Fact and Fiction and Opportunity

From page 139 of the sixth edition of Invitation to Oceanography by Paul R. Pinet:

"We can taste seawater samples and say qualitatively that this sample tastes 'saltier' than this other one.  But this is a rather subjective technique, and a SCIENTIST (highlighting mine) needs to know exactly and precisely how salty a parcel of water is."

Personally, I think that is rather well put.  The difference between science and everything else is that science is objective and everything else is subjective.  Science is based on fact and everything else is based on opinion.

Unfortunately, or fortunately for me, many in the scientific community adopt subjective opinion as fact.  This is a huge error in thought process that creates arbitrary and ambiguous limitations in thinking and capability.  I believe this inability to determine fact from fiction is one of the primary reasons why new technology typically takes a generation or more to become main streamed.

Students learn these arbitrary and ambiguous boundaries from teachers in a cycle of defeat by humiliation.  Some teachers become interested in ideas and encourage the next generation of students to accept these ideas so some students in the next generation are prepared to adopt new technologies.

I believe that what occurs, during the cycle of defeat by humiliation students are typically subjected to. develops into a near religious like system of beliefs that students, much like religion taught to children, are typically unable to shake off during their later life.  This system of religious like beliefs, created by the system of defeat by humiliation we call education or "schooling", has to be properly developed in students before new technology can be adopted.  We see this in our studies of continental drift and plate tectonics as well as other scientific theories that took one or two generations to become accepted.

This is actually why I am studying Anthropology and Sociology, particularly the development of religious and religious like beliefs.  Academics often find it necessary to hide their theories for fear other academics will steal them.  This creates another method of defeat by humiliation in our education system.  I doubt if I have to worry about that because there are way too many arbitrary and ambiguous limitations created in thinking within the academic system for my ideas to be held as anything more than "wacked" for a generation or two.

Would it surprise anyone to discover that I think that is hilarious?