Answer the following questions
Reading 2, Introduction: The Physics of Business, by Edward G. Engh
Here you will learn how critical thinking is the basis of science, but also the basis of all
disciplines which apply science, such as engineering and business. Business uses critical
thinking to increase profits, but that is not the only application. It is also used to improve
quality, safety and even employee moral. You will read about the opposition to critical thinking,
specifically dogmatism, as well as ho w critical thinking can be lost or forgotten, as happened in
the dark ages. You will read about how critical thinking increases the value of a degree in
business.
THINGS TO PONDER: Think about the following questions while completing this reading.
Similar or related questions may be included in the module assignment, discussion, and quiz.
What is the difference between a science and a non -science?
How can someone reduce confusion?
Why is education considered humanity’s gr eatest tool?
How can truth be misused?
What would cause a whole society to lose critical thinking?
How can we minimize things that complicate discussions?
What role does business play in building civilization?
How is value calculated in Business?
How do d isciplines (such as Business) rise and fall and evolve?
What is the value of a Business Degree?
Reading Vocabulary Terms and Definitions
In order to improve your comprehension of this reading, study the following words and their
definitions. You will be re sponsible for knowing these words as part of the module quiz. Deeper
explanations are available in the GLOSSARY --- > Link
Vocabulary Word Definition
Accura cy Close to Nature’s truth. “Trueness”. Not the same things as
Precision.
Asceticism Religious attitude toward modern economics that says to flee or run
away from it.
Axiom 4 -7 Something true because it is a greed -upon, accepted for the sake of
communication
Capital Value of a means of production, not wanted for itself but for its
ability to help in produce
Compound Interest Financial value of an investment Formula: v = P (1 + r/n)nt
Dark Age thinking Unscientific thinking: that is far behind the times 2 thousand years
old, obsolete,
Delusion Something not real but accepted as real.
Dogma 4 -7 unquestionable according to authority but not critical thinking
Err or analysis Statistical process of identifying all sources of error and minimizing
their impact Hypothesis A question that has not yet been answered by science.
Illusion Something not real, but which one wishes was rea l.
Kinetic energy Energy value of motion: the work needed to accelerate a body
Formula: ke = ½[m(v2)]
Pietism whatever is real must be part of the divine plan, or it would not exist, so
embrace it.
Precision Reproducibility of a measurement system
Predictability goal of all science is to predict an outcome before it happens.
Provincialism Thinking unique to a state or province that is behind the times, not
current, obso lete,
Quietism ignore any contradictions between faith and the requirements of one’s
job or profession
Renunciationism renounce it because it is evil, destroy it if that is not possible,
Theory Something that has been test ed by science and found to be true.
Total energy Absolute limit of energy (motion) from any quantity of
matter. Formula: E=m(c2).
Wealth Psychological value of a possession. Sum of all possessions.
_______________________________ __________________________________
Page: Module 1 Reading 2: The Physics of Business, by Edward G. Engh
PHOTO CAPTION: Professor Engh in 1993 when he was Assistant Vice President of Research
and Development of Hercules Aerospace Corporation.
“Critical thinking is top -of-the -list when business executives go shopping for new employees, especially if they hope to train and groom them for executive management positions.“ - Edward
G. Engh
What is a Science?
Physics is a science. Mathematics is a science. What about Business, Engineering, Economics,
Politics or Sociology, are they sciences too? Academics and scholars make a distinction, and it is
useful. Physics and Math are sciences, but business and engineering are applications of science:
they use the laws discovered elsewhere for their own reasons. Sometimes there is a danger in
using an application without remembering the source. Without keeping the source o f an idea in
one's mind it is easy to make false associations. Every law of nature or theory of science comes
with consequences; and these are not always taught. Or if they are taught, they are too easily
forgotten. Too often the student is left completely on their own to connect a formula with a
consequence. This sometimes causes us to misapply things. For example, shown below is the
formula for kinetic energy:
ke = ½[m(v2)]
Where: ke = kinetic energy, m = mass, and v = velocity
This is a species of formul a (in the mathematical sense) using algebra, like the formula financiers
use for compound interest: shown below.
