Science Is a “Glorious Thing”
From Wordsmith’s “A THOUGHT FOR TODAY”:Science does correct itself and that’s the reason why science is such a glorious thing for our species. -Nigel Calder (pictured), science writer (2 Dec 1931-2014)
COVID anti-maskers assert that there is disagreement among scientists themselves regarding the best ways to handle the pandemic, and that this invalidates epidemiology as a whole when it comes to policy-making. Of course, this is rubbish; experts are unanimous in calling for social distancing, refraining from large gatherings, the wearing of masks, the push for a safe and effective vaccine and a workable immunization strategy, etc.
Yet anyone could have predicted that there would be a significant portion of the U.S. population that would take the anti-maskers’ position, since we live in distinctly anti-science / anti-intellectual times. A growing number of Americans believe that science is an elitist institution, featuring out-of-touch people in white lab coats living off generous government grants, inventing new ways to frighten and cajole hard-working, God-fearing Americans into giving up our constitutionally guaranteed freedoms, not to mention the other things we hold dear: gas-guzzling SUVs, beef, robo-consumerism, and the like.
As noted above, science is never perfect; it’s always adjusting to new findings, the results of rigorous experimentation that produce papers that are reviewed and evaluated by the researcher’s peers around the world. Viewed in that light, that science is constantly “correcting itself” is in fact its chief strength.
