Our Ethics Add Value to Our Science: page one through page

Ethics               

                        I have posted about the scientific method on this blog and intended to write on scientific principles here now. That is I intended to write on the doing of science. I might have included material like: principles of validation and reliability, data management principles, principles in scientific research and the like.

                    However, in starting this post the words "ethics" and "ethical" arose. I began to consider how much shared ethical principle we need in common in order to co-operate effectively. I am sure that we do need enough enough ethical similarity to to maintain our effectiveness. I believe that the more quality and quantity of ethic we share the better our chances for abundant effectiveness. We may need to communicate a great deal to discover the nature of our shared ethics.

                    We need to do a good job of passing useful ethics on to our youth.

                    I was assailed by thoughts of how science and ethics are intertwined. I feel that there is much to be taken into account. For example, the effectiveness of our research practices depends on the quality of our ethics. 

                    C0-operation in our scientific endeavors effects the results of those endeavors. In working with another, or others, difficulties may arise because we are uncertain of the nature of on another's ethics. Even though scientific principles have become useful and prevalent in many areas of our culture, I have begun to suspect that too many of our ethics do not prevail in our scientific endeavors. Adults working in science too often seem not to have their ethics high in their consciousness. Youths in the life such adults learn from them. Those learners could develop high scientific abilities and lowered levels of ethical consciousness.  

                    I have been slow to add to this post. I want to accentuate the positive and believe that ethics and science both have great deal of positivity. I believe that much of our use of ethics and science is positive, but upon contemplation I  see legions of negatives. I try to be sympathetic and generous, but continue seeing that too often we don't measure up very well.

                    I have become more aware of how the value of science to us depends upon our ethics. Science and ethics are intertwined, and so they ought. All of our doings effect our health and general well being. We are wise to take our ethics into account. For example, the effectiveness of research practices in science depends upon ethics in the scientific field and the ethical practices in our total culture. Our principles of integrity of: knowledge, collegiality, honesty, objectivity, subjectivity, openness, etcetera make for dependable and effective co-operation and for our general well-being. There has been a valuable ethical platform working with the features of the scientific method such as: Formulating a hypothesis, collecting  and interpreting data, the communication of scientific knowledge, and the training of young scientists which has done much for the effectiveness of our science. Scientists are responsible for the effects science upon us and so are we all.

                Much of our well-being has depended upon our code of ethics. Perhaps that code needs to be more written about and so be more supportive of our well-being. Perhaps it needs to be taught as an expected part of our doing of science and so to be more supportive of our well-being. We seem to have expected ethics to arise a grow among us without our support. Our expectations have not been supported. It seems, that if we want ethics to be a part of our common culture, that we must provide opportunities for it to be observed, to more carefully teach it to our children and youth, and to practice being mindful of our ethics ourselves. 

                However our ethics are little in many homes, ethics has seldom bee a required course in college or university, and I suspect that our well-being has suffered. Children may lack enough opportunity to observe the workings of ethics in their home. Children and youth often lack opportunity to observe  the workings of ethics at their parents place of business. When do not learn of ethics, when we do not learn to observe ethics, when we are not tutored in ethics, when have been taught little ethics informally and formally our individual well-being is stunted as is that of our society. When this lack of observation, instruction, and practice continues for just a couple of generations a society and culture degenerate.

                 Understanding of, practice of, and alertness to our ethics can do much to keep our science safe and potent as well maintaining a well functioning culture and society and our general and individual well-being.

                One way to begin anew is to relearn the vocabulary of ethics. With that vocabulary we can better speak of ethics. We have perhaps begun to learn a bit right here. We already know some useful opposites. When we do not use them as places or location but rather more as pointing a direction or as orienting us. Examples of such pairs can include: better and worse, useful and useless, better yet might be more helpful and less helpful, or more and less honest, all of which can be used to point us toward the better direction or help us to avoid the worst. One could say that an important use of ethics is to help us to accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative appropriately.                 

                Page two may be on its way soon.

                Thank you for reading!

Please continue on to page two.

Lost Ethics, Lost knowledge? Page Two

                It seems that once more children and youth received wider exposure to ethics through observation of the adults they lived among. Youths now seem to live more among youths. Often adults once found. Adults seem once to have found opportunity to purposefully present youth examples of the use of ethics. Now often both mothers and fathers are working full time. Among some of us there was discussion of ethics. I cannot remember the last time I had such a discussion. Youth and children were more exposed to an informal education in ethics. Now it seems that many are left with much less of that informal education. Seems a bit unethical.

