Re: [Paddlewise] OFF-TOPIC Re: High School Physics Revisited

> From rsk_at_gsp.org Sun Jul 26 16:33 PDT 1998
>
> On Fri, Jul 24, 1998 at 01:34:58PM -0700, Jackie Fenton wrote:
> > I thought it was funny as well as a relief.  I disagree with the 
> > statement that "we now live in a society with an aversion to science" 
> > and have seen no evidence to support that we are less interested in 
> > science today than in the past.  
> 
> My experience has been just about the opposite: that there is a strong
> current of anti-intellectualism that not only encompasses science,
> but literature, art, music, history, and just about every other field
> of inquiry.  

I disagree that this represents American society in general as you 
stated in your original statement.

> Many of those who simply want to understand the universe
> (or the world, or themselves, or a work of art) are labeled as
> elitist snobs or ivory-tower academics or other epithets which say
> more about the ignorance of those using them than about the character
> of those they're applied to.

Not my experience (different crowd, I guess). I have found excitement 
and wonder in discovery to be contagious and very stimulating in both 
sciences and arts.  I especially get a kick out of watching kids 
discover and hope I'm never too old to enjoy something new myself :-)   
A talented, enthusiastic and positive teacher generally finds his/her 
audience (kids or not) willing participants.  Abrasive and patronizing 
lecturers are bores and will almost always find dull students.
 
> While you're right about science being popular in some contexts (e.g.
> the amazing surge of interest in dinosaurs), I'm not sure that's *real*.

????  Well, either there *is* or there *isn't* an interest in science.
Which is it?  How can you know for others whether their interest
is real or not?  If you aren't sure, then why label the whole of 
American society as disinterested?

If society were disinterested in science, why would pseudoscience
find it necessary to steal from the language of science in an attempt
to gain credibility?

> It didn't happen because of the controversy over whether or not
> dinosaurs were warm-blooded (c.f. Robert Bakker's excellent book,
> "The Dinosaur Heresies"), an incredibly fascinating debate; it happened
> because Hollywood made a movie about it.  I find this very disappointing --

hmmm..... 

> the real debate is far more fascinating than the fantasy.  (This is
> happening again: thanks to Hollywood, the study of asteroids is
> now receiving some press -- nevermind that the debate over the
> iridium layer in the K-T boundary and its relationship to a possible
> large impact 65 million years ago has been ongoing for years.)

There was a tremendous amount of interest last summer when the Mars 
Pathfinder's Sojourner explored the surface of Mars.  A lot of 
websites have been devoted to the exploration.  I'd rather not decide 
for these volunteers and those of the thousands of other sites devoted 
to science that their interest isn't "real."  There has been 
fascination with the sky and sciences long before Hollywood, represtented 
voluminously in literature and art (or is this invalid representation 
because art and literature can also be considered entertainment?).  
Because there is a new medium that draws on the fascination doesn't 
mean the fascination is less real.  Hollywood prefers to hedge its 
bets and know the interest will be there *before* they shell out the 
bucks for the project. 

> Again, I strongly recommend Sagan's book ("The Demon-Haunted World"),
> as he expresses these concerns far more eloquently than I can.

I'm familiar with Sagan's work and I can't recall, personally, anyone
ever calling him a nerd, dork, or boring.  Whadda guy!  He will be
missed.

We'll just have to say we see things differently.  This has probably 
strayed too far off-topic so this is my final post on the subject to 
the list, position unaltered.

Cheers,

Jackie 
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