Science, Art, Litt, Science based Art & Science Communication
Qs on science and my replies to them - part 111
Q: Science is good at nothing. It just gives us false hopes and expectations. It cannot answer several Qs. Why do you promote it? I know you will not answer this Q of mine.
Krishna: It is the Qs like these that need to be answered first.
Science is heroic. It fuels the economy, it feeds the world, it fights disease" - Tom Siegfried
What is Science? Science is the language this universe is written in. This universe is science based and science run. Remove science from the universe, it just collapses! You find science every millimeter and Angstrom of it. Life is based on science. We cease to exist without it. It is already there before living beings came into existence. We, the scientists, are not bringing things from somewhere. We are discovering things because they exist in the universe. Get that right first.
Now don't equate scientific principles that run this universe with the scientific processes we practice to understand the scientific language and principles this universe is written in and based on. It is the human understanding that isn’t developed to match the science of this universe. It is the limitations of the human mind that are restricting us from having full knowledge about this universe made of science. Why blame science for our inadequacies?
People say science cannot solve all the problems and doesn't answer all the questions human minds pose. True! But think about this: This universe started with a Big Bang ( according to one theory - which is not yet proved!) some 14 Billion years ago. But science is just a few hundred years old.
The universe in which we find ourselves is 14,000,000,000 years old, planet Earth is about 5,000,000,000 years old, the species Homo sapiens, to which we belong, 300,000 years old, and modern science a mere 500 years old.
Science (the process with which we try to study and understand this universe) is still in its infancy. It has to learn a lot, study a lot, think a lot, experiment a lot and then only it can come up with all the answers we are seeking right now. How can you expect a child to solve all the problems of his ancestors? And answer the questions posed by his great, great, great, great grand fathers? Is it appropriate to even expect such a thing? I don't think so.
There is science ( the laws that govern this universe) every millimeter and Angstrom of this universe. And the universe is unimaginably vast! But the scientists are so few! How can the limited number of scientists read the language this universe is written in such a less time?
We should be amazed at how we have been able to get so far in understanding the things in this universe despite our inadequacies! Science is doing its best with the limited resources it has to both answer the questions and solve the problems. As the time goes by, I am pretty sure, it will succeed more and more. Please have patience! Give science some time.
And let me assure you when science answers these Qs, they will not be silly stories but universe-shivering true facts.
And we are trying to pursue and understand science because, science yields only to science and nothing else. Only when we understand science and unravel the secrets this universe is based on, we can utilize the knowledge to help living beings and remove their suffering and make their lives comfortable.
Meanwhile people bring in several concepts to explain things human mind can’t yet comprehend blaming science in the process. Scientists too can bring several of these things to fill the gaps if they want . But they don’t. Because they are true seekers of facts.
Scientists have in their mind a project of being able to definitively answer the ultimate question of life, the universe, and everything. That's not a project to approach lightly. It involves a lot of very careful distinction between truth and falsehood, between reality and perception, between logic and epistemology and ontology.
I want to ask all the people who ridicule science and belittle it, if science ‘s not the best, why 's everything in this universe based on science?
Come on, answer me!
Science doesn’t need anybody’s appreciation or recognition. It can stand on its own mind blowing strength. Ignore it at your own peril.
Q: How does Aspirin work?
Krishna: Acetylsalicylic acid (ASA), commonly known as aspirin is a medication used to treat pain, fever, or inflammation and prevent blood clots that lead to strokes.
Aspirin blocks an enzyme called cyclooxygenase. That makes your body less likely to produce chemicals that can help cause inflammation. It helps prevent blood clots. ... That's important because they can clog the arteries that bring blood to heart muscle and the brain, which increases your risk of heart attack and stroke.
When a headache occurs, a compound called prostaglandin (a hormone that helpssend pain signals to the brain) is overproduced. Because of its anti-inflammatory properties, aspirin is able to block the activity of an enzyme which helps make prostaglandin, called cyclooxygenase-1 (COX-1).
Q: Has evolution been directly observed?
Krishna: Yes! Microevolution* has been observed, which with no reason to believe there is a barrier between micro and macro, and this points toward evolution being true. Also, speciation has been observed. This is a prediction evolution makes that has been proven accurate. To argue against evolution now can only be from a position of ignorance.
*Microevolution is simply a change in gene frequency within a population. Evolution at this scale can be observed over short periods of time — for example, between one generation and the next, the frequency of a gene for pesticide resistance in a population of crop pests increases or drug resistance of bacteria. Such a change might come about because natural selection favoured the gene, because the population received new immigrants carrying the gene, because some nonresistant genes mutated to the resistant version, or because of random genetic drift from one generation to the next.
Q: Dr. Krishna, I am a science graduate and work for a science organization as a volunteer. Our sir, director of the organization, told us two years back to read the articles you write and educate people in our and surrounding villages. I have been reading your articles regularly since then.