                Now, it seems to me, that once a greater percentage of us received a wider appropriate exposure to ethics through example and opportunity to observe. There seems to be less discussion and other informal learning available to us. The once popular Bachelor of Arts degree at colleges and universities where classes related to ethics are no longer common. How are youth to learn? How are even our professionals to learn? Mandatory classes in ethics seem less present as part of advanced degrees. How are doctors and scientists to gain a good foundation in ethics? Some do so late in their careers.

                For a time a sort of scientific attitude along with some ethics was passed on from mature to young from experienced scientist to disciples. It seem centered on integrity and a perfecting of honesty. I seem to remember it being implied that the pleasurer and profit of scientific investigation was enhanced by the wide honest sharing of findings and learnings. Science was known as an important and useful way of communicating certain understandings and I believe that it is that today. It seems our best way to share many new and more demanding understandings.

                Some of my understandings may seem to some to be so far from the actualities of today as to be of little use to discuss now; and they may have good reasons for their perceptions. Even so, experience and thoughtful persons have thought them useful and and upon consideration you may see that they could continue to serve us well.

                it is good when we are willing to teach one another; it's better when we actually do. Is good that a doctor of medicine is willing to teach a patient who is willing to learn. I believe that it is important that when we see something which is wrong which may impact others, that we communicate that which we see. When we make such a communication, we may well be expected to be asked, "What makes you think so." So, it is useful to consider what makes us think so.  we may also consider that we are the best authority on "that which leads us to think so.

                When a scientist proposes a theory I believe he ought to tell concerned parties of the values and nature of his theory, but also of facts he has encountered which may run counter to his theory or precepts and may not be in agreement with it. The ideas is to provide others with data they may use to better judge the information received. Its a sort of intellectual honesty, a respect for humanity, and of utility for fellow scientists.

                It seems correct that the work of a scientist be shared with other scientists to aid those others in their work, their understanding of his science and of his particular findings. It seems correct to share their results with society in general for the well-being of all. As another example, it seems correct that a doctor share with his patient that which he has learned of his patient's condition. I believe that doctor should aid an interested patient to interpret the information the doctor has provided.

                Our culture is vulnerable, humanity is vulnerable to the lose of vital knowledge. Our very survival may depend on the quality of our ability to share our knowledge among ourselves. Those who know have the responsibility to pass on to others that which they know. You may believe that it is good to encourage those who know to pass on that knowledge to others. You are not alone. Each of us knows of that which is worth passing on.

                It seems right that we each willingly share the information and knowledge we have, which could be helpful to others, with others. Doing so preserves the quality of our lives and may preserve our very lives.

                A basic value of science is its practitioner's ability to accurately and honestly pass on information to us for distribution among us. That is the science I willingly support. 

                It seems to me that the work of a scientist can be very satisfying to her, but that it can also be very demanding. The doing of science calls for ongoing study, practice, care, and integrity. Designing a truly useful experience is not easy and neither is the doing of it.

                We are getting into the nature of science, the scientific method, and the ethics of science; the relationship between ethics and science.

                Thank you for reading.

                You can now go on to page three.

Scientific Methods Can Be Used Anywhere By Anyone

                But, but when is the last time you observed science being done? Most of us can pass months without observing scientific methods in action. A great deal of science can be done in the mind and goes unseen. A great deal of science is done in the field. Geology is a example of that. Even when watching that geologist in the field we cannot be certain that he is actual doing science at that time. Much science is done by employees within institutions large and small. Many of those institutions are corporations, others are universities, and some are governmental. We haven't asked for much oversite of them. It is difficult even for professionals to observe the quality of their methodology. We can more effectively observe their results and understand their explanations. We can demand and exposition of their results and their best estimates of probable and likely effects on society and sometimes have done so.

 Doings of  Scientists are Affecting Us Now

                We need to see that knowledge and understanding of science and the doings of scientists is available to us, our youth, and our children; that is up to us.

Its up to us to receive that information. It is or responsibility to see that our schools and teachers are ready, willing, and able to share their knowledge with our youth, our children, and us. School boards, state and local governments can be encouraged to help us. Independent citizen groups and organizations may help us more.

            Ethics of the people in organizations, groups, governments, schools, businesses, and scientists is a positive contribution to the well-being of us all. Our ethics can help all of us to better share in our society and its doings.

             We can benefit from a better understanding of ethics. Ethics is a branch of philosophy which can help us to choose more useful and helpful actions. It helps us to be more rational. It directs to the more positively productive act. Much of ethics has been dedicated, or directed, to the benefits of society, but that which benefits our neighborhood often benefits you and me as well as others.

