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Ignorance is bliss, and why that's bad


Officer1473

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"All science would be superfluous if the outward appearance and the essence of things coincided directly." - Karl Marx (Thanks Vladimir)

Sometimes, our worldview is challenged by a field in science. Science would be so much easier if it matched our preconceived notions of how the world works. However, as we have observed in our history, what we see is not always all that is to be seen. The easiest way to fix that problem is to just flat out ignore it.

We humans are a superstitious bunch, and not without purpose. Our ability to learn from others, including those that were our ancestors, is but one way we have separated ourselves from our relatives. However, when what we have learned is challenged, we tend to deny the new information is valid. We prefer to cling to what we know.

I read recently about a study that was conducted which provided two groups with information regarding homosexuality. One group received positive information which supported homosexual marriage, the other negative information. Each group had to use the information to develop their arguments for a debate. After the debate, the two groups were asked to find issues with each argument. Those who reported that they supported homosexual marriage outside of this study found faults in the argument that attacked it, and vice versa. However, they each missed similar faults in their own arguments. Cognitive Dissonance is powerful. Its brother, Confirmation Bias, is the topic of later discussion.

So much of science challenges personal experiences and superstitions with objective observations that many prefer science to be incorrect. They may even give excuses, such as "they were wrong before", "they are wrong now", "it's only a theory", or "there is no definitive proof". This is not the fault of science, but of ourselves.

This is not to say that we should all accept anything scientists say. Each and every study should be challenged. To do so is good for science. To flat out deny a study (or worse, a field) without understanding the concepts behind it is not only wrong, but not at all helpful. Especially when the only reason to do so is that it challenges how we see our world.

Science grows and evolves because we are always learning new things. We must all grow with it, or be left behind with our heads in the ground.

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