[Daniel (OP)]

Hi everyone,

Don't get me wrong, I know that science is very important and that it helps us a lot in our life, but my question is how Scientific Knowledge can help to the average man who is not a scientist? For example a simple worker in a factory, or a cashier in the supermarket, why should they learn biology, chemistry, physics, astronomy, cosmology and other scientific fields? What practical use do they have with this knowledge at home? Or at work? Why do they need it?

(I'm talking about popular science level knowledge)

[Daniel (OP)]

Perhaps you composed one but never hit the post button (maybe hitting just 'preview'?)
Was it a new topic or a reply to somebody else?

Never mind, I edited this post.

(When I tried to send the other post I got a message telling me that I already sent it)

[Bored chemist]

(When I tried to send the other post I got a message telling me that I already sent it)

Ithink you may have just answered your own question but...
OK, there are people out there who are trying to rip you off.
You already know that.
Your only defence is to spot when they are doing it.
So, the more stuff you know, the better your chances are of avoiding being lied to.

[Daniel (OP)]

OK, there are people out there who are trying to rip you off.
You already know that.
Your only defence is to spot when they are doing it.
So, the more stuff you know, the better your chances are of avoiding being lied to.

Can you give me a practical example of how a popular science level knowledge in biology, chemistry, physics, astronomy and other popular scientific fields can help someone in his/her daily life?

[bestwork1989]

hi
you are talking about popular science level knowledge and also you talk about scientific knowledge help someone in his daily life. if you more clear about yourself you will get the answer.


<Spam> was established in 1996 in Mumbai, India; as chemical manufacturing company catering exclusively to the needs of the spam industry. In a short span of 12 years the company has established itself as one of the leading wholesale suppliers of a wide range of chemicals for - spam industry internationally - and other local industires and plants. Our client list bears testimony to this. The policy has its foundations on two pillars of strength - a continuous investment in research and development to deliver premium quality products and a commitment to service.

-------------------


url=http://spam.com/Natural-Cleaner-Degreaser]Degreaser[/url]

[alancalverd]

Scientific knowledge is part of our culture, like art and music but occasionally more utilitarian. It is what stops you mixing soap and detergent in your washing machine (it would make a grey scum), drinking  hydroxychloroquine (as advocated by orange scum), putting water in your petrol tank, feeding chocolate to your dog, or sticking your fingers in the mains socket.

What is more important, and should be inculcated by school science lessons, is scientific thinking. If Joe Bloggs observes, hypothesises and tests his hypotheses, he will be less likely  to be conned by priests, philosophers or politicians, and more likely to survive on the road.

[Bored chemist]

OK, there are people out there who are trying to rip you off.
You already know that.
Your only defence is to spot when they are doing it.
So, the more stuff you know, the better your chances are of avoiding being lied to.

Can you give me a practical example of how a popular science level knowledge in biology, chemistry, physics, astronomy and other popular scientific fields can help someone in his/her daily life?

A fairly minimal understanding of science will ensure that you don't believe the antivaxers.
That may well save your lives or those of your children.

[Colin2B]

To give a very simple example. We had someone doing some home plumbing, he asked a simple question on here and with the application of basic science we helped him avoid flooding his house.

[evan_au]

Science should produce a sense of wonder in seeing the universe, and the complex web of life on Earth.

Science should induce a feeling of humility - for every thing you learn, you should also recognize at least two things that you don't understand.

And it should encourage an attitude to look for evidence, wherever possible.
- I was interested in an episode of Naked Reflections, where their guest David Halpern had worked for the UK government, trying to bring a degree of experimental feedback to guide government actions.
- This is the reverse of the usual approach, where a politician declares "This is the way" (with mostly his own say-so as the evidence), and it then gets implemented, for better or worse.

Listen (about 30 minutes): https://www.thenakedscientists.com/podcasts/naked-reflections/nudging-you-act

[NakedTruth]

Hi,
scientific knowledge can help any of us. For example if you are a cashier in the supermarket, it's interesting to know, why the old man always buys a newspaper and talks in a very smart way. Maybe it is, because reading newspaper leads to a higher general knowledge or vice versa-> a higher general knowledge leads to buy more newspapers. There are a lot of studies and you can play that "game" with a lot of variables.

[charles1948]

Hi,
scientific knowledge can help any of us. For example if you are a cashier in the supermarket, it's interesting to know, why the old man always buys a newspaper and talks in a very smart way. Maybe it is, because reading newspaper leads to a higher general knowledge or vice versa-> a higher general knowledge leads to buy more newspapers. There are a lot of studies and you can play that "game" with a lot of variables.

Hi everyone,

Don't get me wrong, I know that science is very important and that it helps us a lot in our life, but my question is how Scientific Knowledge can help to the average man who is not a scientist? For example a simple worker in a factory, or a cashier in the supermarket, why should they learn biology, chemistry, physics, astronomy, cosmology and other scientific fields? What practical use do they have with this knowledge at home? Or at work? Why do they need it?

(I'm talking about popular science level knowledge)

, obviously
A factory worker or cashier has no need of "scientific" knowledge to do their job. Except obviously in the case of the cashier, an ability to count.

