Tulefell: People from the same country and even from the same family have hard times to communicate with each other or agree on something however little and insignificant. We ARE alien to each other.
On why everyone needs to learn to be wrong
Understanding what science is, understanding what it’s not, is a very humble pursuit. It’s the process by which you understand nature. As a professional scientist you’re usually wrong and you try things out and you change your view immediately when some new evidence comes in that contradicts your view. It runs against many of the feelings that we have about our opinion or the value of our opinion. So I think it has to be educated out. Then the question arises: when does it get educated out? I think for most scientists it’s when you’re doing a PhD – you suddenly find that you’re not as clever as you thought you were.
It’s perhaps the case that we need to move the teaching of humility to earlier on in the school system. I think about this quite a lot because I can’t understand the polarisation of politics at one level, but also the polarisation of discourse, not only online but everywhere. We see it, certainly in English-speaking countries, we see a polarisation and then I find it very difficult to understand and I have to remember that I’ve had a particular path through life. Science is about training yourself to understand that you’re likely to be wrong.
tomcatty: On why everyone needs to learn to be wrong
Understanding what science is, understanding what it’s not, is a very humble pursuit. It’s the process by which you understand nature. As a professional scientist you’re usually wrong and you try things out and you change your view immediately when some new evidence comes in that contradicts your view. It runs against many of the feelings that we have about our opinion or the value of our opinion. So I think it has to be educated out. Then the question arises: when does it get educated out? I think for most scientists it’s when you’re doing a PhD – you suddenly find that you’re not as clever as you thought you were.
It’s perhaps the case that we need to move the teaching of humility to earlier on in the school system. I think about this quite a lot because I can’t understand the polarisation of politics at one level, but also the polarisation of discourse, not only online but everywhere. We see it, certainly in English-speaking countries, we see a polarisation and then I find it very difficult to understand and I have to remember that I’ve had a particular path through life. Science is about training yourself to understand that you’re likely to be wrong.
Yes I believe there is life elsewhere. The universe is too big for life not to exist other than Earth or even our solar system. We haven't even discovered all the life on Earth yet.
Then there is the possibility of a multiverse that could be teeming with life. By the way I am a person of faith but that doesn't mean I am a "religious" person. Religions are constructs of mankind but I have faith there is a God.
I look up at the stars that I can see and think and hope there is other life out there.
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Understanding what science is, understanding what it’s not, is a very humble pursuit. It’s the process by which you understand nature. As a professional scientist you’re usually wrong and you try things out and you change your view immediately when some new evidence comes in that contradicts your view. It runs against many of the feelings that we have about our opinion or the value of our opinion. So I think it has to be educated out. Then the question arises: when does it get educated out? I think for most scientists it’s when you’re doing a PhD – you suddenly find that you’re not as clever as you thought you were.
It’s perhaps the case that we need to move the teaching of humility to earlier on in the school system. I think about this quite a lot because I can’t understand the polarisation of politics at one level, but also the polarisation of discourse, not only online but everywhere. We see it, certainly in English-speaking countries, we see a polarisation and then I find it very difficult to understand and I have to remember that I’ve had a particular path through life. Science is about training yourself to understand that you’re likely to be wrong.