Better Society Through Science

Do you agree with me on the following?
.Science can solve anything.
..Social problems are not getting easier to understand.
…Our understanding of people is not improving.
….Transcending Boundaries means challenging assumptions.
If you agree, let’s talk.

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Science can solve anything.  As a young doctoral student, I believed that through Science, we could better understand ANY problem and take steps towards a completely efficient and effective solution. And why not?  We tamed the atom and we peered into the furthest reaches of the universe.  How hard could understanding world hunger or oppressive dictatorships be?  All we needed was good scientific principles, quality data, rigorous methods, and an intellectual environment that nurtured quality research.  How hard could this be?  [1]

 

Social problems are not getting easier to understand.  In many ways the world has not improved since 1980.  Sure, we have flying cars and can read our genetic code.  But there’s many ways in which things are worse.  We thought the end of the Cold War would “free” up the oppressed soviet states and reinvent a forward thinking Russia.  Instead we have Putin.  We also have an oppressive and aggressive China.  There’s Syria, Turkey, Venezuela, The Philippines, Myanmar, and Egypt.  There’s religious extremism, non-localized religious-based violence, and escalating intolerance of culture as well as xenophobia throughout.  There’s a good chance NATO and the European Union were effectively destabilized by “bad actors” as well, using the latest technology in combination with old-fashioned subversion tactics in order to implement strategies that spans decades.  Finally, what about the doomsday clock, statements from the doctors without borders, reporters under attack, and notices from human rights watch?

 

Our understanding of people is not improving.  There are no fundamental scientific advances as far as understanding people or social behaviors that we’ve discovered.  If I’m in error, I’m eager to accept any scientific findings to the contrary.  [2]

 

Transcending Boundaries means challenging assumptions. 

Assumptions like:

1) Encouraging scientific rigor and accountability within disciplines.  We can institutionalize (and reward) replication within our educational system and require it of academia.

2) We currently allow for the validation of scientific integrity within disciplines through peer review and specialized societies.  Perhaps it’s time for us to do the same BETWEEN disciplines.

3)  Associating an individual’s ethical integrity in any aspect of their life to their scientific life.  #MeToo has been a watershed for recognizing long standing biases against half the population.  But are we confident that someone who is willing to compromise their ethics in one area of life can exclude it from their professional lives?  Ethics in all areas should also be an aspiration and never assumed.  [3]

4) Last, but far from least, true progress can’t be made unless we adhere to tried and true scientific principles in every aspect, bar none.  Definitions, logical rigor, standardized, calibrated, and validated methods of measurement, and rigorous methodologies that use p-values properly would be a start.  [4]

 

If you agree, let’s talk.  I’m Steven, a retired businessman and inventor.  In the 1980s I was an idealistic doctoral student.  I earned a master’s and continued my studies in order to keep track of the progress made in understanding our humanity.  Forty years later, I’m hoping to meet like-minded individuals at the AAAS 2019 convention to see if my experience can make a contribution, no matter how small.  I look forward to meeting you and lending you a sympathetic ear, at the very least.  You can mail me at Zebra Skimmers (no spaces) at Gmail.

Thank you.

 

Notes:

[1] For the record, I still believe Science can help us understand our problems, but the solving part is problematic.  Understanding problems also means understanding the forces working against solutions, and that, unfortunately, is a whole other problem.

[2] The works of E O Wilson and early work of R Dawkins could be considered fundamental, but so far applying them to humans has been unsatisfactory.

[3] “Plagiarism at Integrity Meeting” brief in Science, page 209, 18 January 2019.

[4] “Misinformation Machine” in Science, page 348, 25 January 2019. Particularly the 3rd and 4th paragraphs regarding disparate definitions of “fake news.”

 

END

Bibi Djan: Part 10

Bibi Djan, The Rug Weaver

Introduction   Grandma Helen (Heghineh) Davidian spent early mornings at her writing desk.  She didn’t sleep as much as the rest of her family, and the extra time was invested in telling stories about the lives of young Persian women in the early 1900s.

 

Part 10   Habib was puzzled. “Very well, very well, don’t go to the hospital. But choke your voice! The neighbors may think Habib is beating his wife.  I will call the doorkeeper’s mother.  I will call her.  Let it be as you wish.”

