From: Mikael Johansson (mikael.johansson@wineasy.se)
Date: Wed Feb 21 2001 - 14:58:32 MST
<snip>
> > I find these phrases antagonistic and a complete disconnect with
> > my knowledge and experience. I've been in the sciences 20 years,
> > and I've yet to encounter another scientist who treats
> > nonscientists with this kind of scorn, as you describe above.
>
> **Well, that could be because they're treating YOU as a colleague.
> Were you in the company of nonscientists who were complete strangers
> with no knowlege of the disciplines? Or maybe you just hang out with
> nice guys.
I dunno... maybe I'm just this next naïve science-interested junior college
guy... but I think I'd agree with Amara on this one...
> :)
>
> **Actually, the 'secret knowledge' thing is Gould's. The 'unwashed
> masses' is mine. The same principle is at work with cops and
> religious leaders: Knowledge shared is power lost. This is why cops
> fight open public access to public records, and why the Church
> conducted masses in Latin and hated Gutenberg.
they do? (cops) not here... (and, yes, open public access to public records
_is_ listed in the swedish constitution...)
> **I've not met many scientists I truly disliked, though I've read
> (and read of) a good number of insufferable ones with the decidedly
> unscientific attitude that "If the facts don't fit the theory, they
> must be disposed of."
Now _THAT'S_ an attitude rarely seen in my field. There isn't that much of
fitting facts to theory within pure mathematics... :-)
> > Amara
> >
> >
> John Marlow
// Mikael Johansson
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.5 : Sat Nov 02 2002 - 08:06:01 MST