The limitations of science (The limitations of science)

by dhw, Wednesday, February 24, 2010, 23:15 (5384 days ago) @ xeno6696

MATT: The article was about the comparison of western science to native methods of gaining information. [...] Even if the reasoning might be a bit faulty, traditional cultures have apparently survived well by simply testing and applying immediately.-Thanks for this interesting post. I'm not sure one can say that in traditional cultures the useful information "comes down" any faster than science. Tradition needs a long time to establish itself, and useful information is usually the result of long years of experience. I read an article recently about the disastrous results of applying scientific western methods to cattle farming somewhere in East Africa. Stupidly I chucked it out, and I can't recall the details, but it was all connected with traditional nomadism and how the land (and hence cattle farming) has now been ruined by settlement and fixed pastures. One shouldn't romanticize indigenous cultures, but as you say, they survived and flourished for centuries before the European came on the scene, and the application of western norms and methods has destroyed many traditions and values which are irreplaceable. Having said that, I must own up to the fact that without western medicine, I would not have left West Africa alive!