We are really grateful to you because we don't get such vast information on several useful subjects and in such a simple language anywhere in India. Even a school student can understand what you write. Without your work, we cannot do ours! We are dependent so much on you for science information and educating people. You are a great inspiration for us. We came to know recently that almost all science communicators in our part of the world use this site for information. We become blind and lame without you.
I am sending this message to express our gratitude and ask you to continue your unparalleled work. Can you write in other regional languages too? Can you come to our village to give speeches?
Krishna: You really made my day! Thank you so much. It is messages like these that keep me going despite the difficulties I face.
I am delighted to know that not only general public but even science communicators (and journalists) are using my network to get information. That is music for my ears!
Yes, I can speak five languages and can communicate in all of them. I use Telugu whenever I give speeches here. But I have a problem with scientific terms as I cannot translate them into regional languages.
I use art, literature and videos too to make things simple.
Yes, people ask me to give speeches and I oblige them. Science communication bodies here invite me to speak even in press conferences. If I find time, I go to them to fight with journalists too! :)
If you find any difficulty in understanding English words, please send me a message stating that. I will try my best to translate them into the common man's language with the help of my friends.
Q: Can we save ourselves by closing all the doors of a room we are in during a house fire?
Krishna: No! In the average house fire you are likely to die of smoke inhalation within about ninety seconds even if the fire doesn't reach you. The toxic chemicals given off by the burning plastics in your home can reduce this life expectancy to around thirty seconds. Smoke can enter your room through gaps below doors and widows. Don't even entertain such thoughts. You will never be safe in a burning house. The best way to get saved is going out of a burning house/building and going far away from it.
Also while going out of a burning house, remember that the freshest air will be closest to the floor. This is because although smoke is heavier than air, the reason it rises up is because it is so much hotter than the ambient air. So it is better to crawl out of a burning house and if possible, close the doors behind you to prevent fast spreading of fire.
How about preventing fires altogether by taking these steps?
Don't keep any inflammable material ( like petrol, diesel, fire crackers) at home.
Use as less plastic, nylon, polyester or other synthetic materials as possible.
Make sure to unplug electrical charging devices when going out of your home. Some chargers have even more tendency to go on fire or explode. So much so that it’s even recommended to avoid charging overnight with some devices. Also avoid overloading sockets and using endless numbers of socket extensions; if you do have to use one make sure they have a built in trip switch.
Keep matches and lighters away from children, from direct sunlight and nowhere near any sort of naked flame or spark.
Turn off all the gas knobs as soon as you finish your cooking.
Don't use candles. If you have to, keep them in containers.
Keep fire extinguishers and some sand at home. Never use water to extinguish fires caused by electrical appliances.
Q: What should we worry about in case of fire?
Krishna: People worry about flames in a fire. They should worry a lot more about smoke and the fact that they won’t be able to keep their eyes open, let alone breathe. Smoke is very dangerous and can make you lose your consciousness very soon. Then escaping from fire on your own becomes impossible.
Q: Which scientist proved the recurring dream will be truth in real life?
"It’s pure bullshit that being positive can affect cancer outcome. As people who 've taken care of many thousands of cancer patients we regularly witness the harm that kind of thinking engenders.
The implication is that if the cancer is getting worse, well then the patient simply has a wrong attitude and needs to try a lot harder to be positive. This kind of delusional magical thinking that has no basis in science really makes our heads explode.
Cancer patients will already be under severe stress because of their illness. Don't make them undergo more stress by asking them to be positive.
Make them realistic about their condition and that makes them cope better with their condition."
Cancer survival not linked to a positive attitude, study finds
Positive Thinking and Cancer-Myth-Making
Q: Why are scientists considered as some of the most intelligent people on Earth? Because they quickly understand the most complex problems humanity faces?
Krishna: I contest the words ‘quickly understand’ while defining intelligence. A person who is familiar with the situation because of prior experiences, can understand it quickly even though he is not intelligent.
Scientists, who are considered as intelligent, usually take a long, long time to understand complex problems because they are the first persons to enter the new arenas most of the time.
‘Quickly understanding something’ is not a mark of intelligence at least in the field of science. It takes years of toil to understand something for us!
Scientists try to understand complex problems, no matter how difficult they are and how much time the process consumes. That is why they are considered as smart people.
Q: How do I know I'm under the spell of black magic? I constantly remain ill, sad, and depressed for no good reason.
Q: I have been thinking about what happens to our consciousness after death. What are your thoughts about that? Thanks, mam!
This universe and everything in it came into existence using scientific principles. They are run by science. Remove science, everything in the universe and life in it collapse and become non-existent!
Scientists are just trying to understand how this universe and everything in it works using scientific method. They are not discovering or inventing something out of nothing! They are finding things because they exist - making use of scientific principles - in this universe.
