Deplorable DeVos is in » « Mary’s Monday Metazoan: What? Females aren’t beautiful for me?

Science is done by and for people

I am putting this here because I want to refer to it later, and it’s on Twitter, not the most convenient medium for archiving a lengthy story, and because it’s important: Michael Eisen explains the importance of the human element in science.

There is an unfortunate attitude within science that science itself is this gleaming jewel of truth, that we soil it by attaching human concerns to it, and that we must strive to keep it pristine and uncontaminated with mere humanity. Nothing could be further from the truth. “Science is a very human form of knowledge”, and when we forget that and embrace only the cold logic and pretense to perfect objectivity, we lose everything that matters.

Why we do science and how we integrate it with culture is significant. Do not forget that.

Deplorable DeVos is in » « Mary’s Monday Metazoan: What? Females aren’t beautiful for me?

Comments

  1. Siobhan says

    I trust and love science, but deeply distrust its institutions – they care more about themselves than the people who make them work.

    I’m getting that sense from a lot of institutions.

  2. Rob Grigjanis says

    That end scene from episode 11 of The Ascent of Man is so burned into my memory that just seeing Bronowski standing there gives my lacrimal glands a jolt. If anything should be required watching, this would be high on my list.

  3. says

    It’s something so important to remember. Yes, science is perhaps the best way we have of studying and understanding the universe, but it is still done by humans, and humans are extremely and forever fallible.

  4. rietpluim says

    That is a sad story. I am sorry for Michael’s father and his family, and I am also sorry that the scientific community lost such a dedicated member. Thanks that you’re giving this attention, PZ.

  5. says

    I agree with Rob Grigjanis. As a non-scientist, I found this series to be an amazing work. I am not sure the science still stands up since the mid-70’s, but I loved this series. When the decision was made to edit the transcript of the program into a book, editors were surprised that Brownoski spoke in complete paragraphs with no script. He simply read his notes and when the camera was turned on, he said his piece. What a delightful man.

  6. dhabecker says

    Hadn’t seen the Bronowski video before. Very moving and thanks.
    Try to envision Trump’s tiny hand,….oh, never mind.

  7. unclefrogy says

    thanks for the Brownoski clip one the his best.
    When will we as a society be guided by principles of such humility and honesty?

    science is a tribute to what we can know although we are fallible.

    uncle frogy

  8. wzrd1 says

    What really floored me from the article was this: “…This was a man who was programmed to respond the way he did. It’s a tragedy.”

    What. The. Fuck. Over?!
    He was a man, not a god damned programmable logic array.
    Worse, he reports suspected fraud, the perpetrator disappears and a pogrom is started against the one reporting the fraud?! We’re in the 21st century and still shooting the messenger.
    Worse, public funds were used to do this. Alas, the larger an organization grows, the less of a conscience that it has.

    Fortunately, despite this horrific loss, science has advanced in the understanding of steroid hormone receptors.
    Or perhaps, I should say, despite our worst efforts, our understanding has slightly advanced.
    I sincerely hope that Bandyopadhyay has many, many, many nightmare ridden nights, for a very long and protracted lifetime.

  9. Scientismist says

    Jacob Bronowski has been my guide in scientific ethics since I first heard him at a lecture at the Salk Institute in the early 70’s. Another important prophetic quote from Bronowski, in the final episode/chapter “The Long Childhood” in The Ascent of Man:

    And yet, fifty years from now, if an understanding of man’s origins, his evolution, his history, his progress is not the commonplace of the schoolbooks, we shall not exist.

    That was 44 years ago. The “deadline” comes shortly after the next Presidential election. Another prophetic quote from about the same time:

    Half the people are stoned and the other half is waiting for the next election;
    Half the people are drowned and the other half is swimming in the wrong direction.

    — A trope from the “Gloria” in Leonard Bernstein’s “Mass” (IIRC, the couplet was a birthday gift to Lenny from Paul Simon).

  10. anchor says

    It should be noted that the producer and director largely responsible for the making of ‘The Ascent of Man’ with Jacob Bronowski was the late Adrian Malone, who also produced and directed ‘Cosmos’ with Carl Sagan. Malone was the extraordinary force that brought those and other exemplary productions into reality.