v = P (1 + r/n)nt
Where: v = value, P= the principle (or beginning amount or initial investment), r = rate of
interest, n = periods of times co mpounding occurs per period of time, t = number of years
invested)
Kinetic energy is real, it exists in the Universe, it can be measured, quantified, maximized,
minimized, etc. Does this also mean that financial abstractions are real? Yes, but not in the s ame
sense. Value exists in the mind, whereas energy (like entropy) exist in the Universe. This may
seem like a subtle distinction: it is like comparing love to gravity, one exists in the mind, the
other everywhere. Nevertheless it is very common to find pe ople who treat the 'laws' of Finance
(banking and mortgages) as if they were laws of nature! They are not! They work, but only if one
makes certain assumptions which are difficult to define scientifically. If one treats compound
interest as if it were foun ded on physics there is great risk. If a nation makes important decisions
on this kind of assumption, no one should be surprised if the results are not what was hoped for:
collapsed economies, bankrupt companies, laid -off workers, defunct households. As wi th Politics
and political science, Economics is scientific, but it is not a science, even if it uses the tools of
calculus. It will remain a non -science until it adopts a fundamental theorem founded on empirical
evidence, using the scientific method of hyp othesis testing, in order to become a predictive
tool.[1] Every discipline suffers from this disconnection of consequence.
What is Not a Science? Kinetic energy is real, but Wealth is purely in man's head, it is not equivalent to kinetic energy.
Too often this is painfully made clear when the books of a business are opened in court,
revealing that the capital (or wealth) was purely imaginary! Hindsight is always perfect 20/20
vision. Why do not we see these things in advance? How many times must we see many
investors accept a purely abstract accounting of their capital? Seeing a mathematical formula
often implies a mathematical law of absolute predictability. Kinetic energy can be predicted. As
Einstein later demonstrated kinetic energy can even be magnified exponentially until one derives
the famous formula for total energy possible E=m(c2). Physicists know that perpetual motion is
not possible and that energy is not infinite, but investors treat capital as if it were perpetual and
infinite. Investors assume that their interest and capital are just as real as the laws of physics.
They are not! These errors may lead to war, recession, depression, and even to damaged
ecosystems. Value may be infinite in the mind, but the supply of fossil fuel in the ground in
finite. Building an economy on the assumption of infinite value sounds wonderful. Who would
argue against it? If it rests on the assumption that fossil fuels are infinite there is some danger
ahead. Of course the danger may be ignored (or even denied) for a time.
Falseness is Good
In the minds of humans, Finance and Economics may strive for equality with Physics and
Mathematics; but these useful, clever and imaginative laws are not equivalent to those of
science.[2] What constitutes a science? Testable hypot heses, Predictable results, Precision ,
Accuracy, Error Analysis : these are the hallmarks of a Science. Even so, science is always
improving old theories. Whenever an idea needs to be tested to see if it is true, it is formulated as
a hypothesis. If someth ing is a question we call it a hypothesis . If the question has been
answered, and repeated, then we say it is a theory . This is important because many people use
these words incorrectly, saying something is “ . . merely a theory.” If something is true, such as
gravity, then we call it “the theory of gravity.” If something is still a question it is appropriate to
refer to it as a hypothesis. Using these words correctly will go a long way toward reducing
errors in communications between people. After a hypothesis is formulated, a desired
confidence level is assigned as a goal. Then the test is designed in such a way that there is as
little doubt as possible about the results of the test. After the test is completed, the hypothesis
must be rejected or not rejected, those are the only possible outcomes. You may be pleased to
know that most scientists, when formulating their hypotheses word it as follows: “Ho: assume
my hypothesis is probably wrong. . . “ That method of writing a hypothesis is called t he
“scientific null hypothesis”. Another principle of science is this: no theory is perfect.[3] In
science, we assume that human knowledge is imperfect, but imperfect knowledge is far better
than total ignorance. Every time a law of Physics is defined, it is inevitably shown to be in error
by some factor. For example, it was once thought that Newton’s laws of mechanical motion also
implied that the universe was completely predictable upon those laws. This led to the hope that
subatomic mechanics would also work identically, predictably, and that atoms were just little
machines that work with perfect predictability. Every electron would then move in a precise ,
predictable orbit around every nucleus. All this was proven to be false. Electrons are not
complete ly predictable; in fact, this is a proof of the now widely accepted Uncertainty Principle.
