{"id":4929,"date":"2019-04-17T05:00:54","date_gmt":"2019-04-17T12:00:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/?p=4929"},"modified":"2019-04-14T20:04:33","modified_gmt":"2019-04-15T03:04:33","slug":"mark-reads-the-science-of-discworld-iii-chapter-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/2019\/04\/mark-reads-the-science-of-discworld-iii-chapter-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Reads ‘The Science of Discworld III’: Chapter 2"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the second chapter of Darwin\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Watch<\/i>, we discuss the ever-changing nature of science in comparison to fundamentalism. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to read The Science of Discworld III<\/i>.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Trigger Warning: For discussion of religious cults and religious abuse<\/b><\/p>\n

Ah, a much, much longer chapter, and there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a whole bunch here to talk about! While some of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Paley\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Watch\u00e2\u20ac\u009d retreads familiar ground\u00e2\u20ac\u201dthese books have discussed the link between hypotheses, theories, and scientific rigor before\u00e2\u20ac\u201dit does so in a way that directly relates it to an issue that is very personal for a lot of us. This shouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be a surprise at this point, since I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve spoken about it so frequently, but I related a lot to the talk of how religion can be used to suppress the act of asking a question. That initially appeared in my life through my mother\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s control of the household, but later, when I converted to Catholicism, I had many of the same problems. And in terms of the whole cultural system in place where I grew up, it basically was a less comical version of the radio chat-show that Cohen and Stewart overheard.<\/p>\n

One thing I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve heard a lot from people around my country, and especially when I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve traveled to Canada, the UK, and throughout Europe, is a similar refrain: is your country really<\/i> like that? How much of that is exaggerated by the media? How much should people believe? Look, the US is a massive place, and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s fucking weird<\/i>, and it will always be hard to fully describe it or categorize it to anyone. I still have people here on the East coast who become excited when I say I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m from California because their image of my life is of palm trees and beaches and great Mexican food everywhere. And they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re not exactly wrong! But they have no concept of anywhere in the state that isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t a coast or LA or San Diego or the Bay Area. (And they don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t truly understand the Bay Area either. Or they think Los Angeles is like\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 a few miles across in any direction.)\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Obviously, though, most people are talking about the culture. While there are religious fundamentalists the world round, American ones seem\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 special? But I grew up with people who truly thought it was \u00e2\u20ac\u0153evilution.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Who believed that to question was an act of heresy. There were other issues going on with my mother that compelled her to create a controlling, repressive atmosphere, so I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t lay that at the feet of religion or faith, though I also can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t ignore how much her religious beliefs informed her behavior.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

On less of a personal level, the environment I grew up in not only discouraged question, but the idea that you weren’t<\/i> religious? Oh, that was just unacceptable in every way. I probably would have identified as an atheist much earlier if I had not been tormented by the shame drilled into me, the shame that made me fully believe I was destined for Hell. So, imagine living in that sort of environment, and you can easily complicate it further by considering how this affected my sexuality. Or my racial identity. Or ANY OTHER FACTORS. But for the sake of discussing this chapter, I wanted to just focus on religion. I was taught that the universe was designed perfectly, that God Himself was perfect, and that no part of His creation was imperfect. Except\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 me? Oh, yes, that part about the world was definitely<\/i> imperfect, and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s easy to see why I was such a terrified and confused kid. How could I not<\/i> be? Religion was used to abuse and suppress me, and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s why I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not into anything<\/i> that purports to be unquestionable. Everything has to be questioned. Everything! Because I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve lived the alternative, and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a nightmare<\/i>.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

So, coming from that place, there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a lot that I related to in this chapter. (Though one of the most interesting groups of people that is largely left out of this chapter is scientists who are intensely religious. Because there are a lot<\/i> of them, and they have some very, very fascinating things to say about evolution, creationism, and the like.) I was raised amidst immutable things: the word of God, the rules set forth in my life, and my future if I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t comply with those rules. I \u00e2\u20ac\u0153knew\u00e2\u20ac\u009d things about the world because that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s what I was taught, not because I sought out that information and learned it for myself. So yes, I used to be one of those people who thought the world was just a few thousand years old! Admittedly, I wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t super dedicated to that; I loved dinosaurs too much. SERIOUSLY. And they were old!!! Even I was aware that there was something deeply flawed with this kind of thinking, and yet, I bought what I was sold. (And it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s easy to do that when it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s sold alongside fear and shame.)\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

All that being said: the world changes, and our understanding of the world changes. That happens to all<\/i> of us. So, the Roundworld is about to be dealt a major change, one where we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll get to experience \u00e2\u20ac\u0153a Victorian society that never happened.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know what the shape is in Darwin\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s room, and I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know what affected the Roundworld and created this change. Hell, I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t even know what version of the Victorian age we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re about to see. (Does that explain the quotes in the epigraph?) How will things be different this time around? How will Darwin\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s work change things? Will there still be a theory of evolution?\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m guessing that Stewart and Cohen intentionally introduced Paley\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s watch theory at this point. We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re supposed to be thinking about intelligent design and a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153designed\u00e2\u20ac\u009d universe. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not actually familiar with Darwin\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s path from a theologist to a grumpy agnostic, but will that<\/i> change? Will he continue to believe the world was designed or that evolution isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t real? That would be a significant change to the timeline, enough to derail us into a new Victorian England. But I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m also curious if the authors are going to bring up Social Darwinism! That was more of an American thing, if I remember my Poli Sci days well, but Darwin\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s theory had terrifying (and super bigoted) ramifications in our society.<\/p>\n

Anyway: onwards!<\/p>\n

https:\/\/youtu.be\/Jn_YSW8sUM8<\/p>\n

Mark Links Stuff<\/b><\/p>\n

– The paperback edition of my debut, ANGER IS A GIFT, is now up for pre-order!<\/a> It comes out on May 7, 2019.\u00c2\u00a0<\/strong>If you’d like to stay up-to-date on all announcements regarding my books, sign up for my newsletter<\/a>! DO IT.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"