ONE OF THE GREAT THINGS

  

  The great thing about science is that it's true whether you believe it or not.

 

- Neil de Grasse Tyson         

 

Photo from the St. Louis Women's Rally.

Wissenschaft

I like the German word for science, Wissenschaft. You could transliterate it as the craft of knowing. A few people in the anti-Trump rally carried signs like this. There is an element in the winning party that feels free to ignore science when it conflicts with their beliefs, climate change being a good example. I've read that the Vice President Elect is a creationist. It scares me.

Everyone's favorite astrophysicist, Neil deGrasse Tyson, said that the great thing about science is that it's true whether you believe it or not. I wish more people understood that.             

Words of Wisdom

The inscription over the back entrance to the Saint Louis Art Museum reads "Art still has truth. Take refuge there." Do you buy it?

Here's my take: art has no direct connection to truth and everything to do with the individual experience. It is the indispensable way to share the subjective. For the hard stuff, the testable, approximately reliable, we need science. Our National Public Radio network has a weekly essay feature called "This I Believe." If I ever wrote one, I'd call it Arts & Sciences.

What's your view?

TOMORROW: Eyewitness News