Anthology of Interest I

So I borrowed this title from Futurama, hopefully I have enough random stuff to talk about to consider it an anthology. In Futurama the title denotes an episode which is comprised of clips created by the "What If" machine. It can tell you the result of any "What If" question. Anyways... let's begin with my Anthology of Interest, volume I.

What if CPM were to go to Europe?
I'm going to London in May. I bought a plane ticket on Friday for non-stop, roundtrip flights for $441.66. Very excited. I'll be traveling with a couple of good friends.

What if more people appreciated beautiful music?
I'm watching the Celtic Woman: A New Journey DVD right now. It's the recording of their concert tour performed at Slane Castle in Ireland. It's extremely good. We (my roommates and I) enjoy watching it every so often. The singers have incredible voices (plus they're hot-- did I just say that?). We went and saw them at the E-Center last summer, it was an excellent show.

What if more scientists actually trusted the Scientific Method?
I'm reading a book entitled Hidden Histories of Science. It's a collection of essays about lesser known events in scientific history. I've read three of the five thus far and a common theme has become evident. First off, the essays were written completely independently, so it is coincidental that this theme arose from several authors. When scientists were studying what has come to be known as "hypnosis" a number of scientists made various claims that others would adamantly refute without replicating the experiment properly, or claiming they did (but truly not even trying). Now granted this was in the 18th century and there was still a lot of mysticism and similar silliness floating around in scientific circles. As a result it took years before the phenomenon was properly understood.

Fast forward to the 20th century. Researchers are trying to find out what causes cancer. A young scientist, Ludwik Gross, obsessed over the idea that some cancers were triggered by viral infections. Gross carefully performed experiments and eventually successfully, and repeatedly, induced cancerous tumors in mice by injecting them with filtered, ground-up, leukemic cells. The filtering process would remove any particle larger than virii (the best possible filtering at the time). Upon publishing his results in 1951 and 1952 he was ridiculed and scoffed at for his claims that a virus could cause cancer. The notion of viral cancers had been around since 1909 when the same concept had been demonstrated in chickens, and ignored in favor of genetic factors. Despite the fact that Gross had carefully documented his work none of the challenging scientists bothered to accurately reproduce his work. Doing so would have required using the same type of leukemic cells, the same species of mouse, the same filtrates, etc. Rather than accurately check Gross' work it was easier to simply dismiss it and denounce him as a crackpot. Finally, Jacob Furth, who had provided Gross with the mice and had a strong reputation already, did properly re-conduct Gross' and absolutely confirmed the results. At which point investigation into viral cancers exploded.

Similar mistrust occurred with Newton's experiments on optics and light. Too many scientists are more concerned with making a name for themselves than with discovering the truth about nature. While skepticism is necessary to weed out incorrect hypotheses it seems like we could be so much further ahead in science if more scientists trusted to the Method they claim to believe in.

What if I could better control my brain?
I've commented on this topic previously, but I just want to touch on it again. The mind is a really interesting thing. I can consciously know things and know that certain actions will bring about disappointment or enjoyment, and yet still be unable to convince the acting part of my mind to listen and obey those thoughts. When slipping into a state of depression I find myself unable to simply do the things that I know will make me feel better. Or when about to make a decision, that I know will only bring about disappointment, I am unable to change the course of that action. It's extremely frustrating at times.

Well, I guess that's everything for Volume I of the Anthology of Interest.