I’m a big proponent of living “scientifically.”
But I’m also open to believing in many things that are supposedly supernatural / pseudoscience / woo-woo.
Eg: visualization / manifestation, certain yogic practices, Ayurveda and other ancient Indian concepts.
To me, this isn’t a contradiction at all.
To be a scientist means to be a lifelong heretic.
1. Question information that doesn’t align with your understanding.
2. Question your understanding when it doesn’t align with observations.
3. Test things for yourself as much as possible.
(Isaac Newton studied alchemy and the occult for 30+ years — it’s unlikely that him and thousands of other scholars throughout history would stick to it for so long if it was BS and they didn’t make any progress.)
What you do NOT say:
“This is incorrect because Wikipedia says so / my school textbooks said so / there are no studies to confirm this.”
Such statements are intellectually dishonest in nature.
Being close-minded and surrendering your beliefs to authority — even the “scientific authority” of your current times — isn’t scientific.
Eg: some people believe that Covid was a hoax. Now, MY experience tells me that in India, during the second wave:
- Hospitals around the country ran out of oxygen cylinders.
- Cremation grounds in Delhi were so full that people had to be cremated on the streets
- Even firewood for cremation became extremely hard to find — you had to go procure your own.
- I don’t know a single person who didn’t lose any family member to the virus within that short span of time.
- Some of my friends who did catch Covid, said that it was the sickest they’d ever been.
Since each of these occurences are statistically significant (i.e. they almost NEVER happen) and there is a strong causation in play, I believe that Covid was as real as the earth under my feet. “It’s just the flu” doesn’t explain my observations and evidence, so the statement is untrue in my book.
