SCI-ART LAB

Science, Art, Litt, Science based Art & Science Communication

Krishna: A polymath is a person of wide knowledge or learning. S/he is also a person whose expertise spans a significant number of subject areas, known to draw on complex bodies of knowledge to solve specific problems. Polymaths typically generate significant insights and breakthroughs in a variety of fields. Since mainstream academics tend to be very discipline-focused, polymaths usually learn most of what they know as highly curious and experimental ways.

A polymath can get his or her knowledge from a teacher as a student or it can also be self-taught.

Generally, autodidacts are individuals who teach themselves, rather than being taught by a teacher and they choose the subject they will study, their studying material, and the studying rhythm and time. They may or may not have formal education, and their study may be either a complement or an alternative to formal education. Autodidacts need not be polymaths, because they might earn their knowledge in only one subject. Moreover, if one teaches oneself, it need not be the right knowledge! I found this after meeting some people who claimed to be autodidacts.

In the age of google where do autodidacts get the knowledge especially of science? From the internet of course! But think about this: Can a few hours googling be equivalent to a Ph.D. of a specialist? Never!

The Internet mostly provides half truths. I have seen people 'learning' things from internet ( I gave them a new name: "Internet Scientists"! ), thinking that what they have learned is correct so now they are as good as any scientist or even better than scientists as they have 'researched thoroughly' about the subject on the net and questioning the integrity of science and arguing things with real scientists. What they don't realize is what they have learned was second hand knowledge, which could sometimes be error-prone but refuse to accept it, refuse to provide proof, add their prejudicial opinions to their 'research' and create a Chimera. And blame scientists and science for all this confusion! This is a dangerous situation! Because what these people 'know' can only be half truths. And what they understand is based on their preconceptions of the matter (1)

Searching the Internet for information may make people feel smarter (The Dunning-Kruger Effect *possessed individuals) than they actually are, according to new research published by the American Psychological Association (1). It seems internet searches create a false sense of personal knowledge. With the Internet, the lines become blurry between what you actually know and what you think you know. According to lab scientists, an inflated sense of personal knowledge also could be dangerous in the political realm or other areas involving high-stakes decisions (1).

(* The Dunning-Kruger Effect is, essentially, that people believe they’re smarter than they really are, thus, end up being more outspoken, and unfortunately, the ones who usually end up making the most noise.)

What is more dangerous is these internet scientists try to ‘advice’, ‘inform’ and sometimes even try to ‘correct’ not only laymen but also the real scientists.

Yes, I have seen these 'internet scientists' actually arguing with 'real scientists' on several important topics. And I am shocked too to realize how they get their information, who 'funds' them, who 'informs' and 'influences' them. Sometimes Internet scientists will have 'more information' than real scientists! Yes, the internet is generating more information than labs these days! I have seen some science writers with 'silly beliefs' vigorously propagating their view points.

So, a polymath who learnt various subjects from the right teachers or experts is the right person to go to for knowledge earning. S/e is also the right person to solve the problems creatively.

Autodidacts might not be the right people to get associated with for knowledge gaining or to trust for problem solving, especially in science.

Autodidacting in art subjects is easier than doing it in science subjects.

By the way, I am a polymath. While I got my science knowledge and qualifications from the right channels, my art, although was ‘self taught’ in the beginning, some subject experts guided me in my pursuit. As I deal with science-art and science-literature most of the time, and as there were no ‘teachers’ in these subjects, I became a pioneer of sorts! I became both the teacher and student and after all these years, became a specialist and people from all parts of the world come to me for guidance now!

That is another way of becoming a polymath!

Footnotes:

1. Lab scientists versus internet scientists

Q: Can anyone justify "Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind"?

Krishna: People try to justify it because it ‘s attributed to Einstein.

But how can two things that work in opposite ways be brought together like this in the first place?

Science doesn’t need religion and the controversial stories behind it to survive. It can survive and stand on its own.

Science has two aspects to it.

One: The principles with which this universe came into existence (to atheists), or created (to theists) and run by it.

Two: The process with which we study this universe.

People usually take only the second one into consideration, not the first one while dealing with this aspect. But the truth is, without scientific principles, this universe in which we live, wouldn't have come into existence in the first place. Only when the scientific principles based universe came into existence, the consequences like galaxies, stars, planets, origin of life, its evolution, human beings and finally their religions became a reality.

So science is the basis for everything.

E=mc2 is an eternal condition and did not require the mind of man and the religion originated from it to understand it before it sprang into existence.

But yes, without following the scientific method to provide credibility to its existence, religion is just a blind belief without science.

Q: Why can one become infected even after having vaccinated against Covid-19? What do you think about it?

Krishna: One of my uncles took one dose of the vaccine. 25 days after taking it, he caught Covid. He is 74, has sugar, BP and other health issues.

It was only one dose but the partial immunization protected him to a large extent.

His symptoms were very light, just like ordinary cold. He survived it easily. He is fine now. He ‘s happy he took the vaccine.

If the viral load is high, if your immune system doesn’t work well, if you have the highly virulent strain, you might get infected but you will escape it with minimum damage if you take vaccine.

Vaccination has that advantage.

Q: How many days of fever are the side effects after the Covishield vaccination in India?

Krishna: That differs from person to person. Some don’t have any side effects at all.

Usually youngsters and women face more side effects.

The fever due to vaccination doesn’t last for more than two days. You might feel a little weak for two more days. That’s all.

Q: What are some examples of superstitions and their scientific basis, if any?

