Presidents of research universities in the US discussed the findings of a PEW survey that showed that almost 60% of Republican supporters and 20% of Democrat supporters do not believe that science has positive effects on society and even see scientific research as a negative factor, something that is already beginning to show its signs in Trump's first budget proposal. Science in Israel is also expected to be harmed both directly and indirectly due to the growing anti-scientific atmosphere
in the US media A report was recently published Meeting of the Science and Technology Committee of the Congress responsible for the NASA budget. During the question and answer phase, Congressman Dana Rohrabacher - a Republican from California, who was elected to his position for 14 consecutive terms and even served as chairman of the Science and Technology Committee of the House of Representatives - addressed a YouTube video that he claims proves the existence of ancient civilizations on Mars, which NASA is hiding.
This is a humorous video apparently released by "Anonymous" but apparently the honorable member of Congress has no sense of humor
"Mars looked different a few thousand years ago. Is it possible that there was a civilization on Mars thousands of years ago?
A scientist from NASA's Mars 2020 project, Kenneth Fairley, volunteered to answer: "The evidence suggests that Mars was different billions of years ago, not thousands of years." The congressman apparently didn't listen to the NASA presentation half an hour earlier in which it was explicitly stated that Mars had rivers, lakes and hot springs - but at most there was a life form at the level of bacteria."
This could have been a funny anecdote, but unfortunately it represents a common mindset among large sections of the American public.
The public prefers to be ignorant
At the beginning of July, twelve presidents and vice presidents for research of leading US universities met in Washington as part of the "Coalition for Science" and the Association of American Universities and discussed the impact of the Trump administration's changes in scientific priorities, and in particular in the field of earth sciences, but beyond that it turns out that there is a very disturbing and fundamental problem More.
Recently, a PEW survey was conducted in the USA which examined, among other things, the question of what effect scientific research has on society - positive or negative. Among those who identified themselves as supporters of the Republican Party - 58% believe that the scientific research taking place in universities has a negative effect on the direction in which American society is moving. Only 19% of Democratic Party supporters gave a similar answer (this is also not good, because any figure greater than zero is worrisome). The problem - the Republican party holds the presidency, it has a majority in both houses of Congress and also a majority among the governors of the states in the USA.
Apart from the immediate threats of the Trump administration - on research budgets (and as I recall, a significant percentage of the research done in Israel also relies on American research budgets), and the attempt to privatize - as if companies could run huge scientific projects - the fact that the establishment of a particle accelerator like Saran a decade before in Texas was canceled And no company volunteered to do it instead of the state. And this requires American scientists to come to Europe. The phenomenon is repeating itself now when the French president-elect Emmanuel Macron appeared in a moving speech in English and offered generous scholarships to outstanding climate researchers to move to France.
There is a much deeper problem here - because this is the most powerful scientific power in the world, and the one that keeps the world safe, at least until Trump is elected. This means stopping progress and retreating in many fields of research, especially in the field of health, the environment, and transportation.
If many people think that the impact of science on society is negative precisely at a time when the technological changes caused by scientific research are presented at the greatest rate and cause a social impact of a magnitude that we have not known in the entire history of mankind, this should turn on all the possible red lights.
"The universities and colleges need to take a path they have not taken so far - to communicate their research" says Eric Isaacs, vice president for research, innovation and national laboratories at the University of Chicago.
"I think we didn't do a good job." said. "We started from the assumption, in the universities, that people understand what we do. When it comes to education and training, people understand what we do, but less understand what implications our research has."
The participants agreed that the research is not disconnected from what interests the public, nor does it require in-depth scientific knowledge to be understood. However, in practice, day-to-day consequences between people on business, agriculture or medicine, are not emphasized enough. Isaacs gave as an example NASA's collaboration with LIFE magazine in the XNUMXs in bringing the images from space in the early days of the space age to the masses. This was an example of accessibility done properly.
Ironically, it is the development of the conservative media and their spread on the Internet that has contributed to the struggles around real or perceived issues, whether it is the struggle for the right of expression, diversity and multiculturalism, racism or political correctness to go viral. Elitism, which is often associated with academia, caused political polarization and helped the populist wave sweeping the world to win in elections."
"In the current situation, if the universities do not explain the implications of the research on society, others will."
The current administration has simple answers such as "Let's cut the indirect costs" - a decision that directly harms scientific research because the universities receive government participation in research expenses, and the administration wanted to cut them."
