I saw this cup in a small gift shop a couple years ago and was immediately struck by it. It made me laugh, but then I thought about how profound it was. There are many ways this sentiment could be construed, but my first thought was actually of a particular person — one Isaac Newton.
Very interesting post, Terri. It prompts me to ask: if you could sit down with any 6 individuals (irrespective of their age, ethnicity, beliefs, nationality, etc) from history (ancient or modern) for dinner, who would they be? Assume they can all understand eachother irrespective of the language they spoke in real life.
I agree with the message, but fundamentally disagree with the cup. I think the problem with the "trust the science" narrative is that it gives a false sense that all science is equally valid or that it doesn't inherently rely on a particular belief system that shapes its interpretation, not to mention the assumptions, biases, and particular statistical choices that shape the results in the first place. Our de facto way of engaging with science is Bayesian, which fundamentally relies on belief. If I see a study that purports to show the validity of phrenology, I'm going to be way more skeptical than a study that supports the existence of anthropogenic climate change, even if the p values are the same. And that's okay! We even know from relativity that there is no single truth about the universe. It depends on the frame of reference. I have loved science for as long as I can remember, but it's time to acknowledge that science does care what we believe.
COVID showed people what happens when you put too much stock in scientists. They’re not the brilliant people you see in movies, they’re status seeking primates just like the rest of us.
That's quite a list, and narrowing it down to just six means probably involved some tough decisions to get a diverse range of people. In attempting to come up with my own, my current choice would be...
1. BJ581 - the 'warrior' woman of Birka, to solve the questions about her grave goods and how they relate to her actual life. Nancy Marie Brown's book speculating on her life suggests some wide-ranging travels and experiences.
2. Alexander the Great, because I studied him (actually I'm more interested in his horse Bucephelus, and once started to write a novella from the perspective of a young slave in charge of Alexander's famous war horse.)
3. Balian of Ibelin, because I studied the Crusades and have a particular interest in the Frankish Kingdom of Jerusalem in the period leading up to its fall to Saladin when, for a while, there was some level of tolerance - co-existence between the Christians and Muslims. (I am, sadly, very aware that the real Balian was a senior lord of the Kingdom and not the handsome young blacksmith as played by Orlando Bloom in Ridley Scott's movie - one of my favourites!)
4. St Francis of Assisi, because of his love of animals and generally peace-loving nature. I'd like to tell him to take better care of himself as being physically healthy would better enable him to undertake the work he felt compelled to do.
5. John F. Kennedy, a childhood hero of mine. I'm more interested in his military career as a PT boat skipper than his political career (or love life!). My love of wooden boats and ships comes into play here. (My brother wasn't into building model ships from kits, but I sure was! I started constructing PT boats from cardboard and progressed to the model kits by Revell and other brands.)
6. Michael Jackson - because I'm a fan, write a monthly column for a popular culture journal devoted to MJ Studies, and I have lots of questions about his creative processes and his humanitarian activities. (Earth Song is my favourite MJ song - its such a powerful explosion of pain, anger and concern for the planet, people and animals - and he started writing it in the 80s but didn't get to finish and record it until 1994. Such a long gestation resulting in it evolving into a pop music masterpiece incorporating issues that wouldn't necessarily have been apparent when he started writing it.)
Very interesting post, Terri. It prompts me to ask: if you could sit down with any 6 individuals (irrespective of their age, ethnicity, beliefs, nationality, etc) from history (ancient or modern) for dinner, who would they be? Assume they can all understand eachother irrespective of the language they spoke in real life.
I agree with the message, but fundamentally disagree with the cup. I think the problem with the "trust the science" narrative is that it gives a false sense that all science is equally valid or that it doesn't inherently rely on a particular belief system that shapes its interpretation, not to mention the assumptions, biases, and particular statistical choices that shape the results in the first place. Our de facto way of engaging with science is Bayesian, which fundamentally relies on belief. If I see a study that purports to show the validity of phrenology, I'm going to be way more skeptical than a study that supports the existence of anthropogenic climate change, even if the p values are the same. And that's okay! We even know from relativity that there is no single truth about the universe. It depends on the frame of reference. I have loved science for as long as I can remember, but it's time to acknowledge that science does care what we believe.
COVID showed people what happens when you put too much stock in scientists. They’re not the brilliant people you see in movies, they’re status seeking primates just like the rest of us.
That's quite a list, and narrowing it down to just six means probably involved some tough decisions to get a diverse range of people. In attempting to come up with my own, my current choice would be...
1. BJ581 - the 'warrior' woman of Birka, to solve the questions about her grave goods and how they relate to her actual life. Nancy Marie Brown's book speculating on her life suggests some wide-ranging travels and experiences.
2. Alexander the Great, because I studied him (actually I'm more interested in his horse Bucephelus, and once started to write a novella from the perspective of a young slave in charge of Alexander's famous war horse.)
3. Balian of Ibelin, because I studied the Crusades and have a particular interest in the Frankish Kingdom of Jerusalem in the period leading up to its fall to Saladin when, for a while, there was some level of tolerance - co-existence between the Christians and Muslims. (I am, sadly, very aware that the real Balian was a senior lord of the Kingdom and not the handsome young blacksmith as played by Orlando Bloom in Ridley Scott's movie - one of my favourites!)
4. St Francis of Assisi, because of his love of animals and generally peace-loving nature. I'd like to tell him to take better care of himself as being physically healthy would better enable him to undertake the work he felt compelled to do.
5. John F. Kennedy, a childhood hero of mine. I'm more interested in his military career as a PT boat skipper than his political career (or love life!). My love of wooden boats and ships comes into play here. (My brother wasn't into building model ships from kits, but I sure was! I started constructing PT boats from cardboard and progressed to the model kits by Revell and other brands.)
6. Michael Jackson - because I'm a fan, write a monthly column for a popular culture journal devoted to MJ Studies, and I have lots of questions about his creative processes and his humanitarian activities. (Earth Song is my favourite MJ song - its such a powerful explosion of pain, anger and concern for the planet, people and animals - and he started writing it in the 80s but didn't get to finish and record it until 1994. Such a long gestation resulting in it evolving into a pop music masterpiece incorporating issues that wouldn't necessarily have been apparent when he started writing it.)