Krishna: Superstitions can never have, I repeat, can never have, scientific basis. Because they work in opposite directions.

If anybody tries to justify his or her superstition using science, that becomes pseudo-science, not genuine science. Genuine science never supports irrational beliefs. Get that right first.

Q; Q: Do you believe in astrology? If yes justify with real example

Krishna: Do you believe in astrology? The ‘yes’ answer to this Q will always be a belief based one.

If yes, justify with ‘real example’. Nobody can truly do that if they believe in astrology!

Because ‘belief’ is always perception based, not genuine evidence or fact based. So the person who says ‘yes’, will interpret ‘the example’ he is giving in favour of his belief (Confirmation bias-the tendency to search for, interpret, favour, and recall information in a way that confirms or supports one's prior beliefs or values. ). That is his perception which supports his belief.

A person with confirmation bias cannot process the information or anything happening around in the right manner. People displaying this bias select information that supports their views, ignoring contrary information, or when they interpret ambiguous evidence as supporting their existing attitudes. The effect is strongest for desired outcomes, for emotionally charged issues, and for deeply entrenched beliefs. Confirmation bias cannot be eliminated entirely when you have beliefs.

This bias can be managed by education and training in Critical Thinking skills.

Critical thinking: https://kkartlab.in/forum/topics/some-questions-people-asked-on-sci...

However a person who says NO to the first Q justifies his/her answer in this way with facts and evidence:

Q: What is the triple layer mask?

Krishna: A triple layer face mask is a non-medical, fabric face covering which has three layers.

These will consist of an inner layer of an absorbent material such as cotton, a non-woven middle layer consisting of a material such as polypropylene, and a final, non-absorbent synthetic top layer such as polyester or polyester blend. According to the World Health Organisation these should be worn in places where social distancing is not possible, to reduce the risk of Covid-19 infection.

Visual test for a triple -layered mask:

If you cut open your mask, you should see a very obvious three layers. The three layers would typically consist of an outer hydrophobic non-woven layer (translucent), middle melt-blown layer (white), and an inner soft absorbent non-woven layer (green, blue, or white).

Q: When will this corona dark night end from India?

Krishna:

When people behave sensibly!

When they listen to what scientists say.

Two days back I went to a market to buy vegetables. The market was full. There were lots and lots of people. Only 25% of them wore masks. Some of them were wearing it on their necks and chins! When I told them to wear them correctly, they said, “We can’t breathe when we cover our noses and mouths!” I told them, they can’t breathe at all if they get COVID! Then some of them laughed and said, “Don’t worry, God will look after us.”

Yes, people attend Kumbh Melas, get sick, but still think they will go to heaven if they die after attending it.

Most people don’t get vaccinated. ‘Vaccines are not safe’, they say. “Is COVID safe?”, when I asked them this Q, their reply was, ‘Just cold and fever don’t kill you!’

Then we have ‘‘vaccine and drug nationalism” to deal with.

Some even told me, a microbiologist, ‘‘There is no Covid, these are just rumours!”

I got several invitations for parties, marriages, gatherings, meetings, and conferences. This despite the grim situation.

I faced such several similar facepalm moments in the past six months.

Then there are politicians who think as we have ‘conquered Covid’, we can allow elections, religious gatherings, political rallies and what not and lockdown and strict measures are a ‘burden on the economy’.

“We kept warning that the pandemic was not over but no one was listening,” says Rakesh Mishra, senior principal scientist and director of the Hyderabad-based Center for Cellular and Molecular Biology (1). He also adds that CCMB also found that the double mutant is only responsible for around 10 percent of the cases countrywide. In Maharashtra, where this variant was dominant, it accounted for only 30 percent of the cases. “I would blame this surge on human behavior,” says Mishra.

The mutated strains of the virus that are teasing us are only a small part of the crisis.

Just yesterday one of my medical doctor friends died due to covid. Soon we can face a shortage of healthcare workers.

Combination of these major factors and other minor ones have made the situation go out of control.

Now either impose a total lockdown to gain control again and make the economy suffer, or wait for the elusive herd immunity to save us at the cost of millions of lives.

The choice is yours!

Footnotes:

(1) https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/how-indias-secon...

Q: Is temperature screening effective to detect coronavirus disease?

Krishna: Temperature screening just detects a fever, not coronavirus. In the present circumstances, if you get a fever (that doesn’t subside quickly - I got a fever after taking the vaccine but it was only for two days), you suspect something is wrong and take another reliable test to detect the actual cause.
Q: Is science without religion lame? Is religion without science blind?
Krishna: People try to justify it because it ‘s attributed to Einstein. Even if Einstein said it, it reflects the thinking of the times Einstein lived in.

But how can two things that work in opposite ways be brought together like this in the first place?

Science doesn’t need religion and the controversial stories behind it to survive. It can survive and stand on its own.

Science has two aspects to it.

One: The principles with which this universe came into existence (to atheists), or created (to theists) and run by it.

Two: The process with which we study this universe.

People usually take only the second one into consideration, not the first one while dealing with this aspect. But the truth is, without scientific principles, this universe in which we live, wouldn't have come into existence in the first place. Only when the scientific principles based universe came into existence, the consequences like galaxies, stars, planets, origin of life, its evolution, human beings and finally their religions became a reality.

So science is the basis for everything.

E=mc2 is an eternal condition and did not require the mind of man and the religion originated from it to understand it before it sprang into existence.

But yes, without following the scientific method to provide credibility to its existence, religion is just a blind belief without science.

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