The Power Dynamics of Science
The Decentralization Myth
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Open mindedness is one of the greatest challenges we face as a society. That cannot be overstated. We do not tend to be as open minded as we like to admit. In reality, the opposite tends to be true. Look around these days, and you know I’m right. We’re all trudging through a deep path of wet cement.
This is also very true in the sciences, where consensus rules the group ideology. Only a very small minority is ever willing to break from the safety and security of numbers, as history has proven time and time again. Independent thought can be dangerous. Just ask Galileo Galilei, Giordano Bruno, or Michael Servetus. The consensus really doesn’t like open minds.
You could argue things have changed, however, I see clear evidence that would contradict that assertion. Take this article headline from a very popular staunch mainstream science writer on Medium. I won’t mention his name, because he doesn’t deserve my further attention, or more importantly, advertisement.
What all scientific experts wish non-experts knew.
And why you, a non-expert, should absolutely not consider “explaining what you know” to an actual expert in the field.
His article was a straw man debate with himself, where he advanced absurd and extremely obscure low IQ minority views, then knocked them down 1 by 1. As anyone with a grade school education does on a regular basis. Flat Earth, and fake moon landings, for example. It only demonstrates his disdain for anyone that isn’t him.
Little has changed. Closed mindedness has just manifested itself in arrogance as the consensus within the echo chamber of science grows and reinforces itself. It’s a simple feedback loop. Only those from within the community are allowed a certain leeway in the presentation of new concepts and ideas, void the prerequisite research and data, provable or not provable. So long as they have reached an adequate level of prominence, also known as escape velocity.
Stephen Hawking was a good example of reaching that escape velocity. He was able to speak freely and openly with impunity, talking about anything from alien invasions, to the critical importance of colonizing mars, and everyone took him seriously without question. His words were front…
