harold and the two cynicisms
his name is harold. harold is a cynic.
now, before i delve into the details of his cynical nature, i must first mention that harold is a colleague of mine. together, we teach in the physics department of a medium-sized state univeristy. harold and i first bonded over a diffusion pump, vacuum chamber and some copper powder. ...you see, back in my undergrad days at Calvin (all of 2 years ago) i studied the flash evaporation of magnetic materials. and you're thinking "blah, blah, blah. evaporation-FOvaporation, i have no idea what she's talking about!!!" but bear with me. the point is that harold, it seems, is also studying evaporation-FOvaporation. and so we bonded. ...i have to say, this was the first diffusion pump over which i've bonded.
now to the cynicism. okay, so -- pardon the stereotype -- but when you think of the cynicism of a scientist, what immediately comes to mind? i don't know about you, but i think of someone who believes in the salvific capacity of science and the inevitable progress of mankind marching toward a better future. his hope is in science.
(this is an unfair stereotype, i know. reminiscent of the religious scene, fundamentalists scientists -- there is undoubtably such a thing! -- raise their voices louder and more abrasively than the majority of the rest, and the rest lose fair representation.)
but, still, no one would be shocked to find that a scientist believed strongly in his own discipline. and expectations would remain intact upon finding that the aforementioned scientist might even believe so strongly in science that he would discretist the validity of religion or faith. and so he is cynical toward religion. this is the first cynicism.
but harold, it seems, is a cynic of a different sort. this is the second cynicism. it is not religion toward which he is cynical, but it is toward science. to harold, years of science have left him all too aware of its limitations, of the pretention of man's attempts to save himself via technology, of the injustice of deluding our youths as we hail the saving powers of science.... and he's lost hope in science.
...he's lost his hope in science. yes, yes, science cannot save us; hope in science is not the answer. but neither is a loss of hope in general. and this is perhaps where my dear harold is left. "Everything is meaningless. Everything is meaningless," he kept saying. the treacherous underbelly of science has shipwrecked him, leaving him stranded in a postmodern chaos, purposelessness and hopelessness -- and nervously watching and waiting to see if faith will sail in to save him.
the hope is that divine revelation//supernatural intervention would offer hope to the human race, which is unable to save itself through science. a recovering scientist will -- in his full maturity -- allow for the irrationality of supernatural intervention and even depend on the supernatural for his salvation, but at the same time will not discredit the human role in the ordering of the universe. the story goes that God intervened in human history, giving hope and purpose to humanity. and so there is meaning. there is drama. there is hope.
but with harold, the verdict on hope is still out.
for what it's worth, here's a picture of some diffusion pumps. can somebody say evaporation-FOvaporation?!?!
now, before i delve into the details of his cynical nature, i must first mention that harold is a colleague of mine. together, we teach in the physics department of a medium-sized state univeristy. harold and i first bonded over a diffusion pump, vacuum chamber and some copper powder. ...you see, back in my undergrad days at Calvin (all of 2 years ago) i studied the flash evaporation of magnetic materials. and you're thinking "blah, blah, blah. evaporation-FOvaporation, i have no idea what she's talking about!!!" but bear with me. the point is that harold, it seems, is also studying evaporation-FOvaporation. and so we bonded. ...i have to say, this was the first diffusion pump over which i've bonded.
now to the cynicism. okay, so -- pardon the stereotype -- but when you think of the cynicism of a scientist, what immediately comes to mind? i don't know about you, but i think of someone who believes in the salvific capacity of science and the inevitable progress of mankind marching toward a better future. his hope is in science.
(this is an unfair stereotype, i know. reminiscent of the religious scene, fundamentalists scientists -- there is undoubtably such a thing! -- raise their voices louder and more abrasively than the majority of the rest, and the rest lose fair representation.)
but, still, no one would be shocked to find that a scientist believed strongly in his own discipline. and expectations would remain intact upon finding that the aforementioned scientist might even believe so strongly in science that he would discretist the validity of religion or faith. and so he is cynical toward religion. this is the first cynicism.
but harold, it seems, is a cynic of a different sort. this is the second cynicism. it is not religion toward which he is cynical, but it is toward science. to harold, years of science have left him all too aware of its limitations, of the pretention of man's attempts to save himself via technology, of the injustice of deluding our youths as we hail the saving powers of science.... and he's lost hope in science.
...he's lost his hope in science. yes, yes, science cannot save us; hope in science is not the answer. but neither is a loss of hope in general. and this is perhaps where my dear harold is left. "Everything is meaningless. Everything is meaningless," he kept saying. the treacherous underbelly of science has shipwrecked him, leaving him stranded in a postmodern chaos, purposelessness and hopelessness -- and nervously watching and waiting to see if faith will sail in to save him.
the hope is that divine revelation//supernatural intervention would offer hope to the human race, which is unable to save itself through science. a recovering scientist will -- in his full maturity -- allow for the irrationality of supernatural intervention and even depend on the supernatural for his salvation, but at the same time will not discredit the human role in the ordering of the universe. the story goes that God intervened in human history, giving hope and purpose to humanity. and so there is meaning. there is drama. there is hope.
but with harold, the verdict on hope is still out.
for what it's worth, here's a picture of some diffusion pumps. can somebody say evaporation-FOvaporation?!?!
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