Neil deGrasse Tyson on the moral obligations of science. (via marxisforbros)
This is why I dislike Neil deGrasse Tyson. What a ridiculous quote.
Many scientists have played some of the nastiest roles during the course of human history. There was a serious lack of moral consideration for the repercussions of creating a nuclear weapon during the Manhattan Project and, as Oppenheimer said, the team went ahead quite simply because they said they wanted to see if they could do it. They were excited after the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki because they could see how the weapons they created effected humans. Scientists create the weaponry militaries use. Neil’s logic is similar to what NRA members spew: “Guns don’t kill people. People kill people!”
To say science is amoral under the guise of the purity of academic discovery is ridiculous. Unfortunately, the field of science has a dark history. What about eugenics? What about harmful GMOs? What about lobotomies, vivisection, and medical testing? Sometimes scientists do lead marching armies.
(via mohandasgandhi)
It seems you literally grabbed one bit [Scientists don’t lead marching armies] and fleshed it out to an exaggerated extent in order to align with your dislike towards Neil. Agreed, scientists have been in their dark ages, and so has science. But who are the ones using the Science? Humans, us. It is our fault, and our lack of reasoning and compassion that has lead to those dark times. So do you then point and say, this of course means Science is to blame? Science is part of the discovery, we found it, but it was always there. How could one possibly look at how an application is used and then say the application is flawed because the user is having trouble using it? I would like to understand the point you’re making but I’m having trouble.
Also, the example “guns don’t kill people, people kill people” can’t even be applied logically here for the simple fact that guns were created for one purpose, Science wasn’t created by no one man, it was discovered by us, and applied wrongfully since it is merely a way to look at things. You make some rather strange comparisons to paint your reasoning behind what you dislike of this quote. I mean, from what I read, he’s merely saying people shouldn’t be placing their woes and blames on the Scientists but rather the society that has molded such scientists, and I think he’s right on that. But perhaps I misread it and he meant something else in which case I’m willing to admit I’m wrong here. I will say this, had we been in a much compassionate society, I think we’d have more compassionate means to our sciences.
(via cwnl)
Hey look, another reasonable person!
(via contemplatingmadness)