                Feel free to offer corrections to my mistakes. You can use the "comments" app below.

                Thank you for reading.

                                                                                                   rcs

                                                                                                     

Science Intro

 Science Intro: A Way of Knowing

 

            Science is the practice of a method of understanding and communication. It may be called the scientific method. This method can be a great help in self-development and in being a successful human being.

            As you become better acquainted with this method of understanding you can become a more effective person. You will also develop a better understanding of the sciences in general and in each individual science, even ytterbiumology.

            The scientific method generally includes the following doings: observation, identification/recognition, description, experimental investigation, and theoretical explanation of natural phenomena. So, a scientist observes a doing or happening and begins to "explain" it. The method is much about how she does ir. That is, how you do it may be more important than what you do.

            To be well started, let's define some of our terms. We can begin with the word 'science.' At the beginning we see that science simply means 'knowledge', the business of knowing. Just how one knows is a serious subject. A subject we could check into later. Early in its history science became knowledge gained by 'study' and then quickly came to be the study of particular and specific subjects. Like us, science carries most of its history into the present. In its more modern meaning it has come to mean the technical and mathematical study of a subject. However, the basic method of doing science is both a simpler and more powerful attitude then one might suppose. 

            We already know that 'method' means 'the way how.' So, science is a particular way of understanding, a particularly effective way of understanding. 

            It may be useful to remember that the suffix -ology means study. So, for example, anthropology is the study of the human species, of humanity in most of its aspects. It has often been a comparative study of behavior, biology, and societies. Whereas biology is the natural scientific study of life  and living organisms. It is one of the more nicely developed sciences. Cells and genes are now important aspects of this study.

            It is important that a person interested in science have an understanding of the nature of scientific: observation, identification, explanation, researching, theoretical description and the like. Also developing their ability to recognize and observe natural phenomena is an aid to their use of scientific methodology.

            So, to gain scientific knowledge and to communicate is useful to understand concepts of the method and its vocabulary. When interests is shown I hope to be able write more on the methods of science. I believe that you already have an understanding of the scientific method as a way many have found useful for gaining practical, productive knowledge and for communicating that knowledge.

            You probably already have the understanding that science is well begun and carried out with studied and practiced observation. The ways of scientific observation are important to the development of knowledge. My dictionary has this to say about 'to observe:' to notice, to perceive, to watch attentively, to make a systematic or scientific observation. "Systematic." That implies that there is a system which can be learned. It seems that the way of a scientific doing is, at least, as important as the what.

            Observation is the act of observing; that is, the act of noting and recording of a phenomena, doing, or happening, perhaps with instruments. Observation might lead to  developing a judgement or inference. What are the methods for developing a judgement or inference!

            "Identify" could be our next term to examine. If you would like me to continue some sort of exposition of science, please leave a comment to that effect in the "comment" window below. 

            Identifying a phenomena is, in large part, for the purpose of being able to recognize the phenomena yourself and to enable others to also recognize it. There is more to say about the recognizing/identifying part of our scientific process, but i will leave that for another time.

            Oh, yes. Ytterbiumology is beyond my present knowledge, still it can be studied and known. Its a chemical element with the symbol Yb and atomic number 70. I may not live long enough to get deeply into the study of this element. Perhaps you can tell us more about it.

            Thanks for reading.

 

 

                                                                                                  RCS

                                                

Earth Changes

Survival Related                     

                   The following are science related notes of mine from two or three years ago that still seem pertinent. They could be called survival related. 
                   

                     We can be alert. Wecan learn. WE can adapt . We can survive and give our selves and others a better chance to thrive. We can act. To our list of appropriate actions we can benefit by adding co-operation collaboration, and love of reality. Yes "love" is active.

                    

                A very few years ago a 30,000 year old, non-dangerous, virus was revived. An 8 million year old virus is said to have been revived too. Recent studies suggest that some very old antibiotic resistant are reviving! Holy Moly! Still we have learned from the covid 19 pandemic and we have begun to realize that we have some more rapid Earth changes to adapt to.

Adaptations: 

                   We are making some adaptations to expected changes in the agricultural situation. Some of those changes may be so big that some of us may find ourselves growing wheat where bananas once grew. Some experts have been collecting and saving seeds and storing them in safe places. They expect that we may need them to replace lost seed and lost harvests. They suspect that some Earth changes now in progress may be so great as to lead crops that were once grown on one continent may no longer grow well there and need to be grown on another continent. Changes may not be that great in our time, but it looks like they will be big enough to call for major adaptations. We may see changes large enough to cause significant movements of crops and of people.