The Uncertainty Principle is taken for granted by every science except those related to
economics, such as business management. Why would a mathematician have the sa me faith in
the value of his investments as he applies to sub -atomic particle predictions? He does not! It is shown here that he should not have any such faith. Some of the formulas used by scientists
include values that are called ‘imaginary’ numbers. Thi s is not the same kind of imagination
necessary to believe in the value of an investment. In fact, they are completely different. If the
average investor knew of, or applied the uncertainty principle he would discount any promise of
interest or value by as much as ninety -nine percent.
Why People Confuse Things
There are reasons for the confusion in people’s minds. One reason has already been mentioned,
that most people imply a scientific basis to anything which is calculated from a formula. The
other reasons are more fundamental; and require some historical background to understand, and
then some awareness of the principles of Philosophy, and logic, and a little psychology. The
initial world of each person is based completely on perception. We perceive things before birth
inside the womb, though these are not recalled as memories afterward. Once we are born, we
begin to store information and process it. Our perception is through five senses, seeing, hearing,
touching, tasting and smelling. All information from these senses pass to the brain. Disconnect a
sense from the brain and that sense is gone.[4] Reality is quite different. It exists whether we are
aware of it or not, whether we perceive it or not.[5] Mo st infants perceive early on that those orbs
suspended above them contain food; and they are not aware of the monster lurking under the
bed. They experience firsthand perception of the one, and no evidence of the other. They will
never perceive a monster, but they will hear of such things from others whom they are taught to
place in authority, and they will trust them. There are no monsters. What we think we know is
not always true. More important, there are things real, of which we have no perception. Othe r
things are true even though we are ignorant of them. Below is Figure 1 which you saw in
Reading one of this module, in the part concerning asymmetry. It is repeated here to give you
the opportunity of refreshing your mind. Notice that everything human s perceive happen in the
mind, whereas the things perceived are outside the mind, and there are two ways we can get
things wrong.
Quandary of Reality
This leaves us in a quandary. Everyone would like to know the future. We want to know what is
going to happen. We think about it all the time. Unfortunately, until the future becomes the past
it i s not real. We imagine things we want to happen, but will they happen? How can I be sure
that I perceive things real? How can I prevent myself from misperceiving things which are not
real? A man named Epicurus pondered these questions 23 centuries ago; in Athens, Greece, at
that time a great center of learning.[6] Epicurus saw that most people believed things that defy
logic. Why should people worry about an afterlife, or beings of awesome power? He realized it
would do no good to tell them they believed i n monsters -under -the -bed , forms of illusions or
even delusions . He chose instead to explore and write about the way people think; and he sought
to perfect it. Venn Diagram 1 below shows the universe according to his early science. It requires
some nerve to look at it carefully, and ask all the necessary questions.
Do I accept things that are not real? Are there real things, which I know nothing about? Cou ld
there be things harmful to me lurking out there? Some look at this situation and conclude that
man is unable, or not meant to know some things. Others look at this and decide to improve their
perceptions. Science (or critical thinking) follows the latte r method, doing all possible to
minimize the possibility of misperception. This is an appropriate place to bring up misperception
as it applies to the game of business. As a business owner I may use deception to increase my
profits, by causing mispercepti on in consumer’s minds or in the mind of the competition: but I
never want to confuse myself. Never. This is the reason business has always had an unsavory
reputation in most cultures throughout history, especially in societies that have very high moral
standards derived from their religion. In pagan times when there were many gods, many cultures
had a god of business, and he was always a trickster a gambler, a deceiver, even a lier: such as
Hermes for the ancient Greeks and Mercury for the ancient Roman s. Oh these cultures thought
lying was uncivilized and any honest man should never lie. For this same reason they thought
that business was for the uncivilized classes in society. Aristocrats would not conduct business,
it was beneath them. They would let the freedmen or slaves do that, and let the slaves suffer any
consequences in the next life. That is how they accommodated the moral conflict created by
trying to make a huge profit and trying to keep one’s soul pure and untarnished. In the twenty -
first century we do not have the same means of moral accommodation. This makes it a difficult
game to maximize modern profits and also maximize one’s righteousness, especially if one must
deceive others to maximize profits. Modern religious society has re acted four ways to this
pressure. See Figure 2 below.
