meeshrox's Journal - politics and geology!

My first journal entry is about science and education. I'm not accustomed to writing about myself, usually just data...so please bear with me!

As a scientist, and particularly as a geologist, I have been trained to see the world in a different way. Most of my courses in college taught me how to think, not just what to think. Not that other disiplines brain-wash, but I've been taught to train my mind to answer every question with five more. This is something that's been a hallmark of science since the beginning and one of the main reasons I'm so addicted.

I used to think that I had to divide my time into scientific pursuits and political pursiuts separately. The two don't often mesh well. This is my attempt to mash them together with a metaphorical Large-Hadron Collider. Thanks to a geologist and fiction author whose keynote address I had the pleasure hearing a couple weeks back, I know it can be done.

I began college studying to be a elementary teacher. I then moved to biology and eventually geology. The draw for me was that geology combines the major scientific disciplines: chemistry, biology, physics, even planetary astronomy if you try hard enough. I know just enough about education to get into trouble. I've sat in and student-taught classes in elementary, middle, and high school. I understand the state of education in Florida about as well as an informed, child-less citizen is able. But, there is one major issue that sticks out in my mind to this day, thanks to the repettitive voice of a college professor.

Science education. Science is very close to my heart. I love the scientific method; I would love to be able to use it to solve the world's problems. I know this is impossible, by the way. I'm just drifting for a moment. I want the world to know the scientific method; to be able to use it everyday like I do. Now, I'm not talking about scientific experiments, here. I'm thinking more everyday questions like "which foods will be a healthy choice?" and "how many bags of mulch do I need for my garden?" By being aware of and ignoring marketing techniques such as label design, I can pick up every bottle of my favorite flavor of salad dressing and determine which I want. I read every label. If a label claims that the dressing is "made with olive oil," but it is not in the first few ingredients, I put it down (even if it's organic!). If something is supposed to be honey flavored, and honey is not one of the first few ingredients, I put it down. This is a specific example of how you can use logic and reason to make an educated choice. I am still shocked everyday when people that want to lose weight pick out food that is full of oil or flavored with sugar when the label says honey. I have never taken a nutrition course, but I can figure it out with a few guiding principles. The scientific method picks up the rest.

I will never claim to be an expert, except at hydrogeology (my trade) and volcanology and tectonics (my master's education). Using the scientific method, I've been able to figure out politics. It's more like a game of chess, of action and reaction. Politics is not about making the world a certain way, it's about making voters think that you will do better than the next guy. Those that have specific goals and benchmarks in their policies eventually get caught up in the pissing contest anyway, although they sometimes have to be dragged in. Common sense and reason does operate in politics, you just have to know the guiding principles. To be a successful politian, it's not about making the world a better place. If this legislative session passed real healthcare reform (IMO, single-payer), environmental and financial regulations on corporations and banks, and solved all of the world's problems, however impossible/improbable that would be, they all would be out of ammo for their next campaign. With the goal of being a politician for more than a few years, there must be some level of bickering and stalemate.

I am not by any means saying that all polititians are like this or that this is a good thing. I am simply calling out what I see to be some guiding principles of politics. This also does not mean that I will not call out when I see someone being a hypocrite, liar, bat-shit crazy fearmongerer, or profiteer.

Our personal experiences make each of us different and these differences shape the world into what it is. So, I know that there will never be a universal push to learn logic and reason. Some, in fact, fight it directly with preference to confusion, ignorance, fear, and therefore, control. But, I will continue to fight back, teaching and learning as much as I can give and absorb and by spreading what I see as the truth through the scienfic method, logic, and reason. Hopefully, I will be successful in melding this with my life in politics.

It is far better to grasp the universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring. -Carl Sagan