All Science begins with an "anecdote"
It's called an observation, from which a hypothesis is formed to understand the relationship between cause and effect; the recognition of which requires knowing HOW to think, rather than WHAT to think
Adherents to the cult of scientism are notorious for their love of weaponized social-programming language, which they levy against curiosity and any desire to look beneath the surface of the many utterly nonsensical claims of industry-funded minions so-called “experts”, with the goal of shutting down dissent. These are the “the science is settled” schills who have lost any ability to think for themselves or to draw conclusions. Long-ago, they handed all their power over into the hands of some outside “authority” and as they are lazy, have no desire to think for themselves….so they happily let “the experts” do the thinking for them. Additionally, they are not only lazy, they are also ignorant and unschooled about what science actually is. “Science” by its very nature can never be “settled”. It must always be questioned, and explored, and tested over and over and over again. In order for any science to present an accurate and true conclusion for any amount of time, it must be capable of being replicated a thousand times over, if necessary. And it MUST evolve, the same way that human consciousness MUST evolve; stagnation is atrophy and eventual death.
Knowing and doing real science is dependent upon knowing how to think, rather than what to think.
The ability to think and draw conclusions is firmly rooted within the teachings of the Trivium; grammar, logic and rhetoric. Despite that this fundamental concept (and teaching tool) molds the mind into an active instrument with the ability to actually think is not taught in public schools, (certainly the model used there focuses on teaching WHAT to think rather than HOW) many people have nevertheless managed to develop the ability to think organically all on their own. This comes largely from an orientation to big-picture thinking.
I have long observed that there are two primary lenses through which all humans have a tendency to view the world; the forest, and the trees. The forest is expansive; it is the 40K foot view which sees patterns within seemingly unrelated threads and is able to connect the dots to get the whole story. The trees, on the other hand, is a reductionist lens….the ability to break down specific components of a thing and see how to make it work by itself. Trees are the various components within silos; the forest is the whole ecosystem. Both are valuable and necessary, and to reject either is to deny the totality of our existance and our reality. Too much Forest is being unable to build anything concrete with working parts …while too much Trees is being unable to recognize that the trunk and the tail are just separate components that make up the elephant and are not the universe.
Forest versus trees orientation is the metaphoric illustration of the difference between a Liberal Arts and Science degree.
Multi-dimensional philosophers and teachers throughout history; Aristotle, Socrates, and Rudolph Steiner (to name a few) were Forest-oriented.
Entrepreneurs and visionaries are all Forest-oriented.
Generalists, the “jack of all trades” personalities are Forest-oriented.
People who embrace the holistic and recognize that terrain is everything are Forest-oriented.
Conspiracy theorists are Forest-oriented.
When you consider the implications of these things, you begin to see the ways that this way of thinking has been deliberately suppressed….by shutting down those of us who have this orientation naturally. The demonization of a liberal arts education as worthless and useless has been ongoing for decades, along with a manipulated narrative creating the false perception that a liberal arts education is related to being politically liberal or “left”. This incorrect perception is socially engineered and deliberate, because it helps to create a society of rule-following drones; which has always been the goal of the parasite class of elites who are the true “useless eaters” that are a real and present scourge upon the Earth.
Society has moved further and further into specialization and reductionism; Centralized, top-down controlled systems can only exist within this frame where all value conformity. Managers manage. Toilet scrubbers scrub toilets. Everything fits neatly into its little cubby and thinking is not required. On the surface, excelling in any area is discouraged…..although in reality, those rare few who do display excellence in anything are leaned upon so heavily and overutilized that they burn out.
Decentralization requires the wearing of many hats, and the ability to flow effortlessly between different roles as needed. It requires a community of problem-solvers, and appreciates individual differences within the group. Each member of the community is a Forest unto himself.
We as a society need to both of these orientations, not just one or the other, and we bring back the Forest orientation that has been censored and suppressed for the last fifty plus years. By teaching our children the Trivium, we can accomplish this.
"Multi-dimensional philosophers and teachers throughout history; Aristotle, Socrates, and Rudolph Steiner (to name a few) were Forest-oriented. Entrepreneurs and visionaries are all Forest-oriented.
Generalists, the “jack of all trades” personalities are Forest-oriented. People who embrace the holistic and recognize that terrain is everything are Forest-oriented. Conspiracy theorists are Forest-oriented." STOP PSYCHO ANAYLIZING ME!!! Doc, you are absolutely correct. At this point I believe the whole society needs to adopt some of those principles. I mean, we've been spinning in circles relying on the old paradigm in schools and society at large. It has manifestly failed. Good post :)