Education May be the Best Tool of All
Tools are necessary to expand our ability to sense things. M an seems to have pursued tool
making from ancient times. In fact we now define a culture by the tools it makes. Tools range
from the first, most primitive machines; the plain, the lever, the pulley, the wheel, and the axle,
to roads, cities, trade and warf are. A great tool is one, which systematically tests new tools; this
is Science. Another great tool is one, which designs better tools, this is Engineering. Finally,
there are tools, which efficiently build other tools for use; this is Manufacturing or Ind ustry. In
spite of all these advances toward improved reality man is plagued by two problems; ignorance
and attitudes, which linger for thousands of years, effectively retarding human progress. One
cure for this is another tool, Education. Improved Educati on seeks to make all men reasonable;
that is, it tries to guide all people to improve their perceptions of reality. This way humankind
may be free from some of the effects of disease, early death, starvation or pain. Ignorance is
treated with healthy doses of Education. How do we cure the plague of human attitudes, which hold millions of people hostage? Throughout history people are led to build up massive cultural
efforts as monuments, but many times in retrospect, these efforts seem to be founded on bad
thinking. Sometimes they depart from common sense and wage war against neighboring
countries. It makes me sad knowing man is capable of such bitter attitudes as to destroy one’s
own people. Nevertheless, these attitudes come in many forms from genocide, to ethnic
repression, racism, and complexes of gender superiority. Solving the problem of human attitudes
is difficult but not impossible. Again, it starts with education. This means fundamental education
of millions. Yet, it is very difficult to predict when a single ignorant man or woman will rise to
persuade millions to pursue a destructive course. How many times must humanity suffer when
just a few lunatics cleverly rise through the ranks of tolerance and democracy only to reveal their
true colors after th ey are already firmly seated in power, which seemingly no one can defeat?[7]
Anything Can be Misused
Reality can be misused by anyone, but the misuse often begins with malicious or selfish people.
Anyone who uses the facts to mislead is a difficult opponen t, especially if they are supported by
a population who are generally poorly educated. Widespread ignorance facilitates abuse by
others, making it more likely for abusive people to rise to great influence. Even the most well -
meaning nations find they are b ankrupt at some point in their history. By ‘bankrupt’, we mean a
whole range of disasters.[8] For example: the ancient Romans believed the worst thing a people
could do was to fight an unjust war. For this reason they set up a democratic system of
governme nt, because they did not trust such decisions to kings or autocrats. The Republican
mind of ancient Rome believed one should never put someone in power who cannot also be
removed from power. Roman ideas of Justice made them very careful about putting peopl e in
charge, made them cautious when electing someone to lead. Many times this belief kept them out
of trouble. However, the Romans were not immune to corruption or misuse of power. Over a
long period of successful wars this lead to national arrogance and pride. Arrogance and pride
have a long history of handicapping a society’s ability to use critical thinking. After a thousand
years of hard work and good luck, the Roman -mind eventually fell, not to overwhelming odds
against invaders; but to rising fear of science -and -the -natural -world [10] carried into the Empire
by well -meaning people of a new faith. Perhaps it is better to call it “The Fall of Critical
Thinking” rather than the “Fall of Rome”. [You will learn more about this in the second part of
Module two.]
Fall of Critical Thinking (But Only for a Time)
The time after the fall of Rome is called the dark ages, primarily because it was a period of
intellectual -intolerance. People prospered under a thousand years of Roman law, and they
benefited from the freedom to mingle and assemble in private intellectual conversation: but when
things fell the people began to believe that this life was evil. They were taught to moderate the
evidence of their own senses. This life did not matter because this life is not the one that matters:
This life is a deception, put forward to tempt mankind into thinking the physical Universe
mattered, it does not matter because the only life that matters is the next one. This kind of
thinking was quite foreign to Romans. It had a st range effect: it led them to believe that
civilization -building the old way was unnecessary. Instead of using debate and consensus,
instead of using the evidence of one’s senses, unquestioned belief swept away discussion and new systems of loyalty quickly rose. As a side effect the libraries were burned, the colleges and
academies destroyed, and the philosophers and teachers put to death, and progress halted. The
fall of critical thinking had other, more practical effects. Western civilization soon forgot h ow to
make concrete and cement. Metallurgy and mining collapsed. Medicine became a lost art. They
forgot how to navigate ships across the seas. The world became flat in people's minds, even
though the ancient Greeks and Romans knew it was round. The maps v anished with the books.
