隨筆

I suddenly realized that "Popular Science", generally referring to the efforts to popularize science among the general public, is embarking on the same path as "popular religion". Religion is popular by definition, so what I really mean is that "popular science" is working like a religion these days. Religion is an attempt to organize and preserve the wisdom of great sages in the past. And before long it "devolved" into a community where often the blind leads the blind, the well-intentioned, not fully understanding the meaning of the scriptures, trying to pass down their own incomplete interpretation of what they learned, together with their own biases. Such is the case for popular science today. With trained eyes you can see how some people are simply clueless at what they are talking about, or at least clueless once you start scratching ever so slightly beyond the surface information. The human experiment of worshiping Science and Capitalism (they come together hand in hand) was great and profound, and we are all beneficiaries of this project in some way. But those who do not understand the foundational ideas are doomed to misunderstand it, in the same way people foundationally misunderstand what Religion was for. I seem to speak of them disparagingly, but I am fully aware that I am a beneficiary of such past efforts and am grateful for them, but that when the blind are oblivious to what they are blind and yet overwhelm public discourse, great confusion ensues.