Believing vs. Knowing, Part 2: In Defense of Science and Rational Thinking

Often I hear the tired statement, "I do not believe in 'insert scientific principle here.', (Big Bang, carbon dating, age of the earth/universe, evolution, climate change, I'm an Ape, etc)", which causes me to mentally respond, "Wow! We really are blowing Science Education in this country!".  When questioned as to why they do not 'believe' in that particular point of science, they usually demonstrate a shallow understanding on that point, if any at all.  What they really mean is they don't accept it, and they don't accept it because they have not invested the effort to really understand it, and they have not invested the effort to understand it because it makes them uncomfortable and challenges a held belief. It is a true situation of the willful ignorance of confirmation bias.

But why should that surprise me? Many of these (almost always religious) people don't understand and have not fully investigated their own beliefs either. Many fail to comprehend the historical/cultural context of what they are reading when they hold their book of scripture, nor can they even tell you accurately where, when, or by whom it was written. When you inform them of some of these facts, some will dismiss it, maybe thinking it inconsequential. Some will deny it! They apply very little rational evaluation of the material as from whence and whom it came. To them it came from God through his prophets. It is viewed in a spiritual, mystical, and supernatural light. These other physical explanations are of little consequence because they do not choose to know with their minds.  They know with their heart and feelings.

So in light of this, I must be forgiving of their misapplication of the word “believe” when discussing scientific evidence, because in their vernacular, as pointed out by part 1, believing IS knowing. So in actuality what they are really saying when they say they don't believe in a particular principle of science is, “I do not know much about that principle of science.” Fair enough.  Of course, this is not what they mean, they actually mean that what they know religiously trumps what is known scientifically, and that science is wrong. 

Conversely, when they say, “I KNOW that such & such religious idea is TRUE, what they are actually trying to express is, “ I really really really believe it a lot”. 

To be on the same page a translating device is needed, much like that used in a Sci-Fi movie when an alien visitor needs to communicate with the natives.

I know this can come off sounding like a trivial exercise in semantics, but I think the words we use to express our ideas are very important. Words and choice of words are the foundations of logic and reasoning, and provide for clear communication of ideas.  When you hear the word semantics, it's most often used in a trivializing or dismissive way, which might cause you to think that paying too much attention to what words mean is stupid. Actually, semantics is a very important area of language. Most people have a weak command of their native tongue and have trouble expressing their ideas clearly and without ambiguity or confusion. It is my hypothesis that people are only as intelligent as the language they use and understand, and that words lie at the heart of our ability to think conceptually. Words prop up concepts. Concepts prop up intelligence.

At one point in my life I fixated on the idea that for every thought I wished to convey there existed a perfect combination of words to convey it, even a streamlined efficiency of words, an economy of words. Maybe even ONE word! (As you can see, I've taken the shot-gun option of words in this piece). Synonyms possess nuance, each one conveying a color to the thought communicated.

Accepting this concept of the “perfect word” I soon became frustrated as the weakness with my native language became even more apparent. This caused me to do something most people laugh at... I took to reading the dictionary and highlighted every word I did not either fully understand, use with frequency, or use correctly.  

I'm not claiming any superiority here. I'm still a work in progress, and there are so many people smarter than me on so many topics. I come from intellectually humble beginnings.  I was raised in a home where religion was emphasized much more than education.  I attended one of the poorest ranked high schools as far as academic rigor is concerned, and was a poor student, in that I took the minimal required courses in that lax High School (My attendance and grades were good, 3.6 GPA). Yet I've always admired people with great minds and abilities. I think this valuing of intelligence has caused me to push myself to know more and understand more. My one redemptive quality was that I have always been a very curious person. I was one of those nightmare WHY children, and am now a nightmare WHY adult...torturing even myself with the questioning.

I know this can come off sounding pompous, or a bit egotistical. But you see, that's just it, we have a real problem in our American culture ->  Anti-intellectualism, and kids get that message loud and clear. Girls should be soft and pretty. Guys should be tough and athletic. Neither should be smart, that's what we call a nerd. Don't try to be smart or talk intelligently, that's not cool. Don't use big words – uncool, “Look at you, puttin' on airs” Don't talk about ideas – uncool, even boring. Talk about events or people. “Is Joe taking Sally to the Prom? Did you know he chews tobacco and still goes to church? I wonder what Sally's parents would do if they found out?” These are the typical topics of conversation.

"Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people." - Eleanor Roosevelt

The point is, if you are not careful with your words, how can you be careful with your thoughts or ideas? If we do not value ideas and expressing those ideas with intelligence, how does that effect the makeup of our culture? We need to do more to promote and esteem intelligent men and women in society, and steer our conversations more toward ideas, and away from all the other tripe that clogs our public dialogue.

Foremost, we have to stop allowing the crap to fly against science, and people seeking to be intelligent critical thinkers.  Here are a few gems I've heard, followed by my mental response.

“I take science with a grain of Salt” 

 Oh really? You must take your religion with the whole shaker then?

"Science tries to tell us all that we are animals. We are not animals!"

Ummm....wow...you know you are a hairless ape, right?

“Science doesn't know everything.” 

 That's right and that's a good thing.  Science has a pretty good grip on what it does and doesn't know.

“Science is sometimes wrong - look at cold fusion.” 

At least it admits when its wrong, and is highly self correcting...in fact the whole Scientific Method is set up to prove itself wrong. Peer review is wonderful.  You cannot fly an idea without having the whole community double checking it, replicating it, trying to prove it wrong. It is only by having a willingness and directive to prove yourself wrong that you can ever know when you are right. If you must always be right, you will most assuredly get stuck being wrong. 

Science strives to prove itself wrong, religion strives to prove itself right. As such, I trust Science more when they say they've got it right (or better stated - We've got a really good and robust approximation (accuracy over precision).

We are animals with big brains ... I hope that we can evolve enough to use those brains and grow past all the stupid shit we do and throw about, especially that thrown against what can serve to advance and refine us.  Part of that involves realizing the errors of our cognition, taking our brains down a few pegs so that they can operate accurately within their known error zones. (Knowing the mechanics of cognition will actually allow you to read people's minds in many situations = true empathy).

When we claim to know things that can only be believed we commit a serious mental error.  When we continue to believe things that have been soundly shown to be false, well that is the worst part of faith, and the definition of ignorance and delusion. Belief perseverance and backfire effect are serious defects within our cognition.   I encourage you to explore those two.

From Part One: Go ahead and believe things, as long as you keep a healthy dose of doubt mixed into that belief - belief without doubt is not belief, it is a bastard of thought that looks a lot like "knowing".

Now to end all this with a wonderful poem:

1. God moves in a mysterious way
   His wonders to perform;
   He plants His footsteps in the sea
   And rides upon the storm.
2. Deep in unfathomable mines
   Of never failing skill
   He treasures up His bright designs
   And works His sov’reign will.
3. Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take;
   The clouds ye so much dread
   Are big with mercy and shall break
   In blessings on your head.
4. Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,
   But trust Him for His grace;
   Behind a frowning providence
   He hides a smiling face.
5. His purposes will ripen fast,
   Unfolding every hour;
   The bud may have a bitter taste,
   But sweet will be the flow’r.
6. Blind unbelief is sure to err
   And scan His work in vain;
   God is His own interpreter,
   And He will make it plain.

- God Moves in a Mysterious Way | William Cowper

Fresh courage take my friends of faith :)