Neutral? Recombinant DNA Technology Began with a Self-policing Approach Higher Values are Invoked by Scientists Whose Work Might Lead to Bad Outcomes Is Human Cloning a Red Herring? 9 Science and Fraud Scientists Often Believe that Science is a Self-correcting Enterprise The Fate Awaiting Frauds in Science Applying Today’s Standards to the Past May Tarnish Scientists Who had No Fraudulent Intent Are Other Scientists’ Ideas Fair Game if Not Yet Published? What Gets Left Out in Scientific Papers Scientific Behavior Can Range from Helpfulto Harmful 10 Science and Reality Scientists Reject the Idea that the Reality They Depict is Constructed Rather than Described The Genetics Obtained by Breeding Corresponds to the Genetics by Molecular Analysis Why Paradigm Shifts are Rare in the Life Sciences There are Differences in the Way Social Sciences and Physical Sciences Approach Objectivity Scientists Feel More Comfortable with Popper’s Idea Of Falsification Scientists Prefer Objectivity to Truth When Describing Their Findings Diversity in the Life Sciences Makes Universal Claims Unlikely 11 Science and Industry University Science Leads to Tenure and a Long Commitment to Research Secrecy is Incompatible With Basic Science Many Scientists are Motivated to do Science for the Public Good Support for Science Influences the Kind of Science That can be Done Scientists Must Balance Their Values and Their Opportunities to do Science 12 Science and Personality How Morgan’s Student, Muller, Differed in his Scientific Career Max Delbrück Preferred a Guru’s Role in Science Rudeness as a Lecture Style is Awkward and Breeds an Ill Reputation James Watson Enjoys Using Barbed Comments Graciousness Characterized Linus Pauling’s Relations with Students and Colleagues Barbara McClintock had a Reserved Personality Some Scientists Have a Nasty Personality Ed Lewis was a Warm and Caring Scientist The Independence of Science from the Personality of Scientists in Making Contributions 13 Science and Politics Research on the Nature-Nurture Controversy is Difficult to do Without Any Bias Scientists are Divided on the Reliability of Behavioral Studies Implying Innate Differences Governments Sometimes Use Science to Justify Bias or Ideology The Lysenko Controversy Demonstrated the Vulnerability of Science to Government Policy Cold War Pessimism Misled or Intimidated Scientific Studies How Nationalism can Shift Interpretations of Science Science Denial can Eclipse Evidence and Reason Science can Sometimes Flourish Under Despotic Governments 14 Science and the Arts and Humanities Interests in Science and the Humanities Vary Across Individuals C. P. Snow Drew International Attention to the Culture Wars Many Novels do an Excellent Job of Assimilating Science Does the Spread of Science Lead to a Bland Universe? 15 Science and the Social Disciplines Social Scientists see Science as a Construction of Reality Some Scientists Deserve Recognition as Heroic Figures Scientists Can Also be Villains in Their Applications of Science to Society Why do Scientific Experts Sometimes Disagree on Controversial Issues? The Limits of Our Assumptions About How Science Should Work Science is Limited in What it Can Predict Is it Fair to Describe Social Science as Dominated by the “Academic Left”? 16 Science and the Supernatural Claims of Supernatural Phenomena Lack Scientific Support At Best Science and Religion Try to Practice Tolerance Few Today Would Accept a Platonist’s View of Reality Creationists Claim to Follow the Procedures of Science but Courts Have Held Otherwise Galileo’s Trial for Heresy Soured Scientists on the Authority of Religion Science Weakens Belief in the Supernatural The Life Sciences are Often Targeted for Injections of the Supernatural Reductionism Usually Prevails Over Vitalist Interpretations of Life Science Changes the Worldviews of Civilization Through its Rejection of the Supernatural 17 The Pleasure of Science Scientists Must Read a Lot to Keep Up With Their Fields Scientists Sometimes Play to Refocus Their Minds Scientists Take Pleasure in Discovery Because it is Rare Scientific Meetings Lead to the Stimulus of New Ideas and Findings Each Field of Science has its Own Writing Style Scientists are Most Often Rewarded by the Satisfaction of the Work They do Fame is Rare and Usually Does Not Endure Scientists do not Always Appreciate the Need to Communicate Science to the Public Scientific Findings Often Evoke Wonder and Awe 18 The Curiosity of Science Why Scientists Should Focus on a Small Segment of the Universe Scientists Seek the Significance of the Work They Do Most Scientists Live by Ethical and Moral Standards Religious Morals Vary From one Religion to Another Scientists are Governed by Restraints on Their Imaginations Abuses of Science are Still Possible Despite Moral Restraints Sometimes Secrecy is Invoked to Prevent Embarrassment to Governments Scientists Seek Opportunities for Unrestrained Curiosity Da Vinci’s Notebooks Reveal his Remarkable Curiosity 19 The Vulnerability of Science Some Fear Science as a Personal Threat to Their Religious Beliefs Some Fear Science as Eroding Their Children’s Faiths Some Hate Science Because it Challenges Their Biases Science Challenges Pseudoscience and Speaks out Against it Some People Prefer Illusions to Reality It is not Easy for Scientists to Function when the State Imposes Ideological Restraints Numerous Groups or Causes Seek Scientific Support and Sensitivity to Their Needs Science is Sometimes Used to Bolster Questionable Claims Scientists Reject Constructivist Views of Reality as Non-scientific The Role of Science in Military Development Remains Controversial 20 The Complexity of Science Complex Science is Associated with Increased Numbers of Variables Designing Experiments for Complex Science is Difficult or Impossible Agent Orange Effects Remain Difficult to Assess Mid-course Corrections Solved Some Complexity Problems for Space Science 21 What is Science? The Major Branches of Science are Like Continents The Methodologies of Science Differ Science Depends on its Integrity Science Believes it is Describing Nature Science Rejects and Excludes the Supernatural from Science Science Often Must Work with Incomplete Understanding or Insufficient Data Science Provides Excitement and Pleasure Science Relies on Speculation and Inference 22 How to Live in a Science Saturated World Concerns About the Bad Outcomes of Sciences Religion and Science Have Many Conflicts Reproduction and Religion are Sometimes at Odds The Insecurity of Faith in the Presence of Science References to Works Cited About the Author Index "What is Science? A Guide for Those Who Love It, Hate It, or Fear It, provides the reader with ways science has been done through discovery, exploration, experimentation and other reason-based approaches. It discusses the basic and applied sciences, the reasons why some people hate science, especially its rejection of the supernatural, and others who fear it for human applications leading to environmental degradation, climate change, nuclear war, and other outcomes of sciences applied to society. The author uses anecdotes from interviews and associations with many scientists he has encountered in his career to illustrate these features of science and their personalities and habits of thinking or work. He also explores the culture wars of science and the humanities, values involved in doing science and applying science, the need for preventing unexpected outcomes of applied science, and the ways our world view changes through the insights of science. This book will provide teachers lots of material for discussion about science and its significance in our lives. It will also be helpful for those starting out their interest in science to know the worst and best features of science as they develop their careers"--Publisher's website