The Question of “Why”
On the first day of class, I engaged you in a discussion about science and why we were studying the topic. Some chose the “appeasement of the instructor” route by indicating that we “need to learn more about ourselves each day.” We eventually came to the conclusion that we are studying science because it is a required course. But this raised a new question, “Why is it a requirement?”
The polls
In order to come to an understanding of “why”, I conducted the following polls without revealing the results until both sets were performed. The first poll asked if you agreed with a quoted statement (without attribution). The second poll inquired about the appropriateness of any portion of the previous poll. The responses are below:
If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut the whole thing down. -W. Todd Akin
Akin Quote Follow-up. Those who chose “D” indicated that they did not find the question nor the statement offensive, but did not agree with the statement and therefore defaulted the last option. They also indicated that it was relevant to the course. The answer “C” is inconsistent with the results of the first poll.
After revealing the results, a few students came forward to indicate why they answered the way they did. There was the further clarification in the second poll that “D” was a default choice since none of the other options were viable. The minority who indicated the statement was TRUE did not come forth and defend it, while some who indicated FALSE stated that “It didn’t seem possible“. When finally attributing the source of the statement and it’s context, someone stated “I really think it’s FALSE now.”
I intentionally conducted both polls together without revealing the results in order to remove biases. For those who do not recall the context of the statement and the discussion, you can find it here or here and even here (as well as many other places). Option “C” in the second poll was also inserted as a consistency check. The responses were indeed inconsistent. Perhaps we did not understand the point of the exercise or the questions? In any case, the class discussion was fruitful. We also concluded, that the statement was actually 100% inaccurate with reality.
The “Why”
From this exercise, we learned that the class was not aware of any controversy. What seemed superficially political was in fact an issue of Science and deliberately illustrated our place in the political process. When we review the question “Why do we study Science?” we have to remember that Science is an integrated part of lives even if we don’t consciously think about it. Science and Biology is all around us. Laboratory science is a general education requirement. We learn science even if we have no interest in it because it is the basis for all that is around us. Most importantly, science changes the way we think. It challenges us to become more analytical and understand mechanisms.
In a New York Times exercise, Neil deGrasse Tyson provided an eloquent response to what he would do differently as President of the country that actually explains why we learn science.
When you’re scientifically literate, the world looks different. Science provides a particular way of questioning what you see and hear. When empowered by this state of mind, objective realities matter. These are the truths on which good governance should be based and which exist outside of particular belief systems.
Our government doesn’t work — not because we have dysfunctional politicians, but because we have dysfunctional voters. As a scientist and educator, my goal, wouldn’t be to lead a dysfunctional electorate, but to bring an objective reality to the electorate so it could choose the right leaders in the first place.
In short, we learn science to become conscientious members of society. This course is not about civic engagement, but I hope I’ve illustrated why we need to be aware of various concepts that are intertwined with our lives and our place in society.
Clarification
Any act of coercive sex is rape. There are no semantics that change this definition. Any use of modifier words like “legitimate” is not in line with an objective reality and is simply ignorant stupid.
Please continue the discussion below.