  11. Moggie says

    anchor:

    It should be noted that the producer and director largely responsible for the making of ‘The Ascent of Man’ with Jacob Bronowski was the late Adrian Malone, who also produced and directed ‘Cosmos’ with Carl Sagan. Malone was the extraordinary force that brought those and other exemplary productions into reality.

    And it was commissioned by David Attenborough, who was championing great TV long before he became known for nature documentaries.

  12. Mrdead Inmypocket says

    #8 wzrd1

    Worse, he reports suspected fraud, the perpetrator disappears and a pogrom is started against the one reporting the fraud?! We’re in the 21st century and still shooting the messenger.

    I think it’s worth noting that’s not unusual behavior in some abusive situations. If a family member is physically/mentally abusive or perhaps abuses alcohol or drugs. It is sometimes the case that the person who points out their abusive behavior that is blamed.

    So for example a child reports child abuse and there are consequences to a parent. Others in the family might blame the child for bringing those consequences. A sibling blames the child for “the police taking dad or mom away”. The parent might blame the child for exposing the abuse and bringing shame on the family.

    Or perhaps in this case there might have been a backlash from a scientific authority for exposing fraud, as it doesn’t bode well for their organizations reputation. Which can effect funding, accreditation etc.

    Don’t get me wrong I’m not excusing such behavior, simply pointing out that it exists for various reasons.

  13. wzrd1 says

    I think it’s worth noting that’s not unusual behavior in some abusive situations.

    True enough, but one really does expect a great deal more out of an evidence based community.

    Personally, I’ve never blamed someone for the actions of another, an individual should be accountable for their actions, assuming that illness has not causes them to behave abnormally.

  14. Mrdead Inmypocket says

    #13 wzrd1

    True enough, but one really does expect a great deal more out of an evidence based community.

    That makes Bronowski’s warning about the fallibility of human institutions all the more pertinent. The more confident we are in our institutions should probably warrant more caution.

    Being an evidence based community doesn’t preclude other fallibilities. The details of this example are scant. But even so, if we wonder why that scientist was persecuted for exposing the fraud. Was it because he exposed the fraud, or the way in which he did it, did he go around “proper channels”? Was he persecuted simply over a personal or professional vendetta, this was just an opportunity to settle a score? The institution of science does not exist within a bubble of reason, away from other human frailties, is what I guess I’m getting at.

    The principle pretty much scales up throughout human society in general. Whether you’re talking about a child who is blamed for exposing abuse, a scientist who is persecuted for exposing fraud. Or, as we’ve seen on these very pages enough times, an educational institution defaming a student who alleges sexual misconduct of a mentor. Even in our political institutions, where a dissident is roundly condemned as a traitor for exposing a governments misdeeds.

    You’d think that as you scale up through our societal institutions that this type of thing is less common. But in my observation, for what that’s worth, that’s doesn’t generally seem to be true. In fact just the opposite, as this paradigm is scaled up it seems to be more common not less. I could be wrong, just my impression.

    Personally, I’ve never blamed someone for the actions of another…

    Wish I could say the same. Something I still regret after many decades.

    (I’m sorry in advance if I don’t respond today, my arthritis is killing me with this typing. I don’t often post because of that. Yes my grandson tried to set me up with some naturally talking program. If I wasn’t such a hopeless luddite I’d try and learn to use it. :P )

  15. wzrd1 says

    Yes my grandson tried to set me up with some naturally talking program. If I wasn’t such a hopeless luddite I’d try and learn to use it. :P )

    I had the same problem with my wife and naturally speaking. She wouldn’t watch the tutorial or read the manual and so she never used it.
    Although, for her case, it wasn’t so much arthritis (which isn’t that bad, as of yet), as an aid around her dyslexia.
    While, I’m nowhere near a slouch with technology, some areas I’m still way behind in.
    An example is, I have a box of bullets that I can’t figure out how to import into my Word document. So, they’re sitting in the drawer between the dialog box and the active SCSI terminator (boy, but I gave away my age on that one). ;)

    Wish I could say the same. Something I still regret after many decades.

    We’ve all had our errors and foul-ups. One tries one’s best to avoid repeating them in the future.

  16. vaiyt says

    Removing human concerns from science is impossible, because science is done by and for humans. The most you can do is close your eyes and pretend while you’re made a tool of those who would turn other people into numbers.