Changing ‘Principles’ and What They Mean for The Functional World

 

Science, essentially, is man’s attempt to understand the world around him. At a fundamental level, this attempt may spring from an innate need to explain the abstractness of life, but more practically, it provides man with the ability to interact with ideas and structures. The genesis of society, culture and technology owes itself to this enterprise.

 

What’s quite interesting here is the role of time in societal progress; for time produces the worst of satires.

 

Consider, for instance, the case of the Earth. Intuition first told man that the earth is flat. The first recorded disrupters are the Greeks: Ptolemy’s Almagest places the Earth – now thought to be spherical - at the centre of the universe. 

 

The next disrupters were Copernicus and Galileo - both purporting that it was the Sun which is central to the universe. After a protracted struggle, the world came to accept Heliocentrism. The ultimate irony is the discovery of what is now called The Milky Way and along with it countless stars and planets. 

 

Our understanding of most scientific concepts is still extremely fragmentary. The economic and technological states of society are intimately linked with scientific progress. Aircrafts – for instance – were only developed after the rationalisation of a Spherical Earth. 

 

Imagine now, the state of critical fields such as medicine. 

 

In the 19th century, smoking was considered indicative of strength of character. Personalities such as Sigmund Freud and Winston Churchill were almost always seen with cigars. The theory of humoral balance drove a morbid obsession with leeches and blood-letting. 

 

Our understanding today says that a country squire indulgent in nicotine would have only shortened his lifespan. Critical patients inflicted with phlebotomy would have only worsened.

 

Here lies of the queerest paradoxes. Quite obviously, we cannot resign to inactive study. All thought that does not lead to action is essentially treacherous. Society must ever continue to function. But at the same time, how certain can we be that what we know is true? More importantly, how do we act?

 

For one, actual experimental results must supplement theoretical speculation. Drug development cycles are prolonged for this very reason. Yet another solution is practicing actual evidence-based medicine. Collection and extrapolation of data and identification of oddities can play a huge role here. 

 

From a more general perspective, statistics is key. Principled* study can at least rule out certain incorrect correlations. Recently, the role of vitamins as therapeutic agents and antibiotics as preventive ones have come under scrutiny. And so, study continues in the hope that progress will follow.  

 

But, at some level, finding solace in the idea that the universe may yet elude our understanding seems to be our only grace; or at least, an escape from the ironies of life.

 

 

* Correlation is not causation – et al.