[alancalverd]

"I just gave you a £50 note"
"Thank you, here's £49.50 change"
That's a religious conversation that could end the cashier's career.

"I just gave you a £50 note"
"There isn't one in the till. I'll call the manager"
That's a scientific conversation that could end a scammer's career.

Factory worker: "Cutting oil is a white emulsion. This stuff has separated and will jam the tool" Science and engineering knowledge. Mind you, I'm going back to the days when we used to make stuff in factories in the UK.

Observe, hypothesise, test. That's all there is to science, and scientific knowledge is just those hypotheses that haven't been disproved.

[charles1948]

Observe, hypothesise, test. That's all there is to science, and scientific knowledge is just those hypotheses that haven't been disproved.

Surely the "hypothesising" has to come before the "observing".  Otherwise, how would you know what to observe?
 There are millions of things you could "observe". But you must have some preliminary idea, some "hypothesis" as to what is important to observe.  Not just looking around at random.

Therefore, don't you the think the true sequence in Science, is this:

"First Hypothesise. Then Observe. Then Test by repeated Observing.  Then, if the observational results  are consistent,  formulate a Theory"
 

[evan_au]

Surely the "hypothesising" has to come before the "observing".  Otherwise, how would you know what to observe?

Conversely:
- Surely the "observing" has to come before the "hypothesising".  Otherwise, how would you know what to hypothesise?
- Surely the "testing" has to come before the "hypothesising".  Otherwise, how would you know what to hypothesise?
- Surely the "testing" has to come as part of the "observing".  Otherwise, how would you know what to hypothesise?

In practice, our brains are making observations, connections and predictions from the time we are infants.
- As we get older we continue observing, and as our language abilities develop, we hear (or generate) "explanations" for why events occur
- So the whole Hypothesis/Observation/Testing thing is quite intertwined

Karl Popper made the observation that science proceeds by explicitly stating a hypothesis, and then trying to show that it is false by testing it.
See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falsifiability

[alancalverd]

"First Hypothesise. Then Observe. Then Test by repeated Observing.  Then, if the observational results  are consistent,  formulate a Theory"

No, that's economics or philosophy. And if the results are not consistent with the hypothesis it's due to "seasonal factors". And don't observe too much, because you need to get on with writing your next book explaining why everyone else is wrong.

Most science begins with product failure or accidental discovery. I very much doubt that Darwin spontaneously thought "evolution" and went to look for it in the Galapagos. AFAIK the only significant exception is relativity,where you begin with the question "what if c is the maximum speed of information?"   But Einstein's own writing on the subject usually begins with the observation from a moving train, so that may be what prompted his thinking.

Policy-based evidence-making is the essence of incompetent government and the bane of the civil service. 

[MarrySun]

Hi everyone,

Don't get me wrong, I know that science is very important and that it helps us a lot in our life, but my question is how Scientific Knowledge can help to the average man who is not a scientist? For example, a simple worker in a factory, or a cashier in the supermarket, why should they learn biology, chemistry, physics, astronomy, cosmology, and other scientific fields? What practical use do they have with this knowledge at home? Or at work? Why do they need it?

(I'm talking about popular science level knowledge)

Hello,
Science is very important. It doesn't depend on whether you are a scientist or not. For example, knowledge about medicine and biology can help you know your body better, mathematics helps you get better financial literacy, other humanity sciences help you express your thoughts better. In addition, this knowledge needs to be developed using various posts. And of course, you can always tell an interesting story to your child .

[RD]

.. how Scientific Knowledge can help ... a simple worker ... why should they learn... chemistry ...

Simple like work like a cleaner ? ... https://youtu.be/FH1h0oWjark?t=181

[alancalverd]

I moved into a house that turned out not to be fit for habitation - the previous owner was an alcoholic who went on a real bender between sale contract and moving day. Fortunately the estate agent had dealt with this sort of thing in the past - he handles student rentals - and called up an industrial cleaning specialist. Very nice guy turned up with a rubber suit and a van full of caustics and solvents, and spent several days disinfecting, dispersing, neutralising and disposing. He has a degree in chemistry and worked in the heavy chemical industry for several years before going solo in farms, restaurants and public areas.   

[charles1948]

I moved into a house that turned out not to be fit for habitation - the previous owner was an alcoholic who went on a real bender between sale contract and moving day. Fortunately the estate agent had dealt with this sort of thing in the past - he handles student rentals - and called up an industrial cleaning specialist. Very nice guy turned up with a rubber suit and a van full of caustics and solvents, and spent several days disinfecting, dispersing, neutralising and disposing. He has a degree in chemistry and worked in the heavy chemical industry for several years before going solo in farms, restaurants and public areas.   

Hm.  The bit about "turning up in a rubber suit" and "spent several days" doing the job rings alarm bells in my mind.

Are you sure he was genuine? Did he charge you a lot of money for the "job"?

[alancalverd]

Not a penny. The cost was charged to the seller via his agent and solicitor. He was on site for about four days altogether as the waxed wood floors needed stripping and several treatments to restore something that looked more like a house than a farmyard.

I used to buy surplus office furniture and suchlike from a local trader. At some point he acquired a load of hefty PPE - masks, gloves, aprons and boots - with which he dressed a mannequin holding the placard "Safe Sex Kit £50".