I was asked to describe the elegance in science that points to God. But first, I believe it to be important to understand the term, or at least come to an agreement on a common understanding of the term, or at least know what I, the author of this post, take "science" to mean, because there are as many different definitions as there are scientists. There are quotes of all kinds, many very eloquent, that try to define this word, but for me it reduces to "the practice of trying to figure out how things work." There is much more to be said on this, but I will leave it alone for the moment. My idea of what is a scientist is directly predicated on my definition of science. In essence, it is one who is curious. I believe that all of us come out as scientists. We continually and without interruption attempt to figure out everything we can about this world we just entered. As we get older, we build more sophisticated ideas as our personal knowledge base grows and as our own capabilities for understanding expands.
You may have thought that I have forgotten the original question, but I have not. I have blathered on about semantics because I think that our curiosity is fundamental to understanding the wonder of God through science. Because God did not make a simple world. Everything is not just immensely complex, but infinitely complex. What man creates has a stopping point of complexity. We are fully able to figure out what the creator has done, and complete the project of "figuring it out." Only God could create a universe such as it is, with infinite complexity, ever smaller details, ever more intricate interactions. We will never have a complete answer for everything (or anything!), and so we, humanity, will always be compelled to look further and examine more closely, and think harder, and consider new ideas. We will never run out of things to be curious about! Any issue can be subjected to the child's tactic of asking why? why? why? There are always new questions, deeper questions to be asked, and always a point where we cease to have sufficient answers. That is the beauty of science, that we never fear knowing everything- praise God, for that would be a dull existence indeed.
I would also point out that there is an incredible amount of elegance within the answers that we find. In my experience with statistics, there have been so many instances where I would start with a complex model, go through pages of equations, algebraic manipulations, complicated derivations, integrations, summations and calculations, only to obtain at the end a solution beautifully understandable, so easily interpreted, something that our intuition easily grasps- this is elegance. There is also beauty in seeing how everything works together. There is an intrinsic power to awe within every field of science that I have studied. I enjoy learning about as many different things in the realm of natural science as I can, because it is truly enjoyable to see how things work together. Just as a mechanic can appreciate the ingenuity and capability that was required to build a car, so much more are we able to appreciate and enjoy how the things that God has made works.
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Friday, July 1, 2011
Scholarships for Minorities
Illinois is the first state to provide a private scholarship for the children of illegal aliens. I'm actually disappointed, but not overly so. I think it's heading in a right direction, but essentially along the wrong path. I think it's terrible to label those who have been raised by illegal immigrants to be themselves illegal. It seems to me very cold indeed to go into the classrooms and pick out a few students and say that they must leave their friends and home behind, move to a new country where they speak a different language, where they won't be provided the same opportunities as their current peers, and will most likely be a much more dangerous place to live. Those students did not choose their parentage, and to say that they are criminals because of it seems absurd. So then why am I disappointed that Illinois has a private scholarship for the sons and daughters of illegal aliens? Because I hate scholarships based on anything other than merit.
I think that the fact the person A gets a scholarship over person B because of their race, ethnicity, parentage, or any other demographic is wrong. We denounce such things as racist or discriminatory if it is done in one direction and call it beneficial if it is in the other direction. Why should a son of a legal resident have to take out student loans and a son of an illegal resident have a free ride? The only correct answer to this question is that the son of the illegal resident happens to have worked harder in high school, made better grades, or scored higher on a standardized exam. Any other reason is in my book total bunk- unjust discrimination masquerading as charity. Honestly, I think if I were in the shoes of a minority who just received aid over a more qualified applicant due to my minority status that I would be insulted that some people think that just because I'm of such-and-such a race, or because my parents are here illegally that I somehow need more help than anyone else, implying that I am less capable because of the minority status.
I believe that I have a good idea why such scholarships exist- that a particular minority is underrepresented in higher education, and that a certain minority group is trapped in a particular low economic class. I think that it is perfectly noble to try to rectify such a thing, but that these minority scholarships are treating the symptoms, not the disease. Shouldn't we instead be working to make such minority groups produce more capable students, instead of giving mediocrity a chance to continue being mediocre? Please don't think that I'm calling all minority scholars mediocre! I've met some very very intelligent ones and were very good friends with them. What I'm intending to say is that instead of putting moneys away for scholarships, we invest it instead in producing the kind of students who will win equal-opportunity scholarships by merit. Instead of realizing that a certain minority doesn't typically produce as good of students as a majority and saying,
"well this is the best you can produce, let's see if they can succeed at a much higher level of academia" we say "let's try to help some of these minorities to develop into the kind of people who will succeed at a much higher level of academia."
I think that the fact the person A gets a scholarship over person B because of their race, ethnicity, parentage, or any other demographic is wrong. We denounce such things as racist or discriminatory if it is done in one direction and call it beneficial if it is in the other direction. Why should a son of a legal resident have to take out student loans and a son of an illegal resident have a free ride? The only correct answer to this question is that the son of the illegal resident happens to have worked harder in high school, made better grades, or scored higher on a standardized exam. Any other reason is in my book total bunk- unjust discrimination masquerading as charity. Honestly, I think if I were in the shoes of a minority who just received aid over a more qualified applicant due to my minority status that I would be insulted that some people think that just because I'm of such-and-such a race, or because my parents are here illegally that I somehow need more help than anyone else, implying that I am less capable because of the minority status.
I believe that I have a good idea why such scholarships exist- that a particular minority is underrepresented in higher education, and that a certain minority group is trapped in a particular low economic class. I think that it is perfectly noble to try to rectify such a thing, but that these minority scholarships are treating the symptoms, not the disease. Shouldn't we instead be working to make such minority groups produce more capable students, instead of giving mediocrity a chance to continue being mediocre? Please don't think that I'm calling all minority scholars mediocre! I've met some very very intelligent ones and were very good friends with them. What I'm intending to say is that instead of putting moneys away for scholarships, we invest it instead in producing the kind of students who will win equal-opportunity scholarships by merit. Instead of realizing that a certain minority doesn't typically produce as good of students as a majority and saying,
"well this is the best you can produce, let's see if they can succeed at a much higher level of academia" we say "let's try to help some of these minorities to develop into the kind of people who will succeed at a much higher level of academia."
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