Thinking Like an Astronomer, Part II

I debated posting this as a "followup" to yesterday's post, but it's too long already. However, to understand the context of this post (which is btw number 700), you'll need to read or at least skim through the previous one. Go on; I'll wait. There are some very funny bits, if I do say so myself, wherein I suggest a number of ways in which we can redefine cultural conventions in accordance with astronomical and physical standards...

Ok, you're back. I got the following reply to yesterday's comment:

64. JediBear @Lockwood: This isn’t science-vs-culture. As I pointed out, culture had it right in the first place. Before we called them solstices, english-speakers referred to the days as “midsummer” and “midwinter,” correctly noting their positions in the middle of the respective seasons.

I suspect it’s actually meteorology (a science, of sorts) that’s brought us to the pass where culture and astronomy find themselves arrayed together against the calendar.

I hope this isn't too dry, but one of my deepest concerns is that so very few people seem to understand what science is. This is especially the case when I read scientists talking about, and misrepresenting, the nature of science. So the below is my attempt to clarify some of the issues here. (If this kind of thing interests you, click on the "Nature of Science" label. And leave a note. The topic fascinates me, and I could go on and on, but I don't have sense that most people are interested.

68. @JediBear- exactly: a different culture, in a different place and time, defined them differently. We don't live there. We live here, in this culture. So for a minor splinter of this culture (us astronomy nerds) to unilaterally declare that the vast number who are not astronerds are "mistaken" is more than a little presumptuous. Perhaps an analogy would help clarify: this culture defines "Christmas" as December 25. It also has a mistaken belief that this date is the anniversary of the birth of a person called "Jesus Christ." The fact that this is a mistaken belief does not change the date of Christmas. So, JediBear, yes it is science vs. culture. And as I perhaps haven't said clearly enough, when science tries to dictate to culture about what it should believe- particularly about a matter that is so trivial- I don't see any good coming as a result. As I did say in my previous comment (59), "There is some truth and value in these endeavors, but to single-handedly declare that nearly everyone else is “wrong”, and a few astronomy nerds are “right”, with respect to what I think we agree is a culturally-based word, is at best silly. At worst, it’s heavy handed overreaching, and it’s the kind of thing that makes many people hostile to science."

If you want to treat it as a joke, then we're in agreement. That's what I was trying to get at in the latter part of the above post. However, if you see science as the final arbiter of what is right and wrong for a culture to do, believe, and celebrate, then you put yourself in the same position as religions, and you deserve the same disdain with which I hold them. Science is not about "truth," whatever that means, it's about evidence. The evidence is that you and Phil are dissatisfied with the dominant definition of seasons- and I'm not trying to criticize or denigrate that dissatifaction. The evidence is also that you are in a very distinct minority. All I'm trying to say is that defending your position with the cloak of SCIENCE, and announcing to the world "I'm right and all you poor sods are wrong," is not going to convince people, and is potentially damaging to the general attitude toward science.

The issue of "seasons" is not what we're discussing here. What we're discussing is the proper use and role of science. If you want to turn science into a faith-based dictatorship that imposes arbitrary standards, based on accurate, repeatable, observations that, nevertheless, have no significant impact on the lives of most people, and that, sadly, most people don't know or comprehend, that's your right. It's my right to point out that I think that's a really, really bad idea.

Likewise, to argue that people in the English middle ages celebrated the solstice as "midsummer," therefore they're right, and the vast majority of modern citizens are wrong, seems a little ridiculous too. What do you and Phil think about wearing scarves around your mouths and noses to prevent breathing the bad air that causes the black plague and malaria (malaria literally means "bad air")?

Just sayin'...

We'll see if the "April Summer" people comprehend what I'm tryin' to "splain.