Science Literacy
Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen
Publication (Outlet/Website): Annaborgia (Unpublished)
Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2016/08/15
There’s a great deal to know about the natural world. It’s far more than any individual can know about it. It’s a capacity beyond anyone’s capability to take it in and remember it. And memories decay too.
There’s fifteen minimum major types of fibre alone accepted by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. That’s how many were used to celebrate the International Day of the Fibre.
There’s about a half of a dozen of major energy sources: geothermal, wind, solar, oil, gas, and nuclear. And those each have sub-components that some people specialize in, at least for their career.
It’s in the nature of complex systems to have lots of information. It’s the difference between a single letter and a rap lyric from Eric B & Rakim.
Then there’s the fundamental nature of he natural world. The world is an ancient an complicated system capable of processes to create another complex phenomena and sets of systems.
Evolutionary theory as the phenomena or process and organisms like people as the systems. Nature is full of wonders.
I try to take the time to learn little things here and there, refresh old things, and tie some of information together. It’s fun.
It’s interesting. And it is part of the process of scientific literacy, which does involve effort. But with a little work, and over time, I’ve appreciated the time invested in learning about the natural world.
Oh! One thing that has made the process easier is, for the most part, takin on board some big ideas. Naturalism is one. Things have natural causes and effects for all practical intents and purposes.
Parsimony or Occam’s Razor, it’s just the idea that if you have two competing ideas then the preferable one is that with the least assumptions. And it should be concrete. Can’t go explaining things with a single invisible pink elephant for everything, I think of forces, processes, intentions of organisms, fields, particles – natural things (naturalism plus parsimony).
Those two ideas alone have limitations, but can get you pretty far – especially in the analysis and learning of scientific topics. To science!
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