                    We may find it life-saving to have seeds which will produce crops where the people are. A large and famous sites set up to safely store seed for our use was once called the Doomsday Vault. That vault adapted to safely preserve seed in the far north was invaded by destructive melt water. Melting of snow, ice, and permafrost is melting faster than many have expected and has brought on the need for adaptations. We can benefit by more learning an better actions right now.

Useful Action:                 

  You can take useful action now by checking out our situation now and consider possible adaptations. It seems for enough valor to better understand what is happening to our Earth which will effect our social, economic, political and health situation much more and more rapidly than we have learned to expect. Not all is bad different parts of  our Earth are changing indifferent ways, perhaps many for the better. Some say that the expected happenings are mostly neither good nor bad, but just are.

                    Change seems to be a constant, but the changes of today are happening faster than they have in several hundred years. So expect changes to continue to quicken. It may be well to consider how we shall take care of ourselves. Some of us have been learning a lot and developing adaptive practices. But, perhaps most of us are not doing enough. More of us may come to suffer and die in rather short order. We speak of global warming, but parts of the globe may experience freezing which it has not seen in  a thousand years. Flooding and drying are already in the news.

                    A lot is happening which many of us have chosen to ignore. More metals are being released into our air and water. Mercury is among them. Mercury is among them. Mercury is toxic and causes brain damage. It accumulates in fish, fowl, cattle, etc. Once it gets into us it is difficult to get rid of. We have experience with mercury, but seem to be coming to experience much more than usual. We use seaweed for many things including fertilizer. We also use it to make ice-cream. Mercury accumulates in seaweed, I'm told. It is possible to adapt to the situation without taking ice-cream from kids and pregnant mothers. Our we could just have a generation of brain damaged ice-cream eaters. One of us or a few of us cannot do everything, but every one can do something and there are still a lot of us.

Adapt:                   

                 We can do little to effect the massive Earth changes occurring now. But we can consider how we shall adapt to them. We can survive. We may even thrive. We are the people responsible for us. We can help our children to a better chance to learn and thrive.

                    Frozen fungi spore, bacteria, virus, and and more is being released after being  frozen for 75 years, for 500 years, a 1,000 years, 10,000 years. Some life forms are reviving after being froze for 20,000 years, and 30, 40, and 50 thousand years of frozen sleep! Many are reviving! I could be wrong. Check it out for yourself and tell us about it. I believe that most of the reviving life is of no direct danger to us, even when they are very much alive. Some may prove to be of great value to us! A few others can kill us.

                We need to help each other to keep track of what researchers are learning now However, a very few years ago researchers experimenters experienced reviving a virus, in laboratory conditions, which had be frozen for more than 30,000 years. It was one which almost certainly was harmless to humans.

Get clear about that which we can do:                

    We can do much to protect ourselves, our children, and our children's children. We can get clear about that which we can do. We all have some common aims. We all have some useful information. We each have have some skill. Most of us have some knowledge of and experience with co-operation. We can use that knowledge and experience to establish a conversation about how we can collaborate in adapting to these faster than usual Earth changes. We can share information about the nature of those changes and of how we can best adapt to them. An ongoing dialogue makes our sharing and co-operation more effective. With co-operation we can do a lot; with co-operative origination we can do more. Family, friends, and neighbors can share information and even work together. We can connect with students of the problem. We could better understand the nature of the related problems by finding out what sociologist and scientists are are saying about them. We can clarify the questions we have. Questions like: What can we do with large undocumented migrations across national borders by people escaping droughts, floods, hunger? Or, How are such migrations likely to effect us right here? What can we do avoid bad effects from such migration?

                Climate changes and some other Earth changes have become more extreme than we have expected or experienced and are now expected to continue and worsen. Canada may soon have the best far north seaports seen in our history. The are experiencing competition from Russia. The south of Canada and Russia may become excellent places to grow tropical and semi-tropical fruit. should that happen what may happen to their wheat crops?

                I'll repeat some of that which know about that which is happening. For example, much of our Earth's surface is permafrost. Permafrost is what we call earth which has long been frozen to great depths. It is mixed with water and a lot of vegetable matter and other stuff. Permafrost has now melted more than it ever has in our history and longer

                 A while back we found that in shallow seas and not so shallow seas at their bottom there is soil and plant matter which has frozen deeply like permafrost. We believe that it has been frozen there for long and long. Now we find that it is melting quickly and releasing large amounts of methane gas and much else. The gases are bubbling up and mixing up with our air. Methane burns well. It does not seem likely that our sea or air will catch fire. You may hear of some cases. However co2, virus, bacteria, fungus heavy metals and more are being released. Much of the virus, bacteria, and fungus has revived and so is alive!

