The Recurring Problem with Understanding Science

[MineralMan]

Books and publications. They're expensive. Worse, if you want to stay current on research in the sciences, you have to constantly purchase or obtain up-to-date information. The internet helps, but most current scientific publications are in journals, most of which charge for you to read full articles. Most people who are not scientists rely on science publications and websites that specialize in explaining such research in terms that can be understood by non-scientists, but it's still hard to keep up with new discoveries and theories. Fresh, new knowledge appears every day in the sciences. That's a real problem.

On the other hand, people interested in religion can turn to books written long, long ago. They can read their Bibles, in whatever translation they like best. Those books don't change or get out of date. That's because there are no changes. The original books were written at least a couple thousand years ago, and nothing new has been written that replaces that old information. So, once you have your Bible, you don't have to invest in any further publications to have the original material, already translated for you and ready to read. Even better, once you read it and remember it, you don't have to read it again.

So, religion is a lot easier than science for the average person. No pesky changes to deal with as new information about research becomes available. That appeals to a lot of people, who don't really want to have to keep up with stuff. The old stories are just fine, after all. No need to spend time on keeping current.

[Gothmog]

1. I am Jewish and it is my belief that this issue does not apply to my faith

While the Torah and Talmud are both ancient, Jewish scholars have had no trouble reconciling science and the Jewish faith. I love the fact that Judaism encourages the asking of questions and the reject of blind dogma.

I found a faith that fits me. YMMV

[MineralMan]

2. That's great! You can keep up with science and maintain your faith.

[Voltaire2]

7. Depends on your version of Judaism.

There are certainly Jewish sects that reject anything that conflicts with the ancient texts. And like their Christian counterparts, those engaged in conflict resolution are forced to create new meanings for those texts, an endless and pointless effort to avoid the obvious.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

3. I also think the huge problem with reading the Bible,

and especially if it's pretty much the only thing you ever read, is that it is a short attention span work. Somewhat like Sesame Street, which I blame for fixing a short attention span in the people who have grown up on it.

Back to the Bible. There is no sustained narrative to speak of. People proudly memorize Bible verses, lots of them, but even the longest one is all of 90 words. At least that's what Google tells me.

To understand science you have to be able to pay attention to stuff that's a lot longer and usually a lot more complex than even a 90 word Bible verse. Too many people aren't capable of that kind of attention, that kind of working through complex ideas.

[MineralMan]

5. There are different ways to read the Bible.

I've read it from front to back half a dozen times, and in three different translations. Actually, there is a narrative to it, at least in parts of it. Genesis is a narrative history story. The four Gospels in the New Testament are narratives, too. There are books that are pure narrative, if boring. Numbers is a good example.

The thing is that it's always the same. It never changes. It's also factually incorrect and the history is suspect, when it's not outright incorrect. Still, people who are religious still read it, or read parts of it. Most Christians have not read the entire Bible. In fact, few have, even those who are ministers and pastors. It's a slog to read the whole thing.

Science is completely different. It changes constantly in many ways. In my lifetime, physics and biology have changed dramatically, with more and more becoming known almost daily. Keeping up with what is being discovered and understood can take a lot of time. Most people don't bother. I only follow a few areas, really. I'm not a scientist, but have always been fascinated by science.

So, I try to keep up. I read Nature, Scientific American, and check into several websites on a regular basis, just to see what's going on out there. I don't read the Bible any more. I'm familiar with it already, and it doesn't change. I'm an atheist, so the whole God thing is meaningless to me. I only read it in the first place because Christianity is the dominant religion and I want to know about that.

Science is hard to keep up with. Religion isn't. I prefer things that I have to stay on top of.

[guillaumeb]

9. There is reading, and there is understanding what is read.

And there is the attempt to understand what the author intended.

[Act_of_Reparation]

4. You're on the right track.

I think the problem with understanding science is far more basal than the availability of journals. It starts in our schools, where children are neither encouraged nor given the resources to explore the STEM fields. A free subscription to Nature won't help Joe Q. Public if he can't understand what he's reading.

[MineralMan]

6. Yes, absolutely.

I've been a science geek since I was a little kid. I didn't make a career of it, but I've never stopped learning. You're right. Without a fundamental understanding of whatever science interests you, you won't have enough foundational knowledge to read current publications. If you're not intensely interested in a subject, you won't bother.

I recognize that most people just aren't that interested in any of the sciences. It's just not their thing. I am interested, though, and always have been. I can read the journals, and do, in areas of interest to me. In current physics, I can no longer follow the math, but I can work around that, and simply assume that they got that part right. In medicine, that's not a problem, really, and that's a field I stay current in as well. I'm a cosmology buff, too, and that's among the most interesting fields of all. Again, the math has gone way beyond what I truly understand, but I can work around that, too.

I don't expect people to have the same interest I do in the sciences. I know they don't.

[guillaumeb]

8. Straw is relatively inexpensive.

Some people actually like to read about both religion and science. And some of these people are theists. Imagine that. However do they reconcile the 2 things?