|
Opinions are a person’s assessment of things, situations, ideas, and other people. Each person either forms his own based on what he already knows, or thinks he knows, or just blindly accepts the opinions of others. The nice thing about opinions is that everyone should be entitled to his or her own no matter how they attain them. Opinions can be rigid and static or dynamic, usually depending on one’s curiosity. Curiosity is the human emotion that motivates us to explore and learn and try new ways of doing things, which makes life interesting. Like all inherited tendencies, curiosity is present in the population on a continuum between individuals with little of it and others, like scientists, that are driven by it.
Many old mysteries have now been solved, and many arguments have now been settled, using the knowledge gained from scientific research. In fact, many ideas concerning the theory of evolution that once were dismissed as speculative have now been demonstrated as fact, even to some previous doubters. There has always been strong resistance by some to new scientific ideas, ridiculing and labeling anyone who dared to express them as being “obnoxious,” until the evidence became so strong that they were finally accepted by some, and reluctantly reconciled with their own beliefs by others. After reconciliation, their own beliefs included these new ideas as major underpinnings for their “new and true” beliefs and anyone who had different opinions were, as always, “obnoxious.”
Notwithstanding all the evidence to the contrary, there are still people in the world who insist that the Earth is flat, the sun orbits the Earth, and Earth is located at the center of the universe. Anyone who professes otherwise is shunned and considered to be an enemy of the group. Sound familiar? In earlier times, and even today in some societies, people expressing contrary opinions from those of the majority could be physically abused or even killed. In some societies, street vendors are threatened with violence if they are caught placing cucumbers next to tomatoes on their fruit stands because the leaders believe tomatoes and cucumbers are different genders. Men and women are forbidden by their religious leaders to be seen next to each other in public, likewise cucumbers and tomatoes. No doubt some actually believe what they espouse, but others that know better promote these beliefs for their own reasons. The leaders discourage their members from learning any information that deviates from what the leaders want them to know by ridiculing it and describing it as dangerous.
Strong critics of the theory of evolution claim it is not a fact but only a theory. This is true. It is a scientific theory. Most lay people use the word theory to mean a hunch or opinion. In science, however, a theory has been tested and re-tested by many scientists as to its accuracy and its usefulness in predicting future events. Any scientific theory, like the theory of evolution, has progressed to the point where it has been proven beyond a reasonable doubt among a vast majority of scientists within a particular field and is modified, over time, when new information reveals errors in its data or in its conclusions. The scientific method, when followed, usually reveals the truth and accuracy of scientific experimental data and conclusions because of its inherent skepticism of the results and its demand for verification with experiments conducted by other independent scientists. This method eventually uncovers falsified data, misinterpreted results, and out-and-out charlatans. Scientists always look, or should, for hidden motives and agendas when evaluating this data, unlike some other professions that do not approach the findings with skepticism, but immediately accept or reject them depending upon whether or not the new findings agree with their own views. If they agree with the findings, they immediately use them to bolster their own positions. Laymen should always try to evaluate scientific theories and reports, including in books like Settled Science by looking for agendas, ulterior motives, and the probability of these theories, books or reports being true and accurate. One major test should always be verification over time. If the information contained in the book or report has withstood “real” scrutiny for a long time, you can have a higher degree of confidence that it is correct. Read Settled Science and form your own opinion whether you agree with the expert opinions expressed by an overwhelming majority of research scientists.
|
|
|
Blogs 
(0 vote)
