Tuesday, January 4, 2000: Mindless trend worship

[NonsenseWords]

[Maggot Brain]

I dislike the preachy bluntness of these interactions as much as the next guy, but I find the word phonics amusing, so this one gets a moderate thumbs-up.

[Bocaj Claw]

It was startling for me to realize that education, like any soft science, is highly susceptible to trends; different theories and ideas drift in and out of fashion. I suppose that's only naturel -- it seems to be, on a pretty basic level how humans, collectively, think -- but I get an upsetting sense that what's actually good for kids sometimes takes a back seat to what the latest theory suggests is good for kids.

And there you have it: the most socially conservative thing I'm going to say, anywhere in this book.

[Tom_Radigan]

It's not just soft science that has fads. Years ago there was talk about cold fusion and room-temperature superconductivity. Turns out both were based on false scientific theories.

And right now there's global warming, which has been kept alive for political purposes. In actuality, there was global warming and cooling for millenia, and evidence suggest that mankind's activities had little to do with it. And no, scientists do not all agree on it, either.

[Bocaj Claw]

That was so relevant to the comic and such an inciteful piece of commentary that I'm giving you a special gold star. Just for you. Exchange five for me giving a crap.

[Tom_Radigan]

That was so relevant to the comic and such an inciteful piece of commentary that I'm giving you a special gold star. Just for you. Exchange five for me giving a crap.

It was a response to DCS in Prehistrionics, not necessarily the comic itself.

[Muninn]

It was startling for me to realize that education, like any soft science, is highly susceptible to trends; different theories and ideas drift in and out of fashion.

Little does DCS know that 'hard' science also has fads. For example in 1702 when Robert Hooke declared that Newton's laws of motion were "so last century and passe" an infuriated Newton was prompted to leave his study and beat Hooke half to death with a stone gargoyle he knocked off Trinity College's bell tower with which he proceeded to lay the power of his law unto Hooke.

[Tom_Radigan]

It was startling for me to realize that education, like any soft science, is highly susceptible to trends; different theories and ideas drift in and out of fashion.

Little does DCS know that 'hard' science also has fads. For example in 1702 when Robert Hooke declared that Newton's laws of motion were "so last century and passe" an infuriated Newton was prompted to leave his study and beat Hooke half to death with a stone gargoyle he knocked off Trinity College's bell tower with which he proceeded to lay the power of his law unto Hooke.

Actually, Einstein did it better:

"Nature and Nature's Law lay hidden in the night.

God said, "Let Newton be!"--and there was light.

The Devil saw what happened, and with a little grin,

He said, "Let Einstein be!"--and all was dark again."

Actually, it was a matter of Newton's laws of thermodynamics not applying in circumstances newly discovered by physicists.

How about the fact that we were all taught in school that Pluto was a planet-but now the scientists are suddenly saying it isn't?

[Arloest]

Do you mean to say that science is a field that is prone to change when ideas and theories are proven wrong?

[Tom_Radigan]

Do you mean to say that science is a field that is prone to change when ideas and theories are proven wrong?

Yes. But old theories can die hard, as indicated by the story of William Harvey, who discovered the concept of blood circulation in the body:

http://www.blupete.com/Literature/Biogr ... Harvey.htm

And I'm sure everyone here knows the story of the Piltdown Man, which was an obvious fake, but for thirty years was misrepresented as genuine.

[IceDragon]

Did DCS just make a dig at soft science in general?

[Muninn]

Do you mean to say that science is a field that is prone to change when ideas and theories are proven wrong?

Yes. But old theories can die hard, as indicated by the story of William Harvey, who discovered the concept of blood circulation in the body:

http://www.blupete.com/Literature/Biogr ... Harvey.htm

And I'm sure everyone here knows the story of the Piltdown Man, which was an obvious fake, but for thirty years was misrepresented as genuine.

Actually the circulatory systems intricate design and working was discovered in the 13th century by Ibn al-Nafis.

Piltdown Man's authenticity persisted for as long as it did because it was tailored to the perceptions of how human skulls evolved at the time. But you're right that archaeology, I don't know about other fields, has a notorious problem with the persistence of traditional schools of thought which are only swept away to be replaced by another equally powerful new theory. It's really only in the last two decades that multitude of ideas are given prominence rather than everything else being pushed aside in favour of the currently accepted path.

[Tom_Radigan]

Going back to the topic of soft science, decades ago there was talk of "repressed-memory syndrome", where supposedly abused children had completely suppressed the memories of their abuse, and therapists were working to bring these memories out.

It turned out the "syndrome" was completely fraudulent, that people who suffered trauma did not suppress their bad memories, and the "suppressed memories" of abuse were induced false memories. Unfortunately before the whole thing was discredited, some families were harmed from it.