Blog Post 1 LB492
Throughout reading a few articles, it came apparent having open mindedness can be a very important trait for our daily lives, especially in the science field. It’s important to bring up that some people are raised differently than others and don’t get the chance to see how other cultures represented in the US are struggling compared to the average white male. As a result of this, people grow up with different mindsets on life and how to go about it. In reality, we as humans should make an effort to learn how others are struggling to have equality in this country. Is there a way we as a society could help others have the same opportunities as the people who are more fortunate with their life?
The Exploratorium hosted “Art as a Way of Knowing” in 2011, which was a conference that brought a wide variety of professions to discuss the importance of incorporating art into curriculum as a cultural tool and can be used to support learning in the science field. The conference argued, “Art is of equal importance in the development of a child, to the vitality of a culture, and to evolving work of a professional artist whose investigations are pursued over a lifetime.” This quote reinforces the importance of open mindedness because it was originally perceived that artists aren’t of much importance compared to the field of science. Artists have a different perspective on problems than scientists do, they can help guide ideas in the correct direction like they have for decades by creating artistic practices to understand new discoveries that may occurred in the past.
Another problem that has been ignored through the past years is described well in Dr. Halpern’s article, “Feminist Standpoint Theory and Science Communication.” Dr. Halpern explains the importance of having a feminist viewpoint within science professions. One quote that stood out to me in this article was, “The principles of the feminist’s standpoint theory are that all knowledge is situated, interpreted, and local. Also, that those belonging to marginalized groups are situated in ways that allow them to see more than those who aren’t.” I believe this quote shows the importance of having open mindedness while doing anything in life. Equality really needs to be addressed in this world and if every human had an open mind, we could give equal opportunities to everybody and strive overall as a society. It’s been known throughout history there’s a large racial bias regarding minorities and their scientific findings. One example is mentioned in the Scientific American article called “Silence is Never Neutral; Neither is Science,” involving the HeLa cells. Henrietta Lacks was an African American woman who contributed vital cells for research without her consent. Another instance occurred when, “Scientists and public health officials withheld treatment of Black men in Alabama with syphilis to watch how the disease progressed. When thinking about this, you should ask yourself if you would want to be treated like that if you were in their shoes. That’s the importance of having open mindedness, to see where others come from and take a stand against these awful acts.
In an article called, “White supremacy Culture,” by Tema Oken, she develops a list of the supremacy culture and how it has impacted the organizations around us. One point that stuck with me after reading was the belief that if somebody does not change, then something is wrong with “them” and not with “us”. Unfortunately, in this world, many people believe their way of going about things is the correct and only way not taking into account others and what they may think on the situation. The best way to resolve this is to gain everyone’s input and knowledge on the topic to create a discussion in order to create the best solution to a problem, not being selfish and ignoring other opinions based on their gender or race. The last issue that raised in my mind is that scientists sometimes believe that if studies prove a hypothesis they believe in, they believe it is correct when other perspectives on the same manner may differ. An important point is brought up in a podcast David Cayley “How to Think About Science (Part 10),” in which he discusses an instance where researchers at the Agricultural Research Counsel received contradicting data compared to a nuclear research establishment denying that hypothesis that was believed to be true by many. Both research teams had vastly different scientists working on the same question and this led to different results because another expertise’s perception trumped the original claim. Incorporating open mindedness in this regard proves that researchers that may not be experts in that field can still conduct vital data and input on the topic.
The world around us needs change, not only the scientific community because we as humans should learn to take into account other people’s perspectives on situations and valuing their ideas equally to others. Movements need to occur in order to give minorities equal power in their opportunities in life and their voice being heard as if they were the most important person in the world. Productivity and communication may improve drastically as a society if we open our minds and put ourselves in others’ shoes when thinking about this issue. This theme is important to me because I’ve heard many stories from my friends and family about how unequal and careless they are treated since they are a woman or they have a different skin color. Once all humans are able to have open mindedness, there can be many advancements in the scientific community as well as the world around us in this day and age.
