Author: streeter.30

The Story of Louis Pasteur

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I greatly enjoyed this film, much more than the Creation film. It was really eye opening to learn that doctors, nurses, and midwives at the time did not agree with the idea of washing their hands before surgery or childbirth. Sterilization of the medical equipment was a foreign subject as well. To me, a young adult living in the 21st century, this is a barbaric thought. People are so germ conscious that a lot of people carry around sanitizer and wear face masks when sick.

I feel that the modern world owes a great deal to Pasteur and I am glad that his ideas were accepted and utilized over time. It is amazing to think that if he had continued with just a philosophy degree or even as a painter, we might not have many of the advancements we have now.

 

It makes me wonder what ideas are novel and facing a lot of scrutiny in the present time that would be paradigm shifts that end up changing the course of life as we know it.

Creation Movie

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Darwin’s ideas of natural selection and evolution seem like common sense and widely know in the modern times. Even pigeon farmers understood the concept…if they bred a strong wing flapper with another strong wing flapper, then there would be a pretty good chance that the offspring would have the desired trait. At this point in history, flora farmers of produce even understood this concept; in order to keep plants with high yields or good flavor, it would beneficial to plant seeds from that plant.  This concept was understood, even if it wasn’t explained properly prior to Darwin.

When using this same thought to explain the progress of man, there were a lot of issues that sprang up. Questions like: “was this going against God?”, “what impact will it have on Charles Darwin’s soul” etc. were one of the main points of the film. Charles’ religious beliefs differed from his wife’s and her struggle with his work was one of the main issues of the film. This religious struggle combined with the loss of his first born daughter, and hydrotherapy for his illness were the main conflicts of the film.

I can sympathize with the loss of a loved one impacting daily life, however I thought it was a bit tedious how his daughter’s ghost was a focal point of the film.

Matt Goldish- “Conflict” between religion and science

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As a scientist that is also of the Christian faith, this talk was very comforting learning that science and religion can go hand and hand. Before this lecture, I honestly did not know that scholars like Copernicus were asked by the church to further their understanding. Nowadays it feels that people in Christianity have some confusion with how evolution and the teachings from the Bible can coexist. In my personal experience, the fear and/or ignorance of science by some members of my community has lead to apprehension when it comes to expanding capacity for knowledge. I have been recently been discouraged from studying and embracing the teachings of evolution, the creation of the universe and even the age of the Earth. The fact that people still assume there is a conflict between Church and science has really hindered progress and the relationship between the two. I think that if that current mindset continues into the future, the rate of paradigm shifts will decrease or not be as high as it could be.

I sincerely hope that this mindset that the fields of science and church are not compatible can be dispelled in the future. This could potentially lead to another boom in innovations and ideas.

Out of Thin air

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This presentation describes how scientists discovered the elements. The video starts off with air. It is all around us, we can feel the wind on our faces and can see the effects of a particularly strong storm. In 1754 when a young medical student named Joseph Black discovered a new form of matter, gas, in the form of CO2. His discovery was a turning point in the history of science that would transform understanding of matter.

It was interesting to see how the hobby and curiosity of a British minister and tax administrator lead to paradigm shifts that are still used and valued today. Curiosity is a wonderful thing that when combined with science can yield remarkable results. Currently, it is unknown which discoveries would change the future or how they impact the world generations from now, but it brings me great joy to see how history and science are connected.

Elisabeth Root Talk and Reflection

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Dr. Root talked about Geographical information systems and how they can impact the field of genetics.  First she talked about Dr. John Snow and the mapping of the 1854 London cholera outbreak. The water supply system was made of wells that people used to pump their supply of water. Dr. Snow believed that cholera was caused by water and he calculated the rate of people who got cholera from specific water systems. This work, aided by Henry Whitehead helped support their case and informed and influenced people who became influential in germ theory.

This was interesting to me because it shows different paradigm shifts in science at the time. Originally, people thought that cholera was caused by miasma or bad air, but Dr. Snow’s work supported that it was caused by a microorganism  in water. If his work wasn’t done and supported, then medical life today might look a bit differently. Perhaps we would be set back fifty or one hundred years or so.

The pairing of different disciplines can lead to new and amazing  paradigm shifts in how we view the world. Dr. Root ‘s presentation  has encouraged me to continue to keep an open mind especially when it comes to opportunities to experience different aspects and fields of science.