The world of the mind suddenly became very small, dark, and superstitious. None of this was to
be questioned.
Complications for Critical Thinking
This makes it difficult to have a discussion. What is modern humanity supposed to do? Twenty -
first century earth is a post -industrial, global society, but with tradition, superstition and authority
from a pre -industrial time. To get people to accept things without question: to put things beyond
rational testing, modern systems of authority employ a very old strategy. They make uncritical
thinking socially acceptable, and then a social requirement. They teach uncritical thinking while
they are young and impressionable, and make the belief system a precondition to sex. They
create a sense of p ride and then appeal to it. Modern examples of authoritative societies from
around the world work this way: controlling the system of education and the system of marriage.
In many places where society is not controlled by an authority -system this is not so , and people
are not afraid of critical -thinking. In societies where people are opposed to critical -thinking,
there are controls on education and marriage rights. What example is more obvious than I.S.I.S.
or Islamic State? All of these problems face the t ypical modern, multinational corporation, trying
to do business all over the world. If a modern multinational corporation collapses due to
bankruptcy, it can cause many thousands of people to lose their jobs, to lose their life savings, it
can destroy whol e economies. Thus if modern businesses make poor decisions, the hazards are
very high. The need for critical thinking is very high. However, presently many aspects of
business are political, and therefore outside of science, and unpredictable.[9] Neverthel ess,
things are improving all the time.
Societies Rise and Fall
In reality, civilization building is necessary. Business is civilization building, and civilization is
business building. Things must get done. Society must profit. Without it things begin to crumble
back into the dust. This principle has a name in Physics: it is called the law of Entropy, or the
Second Law of Thermodynamics. We either b uild up order in the form of Civilization, or we
succumb to the laws of nature and decay. Some people, not a majority, do not want to understand
how nature works. They also do not want others to discover how the Universe works. Luckily
this is a minority. Some even prevent their children from getting a good education. Fortunately
you are here to get an education and will not be denied it. There is great risk that while humanity
is preoccupied by an unnatural struggle against understanding Nature, the danger s of nature
herself may be ignored or obscured. Climate change may be an example. How strange that fossil
fuels, which made the modern industrial revolution possible, should turn out to be a danger and a
threat to our prosperity and survival? How odd that we would use fossil fuels so vigorously that
the generation that discovered them might also live to see them run out. To profit in the business
of life we probably ought to use our best thinking. That is what we teach. How you use it is a
choice, something you determine by your own free will.
How "Value" is Calculated in Business Consider this: what is the value of a big pay check if one loses your family to get it? What is the
value of a profitable business if the profits are achieved by underpaying those doing the hard
work? What is the value of a cheap product if the manufacturer harms the environment and
nowhere includes environmental degradation in the cost/profitability analysis? What is the value
of anything in business if the accounting formula does not account for these True costs? What is
the value of any "asset" if the measure of "value" is unscientific? If "value" cannot be measured
scientifically the other means of measurement is to use emotion or rhetoric. When we look at
how "value" is defined in contemporary society, it is so vague, so confusing, that we must
conclude that the definition depends on the situation, whatever that means --- a meaningless
answer. Why does it matter? Answer: it matters because a discipline (or profession) that cannot
demonstrate results needs to be discarded as an obsolete tool. Science has always done this.
Someday we will have better tools to describe what happens in business and economics. Some
of those tools are being developed right now. Some of you may choose to study business as a
science and become one of the pioneers of Business Analytics. Meanwhile, those who value
their conscience should distance themselves from business situations where profits put too much
pressure on ethics and morals. High profits are v aluable, but not at the cost of one’s respect and
conscience.
