Science Struggles—Part 2

There's a related struggle that is going on—primarily in academia—that illustrates another misunderstanding that the public has about science. It also stems from too many science educators teaching science as a simple sequential series of facts. I believe this is why so many students dislike and even dread the most basic science subject: physics.

I taught physics at the university level for a few years and was taken aback by the fact that many students were very anxious and were fretting over a subject that I loved. I soon realized that the physics text that the college had selected before I arrived was filled with intimidating equations and expected students to memorize those equations and their associated facts, with little emphasis on gaining any insight into their meaning. The second year of teaching I switched to a delightful physics text that stressed the concepts behind the equations, while minimizing their manipulation. I was delighted to see that many students now responded with far more receptivity to this most basic science. Class time now included lively discussions that had not been there before.

Without realizing it at the time, I was introducing a little of the philosophy of physics to my students. I have since become much more aware of the relevance of the philosophy of science—a subject that is even more misunderstood than science itself. Many people—particularly college students—are resistant to including a philosophical perspective to science. After all, isn't science a very tangible and concrete subject, while philosophy is fuzzy and mostly a matter of opinion?

It is a mistake to treat science mostly as a dry, objective study of the nature of things. Unfortunately, many scientists seem to encourage that kind of thinking, but it can lead to the perception that science has nothing to do with emotions, ethics, and moral choices. This may be partly why the public looks upon scientists as self-involved, introspective, and out of touch with the real world—and possibly even contributes to public distrust of science.

There is a lively field of study called the “philosophy of science,” that too many people—including a fair number of scientists—are either unaware of or distrust. But this field asks crucial questions that we all should be asking. It addresses questions that mere facts alone can't. It probes the understanding of science, rather than just its knowledge. It asks how we know these things, and are there some things we can't know? Is our understanding valid? Can our scientific knowledge guide us ethically or not? When we feel that we've improved our knowledge about a subject, how do we know that? How do we evaluate the improvement? What are the limitations of science? How do we discern true science from pseudoscience? These are important philosophical questions to be asking. If scientists were more open to them, it's possible that the disconnect between scientists and the public could be repaired some.

So there are many reasons why science is struggling in the eyes of the public. At a time when scientific discoveries are coming at a speedy pace and technology (the application of science) is rushing onward, this is not the time for poor communication between scientists and citizens; let alone mistrust and misunderstanding. The near future will be bringing many serious challenges to humanity. Those challenges need to be met by a robust science community working with a scientifically literary populace.