Disclaimer: I am not a capital S scientist.
I don’t have a Ph in front of my D, but as a medical doctor my black bag does contain, and I do occasionally use the tools of science. So take what I have to say here as the musings of a well versed amateur.
I was left scratching my head in confusion this week. I learned a new concept that I’ve had trouble integrating into my world view. I was told that there is a speed to science. If you haven’t been introduced to this I direct you to the internet:
PFIZER VACCINE NOT TESTED FOR TRANSMISSION DUE TO ‘SPEED OF SCIENCE’
Of course the last three years have contained an assault of new vernacular and ideas. There’s “two weeks to flatten the curve”, and “Sudden Adult Death Syndrome”, and “Operation Warp Speed”, and …
So the speed of science quip, thrown out by a biotech marketing hack, with a smirk on her face as she deflected a serious question, brings to light the unfortunate realization that science no longer exists within the halls of science.
It used to be a process used for learning, a method of achieving enlightenment. It now is a commodity controlled by the power brokers. When you heard Mr. Science (Anthony Fauci) claim ownership of the mantle of Science, I hope the hair on the back of your neck stood up. That signaled to the world that the transfer of power was complete. He was once a researcher. He walked the halls of academia. No more. He’s now an agile political shape shifter who staunchly supports the advancement of the corporate oligarchs.
So this science thing, what is it now? I think it’s important to stay focused on the ongoing manipulation of language. When a bureaucrat claims that he is science, when a corporate executive tries to convince you that her company’s business depends on the speed of science (rather than the process), when an elected leader wants to convince you that he can, single handedly, alter the rules of time and space to accomplish a scientific endeavor; grab your family and run for the hills. Science is now just a term of art. Its meaning is owned by the user. Tread carefully into a conversation with someone, who wants to corrupt language in order to control you or sell you something.
I have to conclude that the term “science”, in its current usage, is both a tool of leverage and a weapon. Hold onto objective science. It is a slow and methodical process that we use in pursuit of Truth. It has many twists, turns, detours, and dead ends along the path. You’ll spend this lifetime and more in the pursuit. Keep in mind that the truths we uncover using science, never need to be curated. They withstand questioning and criticism. They also never need to be used as coercion or indoctrination.
Well done
Scientism is not science. Scientism is essentially a new world religion where the high priests in lab coats tell you a whole lot of just about anything and you trust them. But instead of a sense of community. And instead of having a creed of ethics and morals. It's divisive and ego centric. It pits neighbors against neighbors and tells them that is Darwinism.
I don't like this new scientism. But science and the scientific method is quite different and still useful. The two are at great odds with one another.