Poll: Has Science Been Beneficial or Detrimental to Humanity?

[thaibeachlovers]

Science has always been beneficial for the people that own the patents. For the common man not so much.

Science has given us the atom bomb, overpopulation, toxic waste in residential areas, overfishing, pollution, smartphones, tv reality shows, on line porn, facial recognition, selling of personal information to advertisers, more efficient ways to kill each other, toxic cigarettes, flares, remote killing by drones, internet forums, disposable household goods and cars that we can't fix ourselves, mass tourism among many other atrocities.

Benefits.......... thinking, thinking, thinking.......................................I give up.

[sirineou]

That's an odd question. 

What is science? 

"the intellectual and practical activity encompassing the systematic study of the structure and behaviour of the physical and natural world through observation and experiment. "

in other words the logical thought progression to examining a question. 

So has logic being good for humanity? 

Well let me think.  

[mikebike]

The ratio of "science" which results in patents to not is miniscule. Engineering results in patents.

[Hugh Cow]

Humanity in the past has been on the verge of extinction more than once. The plague in the 14th century killed everyone who had no natural immunity, somewhere around half the European population, around 200 million people. I hate to think how many people would have been killed from Covid without the benfit of Science. It has led us out of ignorance and superstition, apart from the many other benefits it has bestowed. We live longer with a much better quality of life. There unfortunately are still science deniers that give more creedence to conspiracy theories than factual science.

 I was recently suspended from a FB pensioners forum for taking a moderator to task who continually publishes anti vaxxer material, all of which was easily scientifically discredited. There will always be people that have no concept of critical thinking and only look for and read things that suit their own narrative or narrow world view. The hardest thing for people to do is to admit a long held view could be wrong.

Although having never been wrong myself I have on seen many others that were.????

As the saying goes you people who think you know everything are annoying us that do.

Edited December 26, 2021 by Hugh Cow

[thaibeachlovers]

3 minutes ago, Hugh Cow said:

 I was recently suspended from a FB pensioners forum for taking a moderator to task who continually publishes anti vaxxer material, all of which was easily scientifically discredited.

In your opinion.

He's entitled to his.

 

Seems that a lot of posters consider anyone with a different opinion to be wrong, rather than just having a different point of view.

 

A lot of threads seem to become two sides with fixed and inflexible opinions shouting at each other, rather than contributing to a discussion, which IMO is what a forum is supposed to be about.

[thaibeachlovers]

43 minutes ago, sirineou said:

That's an odd question. 

What is science? 

"the intellectual and practical activity encompassing the systematic study of the structure and behaviour of the physical and natural world through observation and experiment. "

in other words the logical thought progression to examining a question. 

So has logic being good for humanity? 

Well let me think.  

Unfortunately many during the time of covid have taken to thinking that scientists are always right, and use material from scientists to bludgeon those that do not agree with them.

 

One should always remember that "scientists" have said that smoking is not harmful to us and sugar is good for us. They also invented the atomic bomb.

[sirineou]

1 minute ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Unfortunately many during the time of covid have taken to thinking that scientists are always right, and use material from scientists to bludgeon those that do not agree with them.

 

One should always remember that "scientists" have said that smoking is not harmful to us and sugar is good for us. They also invented the atomic bomb.

Science is a process, 

Can a process be corrupter? Where humans are concern , anything can be corrupter, but it is not the process  that is bad , it is the corruption of the prosses. 

It is important not to confuse the two. 

 

[LarrySR]

Deplorable politicians on the conservative side use anti science to pander to the religious nuts that get their science from an old book of campfire stories written by goat farmers in the Bronze Age.

Smart move really. After all, if your going to sell a bunch of lies to people, start with the extremely gullible demographic. 

 

Edited December 26, 2021 by LarrySR

[seedy]

5 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Science has always been beneficial for the people that own the patents. For the common man not so much.