Disciplines Rise, Disciplines Fall
Once upon a time there was a theory of energy called "The Phlogistonic Theory," in which they
thought that energy was a substance, and that when the substance ran out the engine would stop
running. In spite of a complete lack of evidence this theory was upheld for over a century, and
was used to make decisions (all with bad results). The Phlogiston theory was even used to make
arguments in treaties affecting wor ld peace and in legislatures: all for nothing. Academic
disciplines such as politics and business (or economics) have always had trouble demonstrating
scientifically credible results. This was embarrassing to them, so they began to defend
themselves by try ing to make a distinction: they tried to divide science into two classes of
science: the hard sciences and the "soft" ones. Hard science meant the real ones like physics,
chemistry, mathematics, biochemistry, genetics, which were scientific only because th e
fundamental theory had been tested over and over again, and no one had yet been able to produce
statistically significant results to cause us to question it, it worked every time. Soft science meant
things like politics, which even went so far as to call itself "political science", as if the rules of
scientific evidence were somehow different. Of course this was all nonsense. A science is either
scientific or not. If a discipline cannot be used to make a prediction, and then see that prediction
verified i n measurable results, it is not scientific.
Disciplines Evolve
Occasionally the academic world does some house cleaning, just like nature does, and it is
usually loud and angry: whole disciplines are thrown out, they are no longer taught in accredited
scho ols, colleges and universities. Phlogistonic Energy Theory is an example. This gives us hope
rather than concern, because all science must be self -critical, self -correcting, able to abandon
ideas that cannot pass the test of evidence. Science is founded on critical thinking which avoids
all Type One errors: recall that a Type One error is rejecting something that is true. Science also avoids all Type Two errors which occur when you believe something that you should not
believe, because it is false.
Value of a Business Degree
If Business students are interested in making a lot of money, it might seem strange that they
would avoid the highest paying disciplines and professions when they actually go to college or
university. Through years of research we know ma ny college students choose to study business
not because they know what they really want to do, or can explain their interest in business, but
because they are mortally afraid of science and math. Aversion -to-science, not love of business is
their motive t o avoid many of the highest paying professions. Why do students shun math and
science? Many grow up in an environment hostile to science and critical thinking, and this makes
it hard to develop scientific attitudes and interests. This might explain why peo ple avoid certain
things, but does it explain why they would drift toward a certain discipline, such as business?
Perhaps they are thinking: “of all the professions that do not require science and math, business
is the highest paying.” Unfortunately this i s poor reason to choose a profession that will impact
one’s career for a lifetime. Fear is not a motivator in long term career planning, it is an inhibitor,
something that holds you back, it blocks pathways. Curiosity is a motivator in long term career
pla nning, with sufficient curiosity one can break through all kinds of barriers. Business is
evolving, becoming more reliant on scientific methods all the time, especially large enterprises
relying on statistical quality control, logistics, supply chain manag ement, and information
systems. Fear of science can inhibit anyone going into these fields, but curiosity can motivate
one to value science and critical thinking in business. Apparently many students have grown up
with the idea that business is not very ma thematical, and that critical thinking and science are not
part of the course of study to become a professional business person. The reality is quite the
opposite: business uses critical thinking, mathematics, statistics, calculus, psychology, history,
eve n biology. In fact critical thinking is top of the list when business executives go shopping for
new employees, especially if they hope to train and groom them for executive management
positions.
_____________________
Notes and Bibliography:
[1] Game Theory, discovered by Dr. John Nash, et al, has opened the path to what may become a new science. Game Theory combined w ith a new branch of modern Biology may lead to the development of a predictive science of economy. It will have little or no resemb lance to the old schools of Social Economics or Political Economy. Someday, those schools will seem as useful as alchemy is today, interesting , humorous in a tragic sense, until one remembers how many generations have suffered under the ignorance so often put forward as truth. As humanity progresses and discovers new things, old ideas often seen naive, but this is the nature of progress.
[2] Nations wage war over the firm belief in the so -called value of things: setting more value on capital than anything e lse, yet capital is not scientific. Unless there is a scientific justification for something, it is very hard to come up with a reason to support it.
[3] In science, something that is true is called a theory. Theory = truth. A question is called a hypothes is. Students must not use the word 'theory' in such a way as to imply the subject is not true. Speaking that way causes confusion. Nothing becomes a theory in science un til it has been tested, again and again. If a student wants to refer to something untru e, or untested, they should use the word “hypothesis”. [4] The range of our senses seems to be infinite until we begin to understand the world of science. Science displays a cosmos far beyond our ordinary senses, but well within our perception; if we use a tool to extend the power of our senses. Microscopes permit us to see the very small, telescopes the very far, distant or weak.
