Science as tranquilizer and trailblazer

Most scientists are truth junkies. Imagine our despair at climate skepticism or at the replacement of renowned physicists as US Secretaries of Energy by someone who has called for elimination of that agency. Consider our despondency at learning that the Oxford Dictionary’s 2016 word of the year is “post-truth”, which implies that objective facts are less important than personal belief or political agenda. The Brexit referendum and US presidential election popularized the word post-truth. These electoral events have left scientists demoralized because their currency – the truth – is being devalued. But it is the very facts that scientists continue to discover that will come to the rescue, because whereas “alternative truths” drift and change, real truths are fixed and unassailable. They’re the foundation for our future. Whereas “alternative truths” drift and change, real truths are fixed and unassailable. As a scientist, a microbial geneticist and biochemist, I have felt at times demoralized and undermined by work-related setbacks, as I feel now in the post-truth era. But somehow my science has always managed to triumph in the long run. While those rejected papers, unfunded grant applications, and unsympathetic science administrators took their emotional toll on me, the sense of loss, sadness and frustration was temporary. I took refuge in research. That exercise was not only engrossing and calming, but also left me empowered by our discoveries, and...
Source: BioMed Central Blog - Category: Journals (General) Authors: Tags: Uncategorized Mobile DNA Post-truth Source Type: blogs