IF MAN WAS MEANT TO FLY…
I sometimes wonder what determines how we pick and choose what science to believe. We have all heard the expression “If man was meant to fly, god would have given him wings”. Even the most fervent believers in spiritual beings have accepted flying in airplanes is not an affront to anyone’s deity – right? OK, almost everyone has accepted flying. Pretty sure even the flat earth proponents recognize a five hour flight, is preferable to months or years slogging across an entire continent on foot. I purposely left out cars, trains, buses, and wagons because, after all, if man were meant to roll, god would have given him wheels. Should also probably include horses since if man were meant to ride… Anyway, avoidance of change is a fairly well documented human trait, as is our tendency to take a path of least resistance. These traits often conflict and, for the futures sake, each of us must weigh whether to take the easier route versus facing an often more daunting, challenging course of change.
To those of us who have grown up with the many examples of science we now accept as “good” such as medicines, electricity and modern modes of transportation, it seems almost comical that people once feared these now common parts of our lives when they were first introduced. However, fear gave way to acceptance when life became so much easier with electricity providing life-changing inventions making modern life possible. The same can be said of medicine and our means of transportation. When science makes life better and easier, change eventually becomes the path of least resistance and prevails over fears. Basically, we choose to accept science mostly when it’s convenient.
When it comes to fossil fuels, I’m certain people in the future will look back at our society and wonder why we didn’t convert to solar and other renewable forms of energy more rapidly when we realized the negative impacts on the planet and ourselves. We accept the science that brings us cars and medicine while choosing to ignore science that may cause uncomfortable change. The comparing of ice core samples with the trapped gases from millions of years in the past to recent samples and documenting the changes occurring in the last century is fairly basic science. In spite of what you may have heard, there is almost complete agreement among scientists about humanity’s part in contributing to global warming. I hope by now most people have seen the ground-breaking, award-winning documentary “AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH” and realize this 2006 film was trying to educate us to this reality. Of course, I have yet to watch the 2017 sequel but plan to… when it’s convenient.
I guess it’s shouldn’t be surprising basic human tendencies apply to our acceptance of scientific tenets. Probably not helpful that science is not static. Sometimes accepted theories from previous decades are ridiculed later (sorry flat-earthers) as research uncovers new information. The evolving change can fuel the mistrust of science and make it easier for those seeking specific agendas to use false information to counter real science. We should realize things are probably true when certain companies resort to hiding their own scientific studies, present only hand-picked portions of scientific information or pay researchers who call themselves scientists to do studies supporting predetermined outcomes to protect their profits. Some companies just plain lie.
It’s a complicated mix of the basic fears of things new and those voices telling us to just stay put – there’s no need to change. With some effort and with an open mind, we can figure out what is real, but oftentimes there is a price to the truth. Many aren’t willing to pay this price. A famous author, Upton Sinclair said, “It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends upon his not understanding it.” Also, a lot depends on if we think about things as long term propositions versus short-term.
It seems to me, god did give us wings, wheels, (and horses) as well as medicines, etc., by giving us an ever-evolving brain. We just need to use this gift for the good of humanity. In essence, “MAN WAS MEANT TO FLY, SO GOD GAVE HIM BRAINS”.
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