[5] The purpose here is not to be trapped in pointless rhetoric or worse, dialectics. Defenders of so -called soft sciences often cling to rhetoric and dialectic to suggest that all science suffers under the handicap of their own discipline. This is not true.
[6] The Encyclopedia of World History, Sixth Edition, Peter N. Stearns, General Editor, see under Epicurus.
[7] See Adolph Hi tler, in The Encyclopedia of World History, Sixth Edition, Peter N. Stearns, General Editor.
[8] Disaster comes from an ancient word for ‘contradiction’, Dis; and the ancient word for ‘star’, Aster. In other words, sta r-crossed. Stars were believed to have influence in the affairs of humankind, because they might just be gods of some kind. Therefore, when two stars crossed each other it can only mean one of two things they are in love, or in conflict. Today a disaster is comparable to a type two error , thin king something is true when it is not true at all. “Someone will save us!” may be the sentiment of millions, but reality may be there is no one to save us but ourselves.
[9] At the present time, Political Science is anything but a predictive science, and t herefore of very limited use. There is hope on the horizon. A new science is budding inside the science of Biology, called the Science of Social Organisms. This is very exciting. Humans a re not the only species to survive by working together in communities , there are many. Scientific study of these phenomena is leading to incredible discoveries that some of these issues are determined genetically, others are determined cognitively, and yet others by the collective con sciousness of the society. This new scie nce will likely displace the old political science. The old political science is already a subset of history, Political Histo ry rather than a science. The new discipline will probably be of great use in managing the roll of humans in wider biosphere. So met hing similar is happening in other areas: Psychology and Psychiatry are being replaced by Neuroscience. What a fascinating world we live in?!
[10] Gibbons, Edward, “Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire,” Vol 1, published in 1776 CE.
HOMEWORK
PART A: Te n Vocabulary words. As you read the text above select 10 vocabulary
words (minimum). You select the words new to you, or words used in a way new to
you. List each word and then a definition that fits the usage of the word. Look up the
definition in an academic dictionary (such as Oxford or Miriam Webster's New
Collegiate , but not Google.) Then write the definition IN YOUR OWN WORDS. Select
as many vocabulary words as needed to fill up the requirement of 10.
PART B: Answer the following questions. Follow the same procedure you used in
Reading 1 "Critical Thinking". Do NOT retype the question .
1. Explain the danger of confusing a formula for a law of science.
2. Explain why laws of science are self correcting. How does this benefit us?
3. Explain why laws based on dogma and axiom are not self correcting.
4. Explain the danger of unchanging laws based on dogma and axiom.
5. Describe how ignorance and human attitudes retard human progress.
6. Outline how education is a tool to cure human errors.
7. Explain how barbari an invaders did not cause the fall of Rome, and something else
did. What caused it?
8. How did the dark ages, from the fall of Rome get started? How could everyone forget
things?
9. Has modern society fully recovered from the dark ages?
10. At the end of this ques tion is a link to the Chronology folder. PLEASE DO NOT OPEN
THE LINK IN THIS WINDOW. OPEN IT IN A NEW WINDOW SO THAT YOU CAN USE THE GLOSSARY TOOL OVER THERE AND INPUT YOUR ANSWERS
HERE. It also appears on the Course Homepage under Tools. HOVER over the link,
RIGHT CLICK, select OPEN IN A NEW WINDOW. Then in the new window type
CONTROL F, a word -search box appears. Type "energy" in the box, use the arrows to
search up and down for entries about energy . Read them. They are very brief. Come
back to thi s assignment and Explain where energy comes from, how old it is, and how it
got to be in a material form on Earth. Link
11. Explain the roll of energy in the Industria l Revolution (where factories replace human
labor with machine labor and machines require some form of energy).
12. Speculate on the difference and/or differences between e nergy and economic -value .
13. Explain why people get confused by formulas: such as those for Kinetic Energy and for
Capital.
14. Explain at least two examples of dark age thinking in our time? NOTE: In answering this
question, many students jump to North Korea as an answer. It is always better to look
INWARD at your own community --your own state, not outward whenever answering
questions like this. Is there a difference between the "dark ages" of North Korea and that
"dark age thinking" of Utahns? The scientific term for this phenomena is provincialism .
Try to answer this question by using examples around you. Who around you uses Dark
Age thinking?