by Much of our lives today are dictated by the latest information in science and technology. Our worlds revolve around our phones and we constantly consume the latest digital information. As science and technology continue to innovate at lightning speed we must be wary of our perception of information and data. In recent years society has been plagued by fake news, scientific bias, and confirmation bias. In Conjectures and Refutations, Karl Popper explains how theories can fall victim to their own explanatory power. Popper believed that oftentimes observations and conclusions so easily fit the parameters of a theory that it strengthens it making it more and more believable. In this new digital age, there is a tendency for people to be overloaded with content, which in turn reinforces a shortened attention span. This combination can lead people to overlook details, quickly latch onto ideas they do not fully understand, and fall victim to their own personal biases. In order to avoid falling prey to the dangers of bias and the explanatory power of certain theories, people must be diligent. It is vital to question new information and to be cautious of new unproven technology and scientific theory.
Popper mentions in his writings that theories like Marxism and Freudian psychology start to unravel once you examine them closer. Compared to a theory like Einstein’s theory of relatively, Marx and Freud’s theories appear less than scientific. Popper says, “I found that those of my friends who were admirers of Marx, Freud, and Adler, were impressed by a number of points common to these theories, and especially by their apparent explanatory power. These theories appeared to be able to explain practically everything that happened within the fields to which they referred,” (pg. 34). Popper’s friends appear to have fallen victim to the enticing explanatory power of these theories. This is even more likely to happen to people today due to the way that information is presented to us. Quick attention-grabbing headlines and bias invoking summaries often lead people to put stock in theories they do not fully grasp.
Biases and shortcomings in contemporary science can be difficult to spot. Popper mentioned how examining the utilization of the scientific method can give you vital information about how sound a theory is. This can be difficult to do when examining today’s science. Oftentimes the scientific method is sound or the data and research appear to be calculated and represented properly. Many times bias appears in places we might not think. If we start to examine the parameters of a study we might be able to find holes in its validity. Studies sometimes willingly or unwillingly omit certain participants from taking place or overlook how certain processes can impact data. According to a recent Scientific American article regarding bias in science, “This influence of social and political values on science only becomes problematic when one of two circumstances arises. First, pernicious values can shape scientific research, as regrettably has been the case for racism and sexism for far too much of science’s history. Thus, the failure to devote proportionate attention in medical research to women’s health, and the recurrent efforts over centuries to establish the biological inferiority of people of color—genetic, neural or otherwise. Second, whether values are pernicious or positive, they can lead scientific research astray if they wield improper influence on study design, data analysis, or other elements of scientific research.” In order to understand the importance of these factors and the logic behind the methods of the researchers, we must look beyond the catchy title and do some research of our own.
In the years since Popper first pondered the conjectures and refutations of scientific theory, the landscape of science and technology has changed drastically. Digital media has revolutionized the way science and technology are perceived. Most importantly, the way we interact with information has changed greatly. The speed at which we consume and discard information today is almost instantaneous. This is why we must remember to always research and question new information, and never take anything at face value.
Sources:
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/awareness-of-our-biases-is-essential-to-good-science/
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