                Isn't this fun? It seems time to learn more. The sun shines east and the sun shines west. The sun shines best on that part of Earth tipped or turned most toward that good old sun. All the Earth is effected, each part a bit differently. The Earth tips, turns, spins, and wobbles continually. Over time the orientation of the Earth continues to change. The tip and wobble seem to change more and effect us more notably. The tip we are now experiencing is one of the more extreme for a long time and may continue for, what seems to us, a long time. We might take this as a learning experience. We could learn to better use our ability to adapt.

                We know there are massive emissions of co2 and methane here now and increasing! At this same time ancient and new sources of disease are being released. So, we may expect more health problems. The recent outbreak in covid virus could be called an early practice for what is to come. We have some learning to do. We have preparing to do. We have adapting to. We really have to do much of this together.                                                  

What is going on:                

Each one of us is limited I what we can do, but every one of us can come to understand more about what is going on. Fault finding and name calling does not help. Increased awareness can usually be very helpful, even life saving. No one can do everything. Each person can do something. Each doing is helpful. Even it is mistaken doing, it may inform many.

                There is a lot to learn just about melting and thawing. Northern ice in contact with sea water is melting and releasing ancient matter into the sea. Mercury is being released. Mercury accumulates in plants and animals and often does them harm. Some call us top feeders. We eat plants and animals. We eat fish and fish accumulate mercury from sea life. The process can do us greater greater harm. We can find out, or figure out, what to do bout that. By doing that promptly we prevent pain, sorrow, and death. We ought to share that which find out and figure out.

                There is plenty you and I can do right now.

                I the long run, with luck, we can help our interested youth to learn more about chemistry than we did. We could learn critical bit right now. There is a lot to learn much of it is interesting, useful, and good for us. There is a lot of chemistry going on in our sea and atmosphere right now. Whole lot of shakin' goin' on.

                    Methane and other stuff, being released mostly from melting permafrost, can be made useful. Methane is the main part of natural gas widely used for cooking and heating. Right now most of it is moving into our atmosphere and the air we breathe. It is colorless, odorless, and suffocating. Some say that it has already begun the suffocation of some of us. The fact is that the percentage of our air which is methane is increasing. I am pretty sure that our sky will not burn. However, I do remember it being called swamp gas and causing mysterious fires in swamps.

                Some of us know that things are mostly doings and most of us believe that one thing leads to another. Still we have a lot to learn, much of it pleasantly exciting and wonderous.

                We already know a lot that seems somewhat interesting. We are pretty sure that burning releases stuff. We have seen smoke rise from a fire. Old wives that some woods released a lot of soot which blackened their kettles and more.  the burning of gas, oil and wood sends soot into the atmosphere. Volcanic activity may do the same. What goes up must come down. A significant amount of that black soot comes down on white snow and ice. It may not blacken the ice and snow but it can darken them. The darker they get the more heat from the sun they absorb and then more they melt. The melt runoff mostly goes into the sea. That runoff can do more than raise the level of the sea. There are books about that; Youn Tube videos too. Oh, much of this process, effects permafrost too, and methane that not only traps sunlight to warm our atmosphere and also suffocates us. Ah, the wonders of chemistry!

                Haven't we heard that methane burns releasing co2, our biggest greenhouse gas. Greenhouse gases lead to warming of the earth which leads to more rapid melting of our snow, ice, and permafrost. Which continues a great round of cause and effect. Many of us have heard the saying, "don't" mess with mother nature." The balance of nature is to be protected because it helps us to a safe and comfortable life. But there are other forces beyond humanity which effects that balance too. So humans need to adapt to changes which they cannot control.

                So what can we do to help our youth to a comfortable life or at least to survive? Talk with another or others about our Earth condition and situation. There is a "comments" app available just below this essay. Use it to make suggestions, ask questions, tell us something interesting and useful, say something to help me to correct the errors and mistakes I have made in writing  this essay, or make a comment of some kind. We need all the help we can get.

                I will publish this and will write more soon along similar lines. I am nearly praying for some volunteer proof reading type help. Even my spell check app has disappeared.

                Thank you for reading.

                                                                                             rcs