 

I no longer have Hep C - why ? Science

All the other reasons you list are in APPLICATION, not the science itself, which is neutral

[thaibeachlovers]

4 hours ago, sirineou said:

Science is a process, 

Can a process be corrupter? Where humans are concern , anything can be corrupter, but it is not the process  that is bad , it is the corruption of the prosses. 

It is important not to confuse the two. 

 

I have no faith in human nature, with good reason, so IMO if something is capable of being corrupted it is a forgone conclusion it will be.

[thaibeachlovers]

36 minutes ago, seedy said:

I no longer have Hep C - why ? Science

All the other reasons you list are in APPLICATION, not the science itself, which is neutral

Indeed science is neutral, but it always requires humans to apply,which is the weak link.

Perhaps once AI is a reality it can be taken away from humans, except the AI may decide that humans are not worth having around.

[Skeptic7]

5 hours ago, sirineou said:

That's an odd question. 

What is science? 

"the intellectual and practical activity encompassing the systematic study of the structure and behaviour of the physical and natural world through observation and experiment. "

in other words the logical thought progression to examining a question. 

So has logic being good for humanity? 

Well let me think.  

You're a deep thinker S and I truly enjoy most of your posts...but you're overthinking this one. ????

 

Trying to keep it simple here! Yes or No. 99% sure already know your answer.

????

[Stocky]

5 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

In your opinion.

He's entitled to his.

 

Seems that a lot of posters consider anyone with a different opinion to be wrong, rather than just having a different point of view.

 

A lot of threads seem to become two sides with fixed and inflexible opinions shouting at each other, rather than contributing to a discussion, which IMO is what a forum is supposed to be about.

But science isn't democratic, 'opinions' don't carry equal weight. Someone might hold the Earth is flat, but that is a proposition the weight of scientific data has clearly demonstrates as incorrect. So to accord it equal weight is wrong.

 

Most of the people arguing online have no understanding of how the scientific process works. They point to earlier position science has held to suggest inconsistency, but as with the Earth being considered flat, or the Sun revolving around the Earth, they are positions later scientific data has disproved, so science moves on. Science isn't fixed, positions change as our ability to gather relevant data improves.

[RandiRona]

If not for science, you wont have this poll. Science has driven human evolution on steroids. 

[sirineou]

40 minutes ago, Skeptic7 said:

You're a deep thinker S and I truly enjoy most of your posts...but you're overthinking this one. ????

 

Trying to keep it simple here! Yes or No. 99% sure already know your answer.

????

This is a complex issue , and I don't think there are simple answers to complex questions. To answer it one first has to decide what is good for humans. 

It is after all the scientific process. ????

I propose that science is by definition good for humans because science is reason, and reason is what makes us human, so one has to conclude that to remove that which makes us human can not be very good for our humanity, 

 

 

 

[Hugh Cow]

2 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

In your opinion.

He's entitled to his.

 

Seems that a lot of posters consider anyone with a different opinion to be wrong, rather than just having a different point of view.

 

A lot of threads seem to become two sides with fixed and inflexible opinions shouting at each other, rather than contributing to a discussion, which IMO is what a forum is supposed to be about.

A differing opinion to me is like disagreeing about how hot the day feels. That is just a subjective opinion where there is no right or wrong answer and neither has any consequences for either party.

When you offer up an opinion that may affect other peoples view on a subject that contradicts scientific fact and may persuade others with potentially dangerous consequences to their health, then it should be challenged and tested for its veracity and these people need to be challenged for the potential harm their "opinion" may cause others who may believe such unscientific idiocy. It is called Intellectual integrity and scientific rigour. 

[OneMoreFarang]

It seems 4 American MAGA fanboys answered already.

 

 

[OneMoreFarang]

6 hours ago, Hugh Cow said:

I hate to think how many people would have been killed from Covid without the benfit of Science.

Sometimes I wish Darwin would take care of a couple of more idiots. There are just too many of them.

[Hugh Cow]

20 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

Sometimes I wish Darwin would take care of a couple of more idiots. There are just too many of them.