Okay, if you are a theist and believe in God ask him why he made this universe using only science and nothing else. Why he used so much science ( or too much science in your own words) to create this universe. He must be a scientist to make this universe scientifically. Then he must also provide scientific evidence for his existence. If he doesn’t, any rational individual or scientific minded person cannot believe in someone who creates everything using scientific method but refuses to follow his own rules and provide evidence for his existence.
Yes, too much science but not scientific enough minded God to provide evidence for his own existence! What an irony! Why blame science for it? Science is following its rules perfectly and is asking for evidence to believe in something you imagine exists!
And if you don’t mind ‘too much science’ of your creator, please follow this space:
Science Communication on Quora
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Permalink Reply by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on
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Permalink Reply by Prashant Maroli on
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Ricky Gervais has put it so beautifully -
“Science is constantly proved all the time,” he said. “If we take something like any fiction, any holy book, and destroyed it, in a thousand years’ time that wouldn’t come back just as it was. Whereas if we took every science book and every fact and destroyed them all, in a thousand years they’d all be back, because all the same tests would be the same result.”
So if Humans became extinct and say after 1000 years a new intelligent specie emerges. If they create a religion it will be totally different from our current religions. But their science will be exactly like it is now.
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Thank you. I too wrote on this ...
Imagine this situation...
A huge asteroid colloids with the Earth in the future. Everything here gets destroyed. All living beings. All religions. All the scientific knowledge written in the books.
Then life originates here again and evolves into intelligent beings. Then in the initial stages of its civilization when it tries, it comes up with new religious stories with different Gods because it doesn't have any knowledge about present ones!
But in the later stages, if it tries to gain scientific knowledge, surprisingly it finds that the Earth revolves around the Sun, Earth is round - not flat, realizes gravity and space-time in the same way as we did! It also finds millions of stars, galaxies and black holes like we did!
It sees atoms and molecules and chemical reactions exactly in the same way as we do!
Their 'medical field' evolves similar to ours! Their technology would be similar to the present one. In fact all their scientific knowledge will be similar to ours!
Even if this happens a hundred times the results would be the same each time!
If intelligent life evolves in different parts of this universe, and if it has to have 'religions' in each part, they would all be different to each other - like the different religious stories and beliefs we have in different parts of Earth. But their scientific knowledge would be exactly the same in all the given situations! Because scientific awareness cannot be different in various parts of our planet or universe.
Why does scientific knowledge remain constant while religion keeps changing?
Can you realize why? If you can, you will understand which one is telling the truth and which one you can trust ... Science or Religion?
https://kkartlab.in/forum/topics/some-qs-people-asked-me-on-science...;
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There are no actual connections except co-incidences and strange interpretations and perceptions that are guided by conditioned brains and wishful thinking.
Oh, yes, some can predict things because of ‘informative imagination’ or ‘educated guesswork’ they have. When a doctor predicts a patient cannot live more than 24 hours, he has full knowledge of the health condition of the patient. This might definitely come true!
In other cases, there is no chance of predicting something except your fears and wishes working overtime.
Therefore, science doesn't endorse them and I don’t believe in them. Nobody has such powers in this universe. Period!
It might be your wishful thinking, but sorry, modern science is beyond any religion, ancient knowledge (primitive science), and pseudo-science. Don’t even try to equate modern science with pseudo-science. You will fall flat.
Let your beliefs remain beliefs. Don’t bring them into the world of science. Don’t try to equate religion with science. They work in completely opposite ways.
Sages work differently from scientists. What they said in ancient times might be relevant then but modern science cannot accept anything without evidence and strictly following scientific method. Period!
Q: What if scientists stop finding the secrets of universe and just accept it could not be found?
Because humanity’s progress and survival depend on them not only now but also in the future.
Krishna : Do you feel your heart beat? That is science!
Do you think your brain is thinking? That is science!
Do you realize your food is giving you energy? That is science!
Do you feel pain? And take medicines to block it? That is science!
Do you trust you were born to your parents? That is science!
Do you see things in front of you? Do you smell things around you? That is science!
Do you hear when your mother is calling your name? That is science!
Do you get hurt when your friends ignore you? That is science!
Do you love your girl friend or wife? That is science!
Do you see, sun, moon and stars at various times of the day? That is science!
Do you read what I am writing on your PC? That is technology based on science!
Do you need more evidence of science?
Science is filled in each and every millimeter and Angstrom of this universe. Without it, you, I and the whole universe cease to exist!
Science doesn’t care whether you believe in it or not. It exists whether you believe in it or not! And that is an irrevocable fact!
Don’t try to explain culture and tradition based customs and rituals in terms of science. That becomes pseudo-science and not genuine science.
When these rituals originated, there was no genuine science. There was some sort of ‘primitive knowledge’ but that can’t stand the scrutiny of modern day science . But still people try to authenticate it by using false explanations. Sorry, science doesn’t accept that kind of deceit. Period!