Science, Art, Litt, Science based Art & Science Communication
Qs people asked me on science and my replies to them - part 226
Krishna: There will be as many shadows as the number of light sources. People who play on playgrounds during night time or indoors where lights are switched on have 4 shadows (or any number of them ) because presumably there are 4 lights (or a number of them) pointed at them from 4 (or several) different directions. Each one casts a shadow.
You don’t see so many shadows when they are playing in the natural sunlight during the day.
Q: Why does paranormal activity still exist in this scientific era?
But some people still believe in it. Why?
Wrong perception, inadequate scientific perception, blind faith, fear, hallucinations and imaginations, fear of the unknown, fear of darkness, lack of critical thinking abilities, lack of adequate scientific knowledge and wrong connections and explanations made because of all the above things. And stubbornly sticking to one’s perception despite science providing enough evidence to the contrary.
And people who want to exploit others will make use of all these things and will not allow people to come out of these baseless beliefs.
Recently it was reported here that parents killed their own children because of these blind beliefs. We try to educate people but people too should be willing to listen to experts rather than illiterate or inadequately literate exorcists or pseudo-pundits.
Read here what science says about it: Science and the paranormal
Krishna: Does religion matter in science and scientific research? No.
Why should we bring religion into the field of science when they work in opposite directions?
Most of the earlier century scientists (and some of them are very famous) are theists too. That just reflects the beliefs and thinking of the times they lived in. But theists exploit this and mention their names to support their beliefs.
And yes, some of the present day scientists too follow religion. Some people need emotional support in these turbulent times. The scientific community understands that. And tolerates it as long as their faith doesn’t interfere with their work.
I can name the scientists who follow religion but don’t want to do that here as I strictly stick to only science on this space.
No controversies that distract us from our work please. We are scientists and our time is precious.
Q; Aside from politics and science, is science still relevant?
What will happen if you remove the process of studying and understanding (science)?
Millions will die of hunger, disease, and economic collapse. And you are asking whether science is still relevant!
Q: What is the reason behind Indians dropping currency coins in to holy rivers and praying?
They might treat rivers as sacred and worship them by dropping flowers, fruits, diyas and coins into them.
Some people think dropping coins into rivers will bring good luck.
And here is a pseudo-scientific explanation: Copper coins of earlier times killed germs in the rivers.
If people think copper coins can purify river water, this is using science to authenticate their beliefs and creating pseudo-science in the process. Because you need tons and tons of copper to clear microbes from such large rivers. A few small coins will not have any effect on the microbial populations of rivers. I am a microbiologist myself and know this for a fact.
I saw poor people collecting coins from the shallow waters of river Godavari. Maybe this is one of the reasons why people drop coins into the rivers. But why don’t we give the coins directly to the poor instead of dropping them into the rivers? Somebody told me this ‘s because we get more “punya” if we drop the coins into the sacred water: the explanation of a culturally and religiously conditioned mind!
Q: What is your main reason for attending scientific conferences?
I always feel elated after attending these conferences. Because I gain many insights and this really helps.
Q: Can religious belief and scientific thinking coexist in a scientist's mind?
Krishna: When I embraced science and scientific method before entering my lab all the beliefs I had got a thorough analysis and those that didn’t follow the latter and couldn’t stand up to the scrutiny were tossed out of the window.
A true scientist cannot tolerate cognitive dissonance.
But, some people need some sort of external emotional support, especially when their minds are conditioned to follow certain things and when their scientific training is inadequate and therefore unable to overcome it, to surmount their problems in life. We understand this and therefore tolerate it as long as their beliefs don’t interfere with their work in the labs.
However, if you couldn’t overcome your beliefs and biases once, where is the guarantee that this will not happen again and again? How can you trust such people?
Some of these are creating pseudo-science by combining science they are doing with their beliefs. Although the scientific method keeps a check on this, these people are trying to hoodwink it by creating their own science journals, submitting their papers to only peers who have similar beliefs to theirs and by following all unscientific ways. We see this happening around us.
So?!
Q: Which is a way that society controls science?
Krishna: Why do you want to control science and evidence based facts? And things that bring prosperity, good health, jobs and progress?
‘Societies’ can consist ignorant and irrational people. If they try to control science, there will be chaos all around and you entre a regressive state.
You will find a very good example here: Madanapalle murders: How educated Indians fall prey to preachings o...
Science should be controlled by only scientific method and people who follow it strictly. They will take care of it well. Don’t worry.
Q: When can you say that a particular belief has a scientific basis or not?
Krishna: Blind beliefs can never, I repeat never, be scientific. Because they go against scientific method. And belief and science work in opposite ways.
If a belief subjects itself to scientific scrutiny and establishes itself as a fact with data and evidence, it ceases to be a belief.
Either be scientific or be blind belief follower . If you try to mix them together to authenticate your belief , that becomes pseudo-science , not genuine science.
The wishes of believers to authenticate their faith as scientific will never, ever be fulfilled. Period.
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