| Mike's post about the government reminded me of something I read recently and will share with you in a moment. The anti-science, and anti-intellectual attitude in the U.S. is truly amazing. It is revealed at every level - from the man on the street to the highest levels of government - and the following website helps, in part, explain WHY this is so: http://mwhodges.home.att.net/new_96_report.htm Most peculiar (and I've read it before elsewhere) is the dismal performance of our "top tier" students. The bashing of modern science has been around since the creation of modern religion - but with few exceptions he world has gotten over it and moved on. (The U.S. hit the "snooze" button but this won't last forever.) If I were an expert on every field involved with Mike's theories and found them preposterous - that would be one thing. But to bash science out of ignorance is quite another. And it's the latter that is too often seen in our society. When it comes to hurricanes, the level of MEASUREMENT has progressed tremendously - but where are all the increases in understanding? I have no doubt the answer lies outside linear thinking. In fact, linear thinking on hurricanes has already reached a dead end. Any significant increase from here is going to require linking A to B to Q to G to C. This non-linear thinking is how much of early weather was discovered. For example; I think it was Ben Franklin who gets credit for having the light bulb go off that said - "weather doesn't just create itself overhead; it moves from one place to another!" (A classic case of non-linear thinking if ever there was one.) Having the same students, going to the same schools, taking the same courses, then taking the same jobs - is NOT going to generate great advancement (just look at our business schools and the Keynesian economic system we operate on, sheesh!) We need ORIGINAL THOUGHT - and lots of it. In science and everything else. Go back with some free time and review the link I posted - then ask yourself "is our stagnation a coincidence?" I THINK NOT. Whether Mike's ideas are right, half-right, or whatever - he certainly deserves credit for at least educating himself in science and - THINKING NON-LINEARLY. Okay, I'll get off my soap box now... Tim in NC P.S. Don't forget to fully review that link I posted; there's lots in it! |