That's the downside of science. It also cures the stupid.

[ColeBOzbourne]

20 hours ago, Doctor Tom said:

I give humanity no more than another 10,000 years, at most. 

Would you care to place a bet on that?????

[Walker88]

20 hours ago, giddyup said:

True, but at a cost of overpopulation, pollution and raping the planet of all it's resources.

Anyone who thinks the world is overpopulated is welcome to put his or her money where their mouth is and leave.

[Walker88]

9 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Science has always been beneficial for the people that own the patents. For the common man not so much.

Science has given us the atom bomb, overpopulation, toxic waste in residential areas, overfishing, pollution, smartphones, tv reality shows, on line porn, facial recognition, selling of personal information to advertisers, more efficient ways to kill each other, toxic cigarettes, flares, remote killing by drones, internet forums, disposable household goods and cars that we can't fix ourselves, mass tourism among many other atrocities.

Benefits.......... thinking, thinking, thinking.......................................I give up.

Well, then go ahead and turn off your computer and mobile, toss out any electric lights you have, pull the plug on your fridge, trash the car, don't use busses, don't even use a bicycle, because some science guy figured how to pull dirt out of the ground and make fenders and chains and spokes.....

 

Did you swim to Thailand from your home country? I'm guessing everybody from Wilbur and Orville to James Clerk Maxwell and Michael Faraday and even Jack Kilby played a part.

[CharlieH]

Reported post and response removed

[seedy]

Easy to tell - mostly - what peoples disposition has influenced their (decision ?) making process.

Grouchy, Cranky, Moaning, Hard Done By (and To), Close Minded  - science rapes the planet, places all people in bondage, bad bad bad

Light Hearted, Go with the Flow, Grateful, Open to New Ideas - science is full of wonder, has advanced all peoples on earth to some extent

 

Lets all go back to no antibiotics, vaccines, surgical advances, health care, cars, trucks, buses, airplanes.

Ox cart, one bath when you are born, another when you die, believe in witches, relics, omens !!!

Take Me 555

[Doctor Tom]

1 hour ago, ColeBOzbourne said:

Would you care to place a bet on that?????

If I was to be around to collect, absolutely.  What odds would I get if I lived to be 10,000 plus years old to collect? .  A billion Dollars then will hardly buy a small latte with extra foam.  

[giddyup]

2 hours ago, Walker88 said:

Anyone who thinks the world is overpopulated is welcome to put his or her money where their mouth is and leave.

I fully intend to, by dying.

[giddyup]

2 hours ago, Walker88 said:

Well, then go ahead and turn off your computer and mobile, toss out any electric lights you have, pull the plug on your fridge, trash the car, don't use busses, don't even use a bicycle, because some science guy figured how to pull dirt out of the ground and make fenders and chains and spokes.....

 

Did you swim to Thailand from your home country? I'm guessing everybody from Wilbur and Orville to James Clerk Maxwell and Michael Faraday and even Jack Kilby played a part.

Of course, we all did, but there is no end to our consumption, and that probably won't change. We made our bed........

[Fairynuff]

I’m surprised that only 9% are anti vax, anti mask, Qanon...... and so it goes ????????

[Orinoco]

16 hours ago, Walker88 said:

Well, then go ahead and turn off your computer and mobile, toss out any electric lights you have, pull the plug on your fridge, trash the car, don't use busses, don't even use a bicycle, because some science guy figured how to pull dirt out of the ground and make fenders and chains and spokes.....

 

Did you swim to Thailand from your home country? I'm guessing everybody from Wilbur and Orville to James Clerk Maxwell and Michael Faraday and even Jack Kilby played a part.

Someone has never got over being burned by a Thai lady.

Maybe he think to mut.

 

 

[Lacessit]

Human nature being what it is,  good news, such as smartphones, aircraft and life-extending pharmaceuticals, are cheerfully accepted by the species. When it is something that is bad news, such as climate change or wearing masks, it is rejected.

Edited December 28, 2021 by Lacessit