The direct cut in government research centers will also cause a problem for universities because graduates will have difficulty finding work and ultimately this will cause a decrease in demand for higher education.
We need to learn a lesson from history. Ancient Greece was conquered by the Romans, who valued practical developments more than pure science. An example of this - the library in Alexandria: "Under the Ptolemaic rule, the heads of the library were chosen thanks to their skills in the fields of education and knowledge. After the year 30, when Alexandria and the library passed into the hands of the Romans, the position of head of the library became a political position which was awarded as an honorary title. There is evidence that the heads of the library who served under Roman rule did not come from an academic background but from various government positions. This change suggests a possible decline in the nature of research and education within the Roman Empire." (Wikipedia source) We also know the end of Roman rule very well, with the takeover of the church, and its built-in hostility to science.
warning
The heads of the higher education system in Israel too must understand that the general public's ignorance of science is not just a curiosity, it is dangerous.
If we don't want a fate similar to the previous empires, we must stop the murky wave and return sanity and logic to the arena, not as "another opinion" in the postmodern era" but as a compass.
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Of course, it is necessary to define what an improvement in a person's life is.
I define it as extending life expectancy combined with improving one's political situation (personal and economic freedom).
If we accept this definition, then there is no doubt that science has improved the life of the human race.
Hey, you can see that this is a scientist.
After all, if he had some experience in politics he would say:
"Not only are there civilizations on Mars, we need to quickly finance a huge program where we can send manned spaceships to make sure we have a strategic advantage over them if they are hostile."
my father
I get what you're saying. The point is that the idea that a homeopathic preparation has a placebo effect and therefore there are situations in which it should be used - is dangerous. As you said - whoever sells these things is a crook. And I emphasize that he is a dangerous crook.
Regarding religion and science - the problem is on both sides and starts on the religious side.
When all the tilapias will laugh of their own kind and also the other charlatans of the other religions, the missoners and the converts will stop belittling science, and stop mocking scientific theories that have no idea what they are about, and stop looking for scientific meanings in books from three thousand years ago... and instead they will only deal with what they understand, so maybe also The other side will respect them and stop mocking religion. Because when religious people try to give scientific explanations in non-scientific ways, they expose themselves to ridicule.
As Professor Leibovitz said: "The Shekinah did not descend on Mount Sinai to give us a lesson in physics or biology..."
for miracles
The fact that I explained the mechanism behind alternative medicine does not mean that I am in favor of alternative medicine.
I think that if people know what the mechanism is behind this, they will realize that they are being deceived.
Because if you present it only as cheating, and as something that never works, it's simply not true, because people actually see that sometimes it works, because placebo sometimes works too.
I do not understand why we are forced to prove every drug in all phases of clinical trials that cost a fortune and last many years, while the homeopaths and other charlatans do not have to prove the effectiveness of their drugs and treatments at all.
Lasaf and my father.
Your ramifications in the religious sector are very outrageous and out of place.
The first mistake is to make generalizations about whole communities and you made them.
I recommend that you read Rabbi Yonatan Zaks's book The Great Partnership (by the way, he is an ultra-Orthodox and educated person)
There is no lack in our country and in the world of Jews who wear kippahs who lead the world of science forward and even on this website several articles were presented.
Regarding the article, it is very unfortunate that the world is moving in the direction of ignorance and indeed I hope that we will find a way to encourage science as a significant part of our culture in Israel and in the world.
my father
Alternative medicine is a dangerous scam and not like "placebo medicine"! The purpose of alternative medicine is to transfer money from sick and ignorant people to the pockets of crooks, even at the expense of the patients' health.
The use of placebo is allowed in clinical trials, when the patients know that they are in the trial, agree to it, and know that there is a chance that they are receiving a placebo and not a drug.
People die because they don't understand it. Isn't it a pity for them?
They do make exchanges. In all cases this is against the establishment's position and with very little encouragement from it.
I assume that the main concern among the public who finds the research harmful originates from "research on behalf of..." (for example, research institutes mainly in the field of social sciences, etc. which are influenced by companies and capitalists who seek "scientific" justifications for their interests) but this can also be found in the contributions of people private to put their children in university, etc.
Nepotism, moral and economic corruption, lack of transparency in the processes at these institutions (whether admission processes, etc.), difficulty in making the findings accessible (and understanding some of them) by the general public, fake studies, incessant attacks by politicians/lobbyists/capitalists, etc., ignorance of The general public (selfie and Twitter culture)…
These are just some of the cases.
