Science

I'm hot to hypothesize. -- Beakman's World


The words of Beakman, from the children's TV science show, say it all. Who knows how much of science is natural law, and how much is hypothesis, theory and voodoo?

Take two prominent modern political issues: evolution and human-caused global warming. Scientists and religious pseudo-scientists are lined up on both sides. Large bodies take a vote and achieve "consensus." Dissenting individuals are deemed to be crackpots and shouted down. There is no room for an Einstein today.

We also have become the drug generation. Medical science has created a number of new ailments, and then provided medications for them. I take one particular pill, and the drug company warns me, in a monthly newsletter, that if I discontinue dosing, I will die. Their tone is conciliatory, but the threat is palpable. I know I'm cowed. (Wait a minute while I take my pill.)

I am tired of hearing of the latest scientific "discovery," which contradicts last week's theories. Obviously, Beakman knows something: It's not all fact, yet. As one California civil servant recently said, 'That's a detail level beyond my knowledge base."