Science Every Day by Raymond Nakamura

 by Raymond Nakamura

I am a lapsed scientist. I have not been part of an official system for cranking out new scientific knowledge. But I still like to think about science-y things when I can.

A little while ago, I was watching The Sisters Brothers movie a little while ago (not for children) and wondered about various details in the story, which might have a real life answer, such as the tooth powder, or might be made up for the fun of a fictional story, like the gold-panning chemical. I don’t have the time or inclination to hunt down the answer to every question that pops into my head, although I do know some people who seem to feel that is what having a smart phone with a data plan is for. 

I also like to make anecdotal observations, which might build on my understanding of the world, or could lead to other questions about how things work.

One of the trickiest things about being a real scientist (besides finding money to do your research) is finding questions that are solvable. As a working scientist, if you plan on continuing to work, your job depends on finding questions to which you can find some kind of satisfying answer and that no one else has already found. Every day questions, however, may not have answers at all or can be too complicated to solve easily. 

Many every day problems involve other people. And whenever people are involved, things get messy.

Even worse, possible answers to questions might be presented by people hoping to make money off the answers. They might use a veneer of science to offer what might seem like reasonable answers to your questions, but are not really. Someone I know was quite convinced of the powers of a certain drink, which seemed too good to be true. Their supposed evidence, left me feeling doubtful.

Science can be a powerful tool for uncovering how the world works and finding ways to solve problems. Even so, some of these answers might not always be as ideal as we might hope. 

As we weigh our options, we must remain wary of our biases and do our best to make wise decisions in a complex, ever changing world. Choose well, my friends.