Bibi Djan was in labor for two days while with trembling hands the doorkeeper’s mother tried everything she could do.  She appealed to the prophets, and she had a Koran brought from the mosque and tied to Bibi Djan‘s waist.  She got some fragrant herbs from the dervishes (holy men) and made Bibi Djan chew them, hoping to ease her pangs. But all was in vain.

At last she became hopeless and told Habib that she could not help any further and she would not be responsible.

Habib had not left the house for these two days, but now he kicked the door open and in one breath ran to the house of the English nurses. There he found the nurse with black hair. She looked at the small man closely and recognized him. “What is it? I know, you are here about Bibi Djan.  When did her labors begin?”

“Early this morning, very early,” replied Habib, dropping his head.

 

(to be continued)

 

 

Bibi Djan: Part 9

Bibi Djan, The Rug Weaver

Introduction   Grandma Helen (Heghineh) Davidian spent early mornings at her writing desk.  She didn’t sleep as much as the rest of her family, and the extra time was invested in telling stories about the lives of young Persian women in the early 1900s.

 

Part 9   She blushed and nodded. He put his sack down and sat upon the kitchen steps. “Bibi Djan,” he said in a soft voice, as if speaking to a child. She had never heard him speak like that. It is true that that he never flung orders and curses at her like other men do, but he had never spoken so softly. “I am going to tell you something; he went on. “Come, sit by me and listen!”  She gathered her chadoor around her waist and with some effort sat down by her husband upon the kitchen steps.  “Bibi Djan,” he said, “you are not going to call the doorkeeper’s mother for a midwife. You must go to the hospital. The English nurses…”

Her blood turned to water, and her heart pounded with anger. “I must go to the hospital?” she cried. She beat her knees and cried,”Let the dust fall upon my head, my husband wants to kill me, he wants to bury me alive! Aye, aye, what shall I do? Those infidels, those daughters of dogs! When did they come and rob you of your senses? Who said you can send me to the hospital? What am I to do?”

 

(to be continued)

 

 

Bibi Djan: Part 8

Bibi Djan, The Rug Weaver

Introduction   Grandma Helen (Heghineh) Davidian spent early mornings at her writing desk.  She didn’t sleep as much as the rest of her family, and the extra time was invested in telling stories about the lives of young Persian women in the early 1900s.

 

Part 8   Bibi Djan did not tell her husband about the visit.  “They may persuade him easily,” she thought, “and he may send me to the hospital.”  But she did not believe that the nurses, being women, would have the courage to talk to a man about such a matter as childbirth.  Bibi Djan wished for a boy and she prepared everything for a boy.  For charms against evil eye she attached a blue bead to each of the baby garments and to the cradle.  As days passed she kept the house in order and steadily finished her sewing and mended all her husband’s clothes and stockings.  “Who knows?” she thought, “I may die at childbirth, I do not want my successor to speak ill of me, and curse my bones.”

One morning about the end of autumn when her husband had his sack upon his shoulder, ready to go to work, she asked her to send to her the doorkeepers mother, the midwife.

“Why?” asked Habib, “Has the day come?”

 

(to be continued)

 

 

Bibi Djan: Part 7

Bibi Djan, The Rug Weaver

Introduction   Grandma Helen (Heghineh) Davidian spent early mornings at her writing desk.  She didn’t sleep as much as the rest of her family, and the extra time was invested in telling stories about the lives of young Persian women in the early 1900s.

 

Part 7   The nurse went on patiently. “We have come here all the way from England to help rug weavers like you in childbirth. The services at the hospital are free. If you stay at home, the midwife may not be able to help you, and you may die.”

“If it is my kismet to die at childbirth, let it be so,” said Bibi Djan, smiling. “Even if you gave me a sack of gold, I would not go to the hospital.”

The nurses were puzzled and decided to talk about the matter with her husband, and asked for his name and the place she worked. They were ready to go but she asked them to stay a little longer for tea. She brought a boiling samovar and served them with small glasses of tea. They admired her cleanliness and neatness. The yellow samovar sparkled like gold, the glasses were crystal clear, the towel was white like snow, the white cloths in the niches were spotless and everything in the room was in order.

When the women rose to go, Bibi Djan gave each of the women a flower from the yard and they thanked her and went away.

 

(to be continued)