The problem is also in universities, but really not only in them.
Regarding complementary medicine.
Complementary medicine is "placebo" medicine.
And this is a well-known and recognized effect in conventional medicine, which stems from psychological elements of the patient.
When a patient is given a blood drug (placebo), a considerable percentage of the patients feel an improvement to the point of being cured of the disease, and especially in drugs where the experience is subject to the patient's opinion, such as in drugs for pain or depression, etc., when there is no experience of the drug's effect with objective chemical indicators (such as blood tests or tests other physical chemistry).
All alternative medicine simply works on this effect and only this.
Therefore, in conventional medicine, when developing a new drug and want to prove effectiveness, it is mandatory to compare any conventional drug to a placebo drug, and the effectiveness of the drug is determined against placebo and not against no drug at all.
On the other hand, when drugs or alternative treatments are tested against placebo, no difference is found.
It is certainly possible to accept that the invention of sophisticated weapons, the emergence of ethical problems related to the genetic engineering of human beings, the development of electronic means for mass surveillance and the environmental damage associated with technological progress in general, in the final analysis, are harmful to society. This does not require having an anti-educational attitude, leaning towards mysticism or denying the conclusions of science. Therefore, it is not clear to me that the above research has any real value.
to your hatred against religion. I am a religious person, and science fascinates me and it is a field that I would be happy to engage in in the future, if my strength is up to it. There are religious people who are involved in all fields of research.
It is the attitude of scientists to the society around them that hurts them. Websites such as Hidan, the Davidson Institute, and Big Science, in a small way do create tremendous changes in the public on the subject, in my opinion.
If distinguished physicists didn't sit down and develop quantum theory, you wouldn't have GPS. Indeed, companies are good at utilizing existing knowledge and making it commercial, but this means that at a certain stage when they have used up the ability, you will be left with electric typewriters and you will not even know that there can be computers. post Scriptum. The contempt for complementary medicine stems from the fact that it fails to cure anything, not as the crooks try to present it - "because of the competition".
I didn't read the survey questions but, in my opinion, I can identify with the "dark ones". My claims are not towards science but towards academia. Real progress, one that contributes or will contribute to society, is achieved in small parts from certain disciplines, and in many cases is led by industry. While most academics research things that have almost no contribution to society, are busy with internal politics and disdain for other methods (ie complementary medicine).
What needs to be done is education in schools, more popular science websites and those that make science accessible to the uneducated public.
This should be done at the government level.
The main problem has always been the resistance of the clergy to science.
Repentant charlatans invest efforts in denying science and scientists invest in denying religion.
Therefore, in my opinion, it is necessary to invest in scientists and philosophers who are able to bridge these gaps and who will contribute to the understanding of the public and encourage positive approaches such as the approach of Professor Leibovitz, for example, who claimed that there is no connection and no contradiction, and that a person can be both a scientist and very religious.
I don't think anything has changed.
Since time immemorial, the majority of the world's population consists of uneducated simple people, tend to follow religious beliefs and tend to believe any charlatan.
But now that everyone also has access to the Internet to publish their opinions, their voices are heard more.
The web is full of sects, beliefs, all kinds of charlatans who invent all kinds of conspiracies and delusional theories are listened to and people tend to believe what is convenient for them and what is easy for them to understand.
My father's approach to the issue in Israel is too delicate.
Unfortunately, if the attitude towards the science website is an example of the seriousness of the universities in their need to explain the social consequences of the research to the Israeli public, then it turns out that despite all the beautiful statements above the stage about the desire to encourage young people to study science, in practice the exact opposite is done, harming those who are supposed to fulfill the important role this.
Since scientific education is collapsing under the increasing influence of ACOM workers, it is enough to review the subjects taught in the post-secondary institutions and prove that the majority of students study the humanities, which are important and essential, but the lack of scientists in subjects such as physics, mathematics, chemistry, etc. is already affecting technological performance today the future of Israel,
Add to that the "brain drain" and the situation is grim.
When the curriculum in the schools is dictated by "what's-his-name" workers, the imagination of the level of American ignorance grows, when more and more of the country's residents prostrate themselves on graves and "kiss" doors, when according to surveys, most residents believe in "miracles" and acts of What-is-his-name', when at the head of the health, labor, education systems and even the Deputy Minister of Defense are those who in any difficult situation expect help from "what-is-his-name", we are marching quickly into dark days,
Very disturbing.