Thesis statement: Scientific discoveries can lead to disasters after the wrong people get the scientific discovery in their hands such as the A-bomb and Ice-nine which caused many fatalities including the people who made this mistake.…
Barry presents rhetorical strategies as a means to characterize scientific research. He thinks that being a “scientist requires not only intelligence and curiosity, but passion, patience, creativity, self-sufficiency, and courage.” Scientific research can be courageous and dangerous. In science, people tend to doubt scientists because their discoveries it seems unreal. Even scientists such as Einstein probably doubted his own theory until his predictions were tested.…
Science has evolved over the years. New machines have been invented over the past years which make it easier for scientist and their experiments. John M. Barry author of The Great Influenza specifically targets scientist and their research. He argues that a good scientist knows that there may be doubts, or that their assumptions may be proven wrong but they don’t stop trying.…
Believe it or not, it was once illegal to teach the theory of evolution to children in school. A teacher in Tennessee named John Scopes had violated this law in the 1900s, which resulted in the John Scopes trial. This trial marked the shift of the beliefs of Americans from religion to science. Scientific research has been going on for decades and it has, for the most part, helped improve our lives, but it is a very tough field. In The Great Influenza, author John M. Barry used juxtaposition, listing, and structure to characterize scientific research as a challenging and uncertain field that requires a lot of courage to accept defeat, but also have the determination…
John M. Barry uncovers the epic story of the horrible pandemic of 1918, one that killed as many as 100 million people across the world. Barry utilizes his journalistic skills and considerable medical research to share the story of the influenza and shed light on those who were caught up in the gruesome fight. The result is an in-depth, incredible narrative of the times and events shaped by the plague.…
• “None but those who have experienced them can conceive of the enticements of science.”…
As the research subject voluntarily or involuntarily enters into the unknown, the doctor must follow in their footsteps, embracing fear and inaccuracy before anything else. Scientific research can be risky for all, but if it is successful, it could mean justice for millions. Not only do the doctors and subjects tip-toe into the void, but the whole world follows behind to watch them fall, get back up -or fail. Scientific research is a tool that can be used to create strength and reliability for the future. As hills are climbed, crests are reached and bigger hills are waiting in the presence, research is present for ranges of world problems. Scientific research can offer a solution to world problems that are both social and medical, thus…
Ultimately, every discovery is the culmination of centuries of human progress. Through insight and labour, the foundation of scientific knowledge grows, allowing us to answer questions we would have never even thought to ask. This broader,collaborative, definition of discovery, one that isn’t limited by “the encasement of the human skull”10, is what Gibbons seems to be driving at. Her specific argument seeks to validate an “externalist sense of discovery”10. The implication, briefly discussed in the conclusion of Gibbon’s essay, is this: once we begin broadening our definition, at what point do we stop? Imagine a scientific paper with a list of contributors hundreds of pages long, including every scientist that ever assisted in advancing the field. From a practical standpoint, the line has to be drawn somewhere- if only to save…
Firstly, research results can be complicated and generally confusing to a nonscientist, therefore the public must convey large amounts of trust in scientists. This aids contrarians in creating a credible counterargument and splitting the scientific consensus (Task #1). Most people have no scientific baseline from which to make informed opinions so they gather information from “experts” from both sides of a scientific story. Secondly, science in general is an objective project, scientists stress that their results are always falsifiable and that continued research is necessary to strengthen a scientific finding. For example, Roger Revelle started a talk to the AAAS about climate change by saying, “There is a good but by no means certain chance that the world’s average climate will become significantly warmer during the next century” (191). Contrarians used this ambiguous statement as a way to show that scientists are unsure of their work, when in fact there is no “certain chance” in any scientific trend. In order to remain trustworthy, scientists must always instill a sense of impartiality that is misconstrued as…
One virus that is widely spread is influenza or known as the flu. Symptoms of this virus are fever, coughing, runny nose, soreness of throat, vomit, and so many more different symptoms.…
Quinn’s “Belief and Knowledge” addresses the problem of everyday people misunderstanding scientific vocabulary and the concepts used with it, essentially degrading the worth of science. A theory is generally thought of as like a hunch or a guess, while in the scientific world, it represents an idea backed up with strong evidence and explanation. It represents a challenge for those trying to discuss using terms that have different meanings for each group of people, like scientists and those who are not. Quinn declares that in order to make it easier for everyone to understand that scientists should convey what is tentative and what is not, rather than using “believe.” Quinn’s ideas of tentativeness relates to conspiracy theories as the validity of them are continuously questioned, and expressing how stable evidence is can prevent misconceptions to the validity of an argument.…
In their chapter, the authors use comparison, irony and rhetorical questions to show that the purpose of science is to satisfy human's natural curiosity. Feynman and Lewin use comparison to place the intrinsic value of science over its instrumental value; like art, it is…
1. In what ways may disagreement aid the pursuit of knowledge in the natural and human sciences? 2. “Only seeing general patterns can give us knowledge. Only seeing particular examples can give us understanding.” To what extent do you agree with these assertions? 3. “The possession of knowledge carries an ethical responsibility.” Evaluate this claim. 4. The traditional TOK diagram indicates four ways of knowing. Propose the inclusion of a fifth way of knowing selected from intuition, memory or imagination, and explore the knowledge issues it may raise in two areas of knowledge. 5. “That which can be asserted without evidence can be dismissed…
be spurious, and in general, the real complexities and richness of actual scientific practice. The belief that logic and…
As a result of this realization, several scientific associations began to play an active role in trying to establish an important and effective channel of communication between scientists of different nations, particularly between scientists from the great power blocs of the east and west Individual scientists, well- known and otherwise, have in response to their conscience, come out and taken a stand on questions relating to science and society.…