Six years ago, I attended a MAGNET high school in a program which placed a large emphasis on scientific research. It taught me a lot, from the basics of physics, chemistry, geology and biology to subjects that I am pursuing now such as mathematics and computer science. Eventually, it led to an internship at the Food and Drug Administration where I got to experience modern research firsthand. That program, along with the friends I made in it, was probably the largest contributor to who I am today.
I mention this for two reasons. One, this program was very much the reason that I was interested in going to Scholars in the first place. Second, the course material for both my programs were remarkably similar. One personal gripe I had with the program for most of the first semester was that I had already learned all this in high school. Issues of global change as well as a lot of the general weather and climate information we learned were topics that my program covered thoroughly. A lot of the information that we covered about the scientific method was stuff that I thought was common knowledge and did not see the point in learning again. I had really felt like the class was a waste of my time at that point, because it did not further what I had thought was a very clear understanding of the topic of the class.
At this point, I had an incredibly rigid view of research and science. You did work in a controlled environment, and you got data. I never thought about the human trappings of research before this class, or what people really thought about it as. To be honest, I never really thought too hard about the human connection to the work I did because I intrinsically believed that the academic pursuit of knowledge matters more than what is done with it. Basically, if I learned as much as I could about this world, someone would find what I discovered and be able to use it in some way. Scholars, and the activities and classes I took because of it, taught me that the world is not quite as simple as that.
Before we covered these topics in Scholars, what I learned in a supporting class started to get me into thinking about these topics in my first semester. That class was ANTH260, Introduction to Cultural Anthropology. Many of the topics we covered were thought-provoking, but none directly challenged my passive attitude to science than "Health for Sale," a movie that talks about Big Pharma1. More specifically, it talks about the frankly disgusting policies that these ten pharmaceutical companies use when making and patenting new medicine. A bastardization of the Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights gives these companies the exclusive right to be the sole makers of these medicines for decades. What this means is that these large companies are only encouraged to innovate in twenty year cycles to maximize profits. They also only spend a pittance on research for cures and treatments to the diseases that cause deaths all over the world, such as malaria. The situation has gotten better in the years since this film has come out, but many of the issues that were described remain very relevant, and really stuck with me for the following semesters.
In a lot of ways, it put much of what I learned in SGC into context. When we learned about denialism, logical fallacies, and pseudoscience, I found it hard to understand the motivation to spread false information or to believe in something so contrived. I never understood why people could feel so skeptical of science. In fact, another book from my ANTH260 class helped with my personal understanding as well, called The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down2. The book deals with a Laos refugee family whose young daughter has epilepsy and they must receive care from an American hospital. The book really illustrates the clash of cultures between the family and the doctors, and how neither side truly knows how to accommodate for the other and did not want to back down. The views were too alien on both sides to come to any compromise, and the child ended up suffering the most in the end. I also know someone personally with epilepsy, and reading the story was very hard for me as a result. Even beyond any language barrier, I would have no idea how to let people with no trust for Western medicine to allow me to help someone who is suffering. The main point that I took away was that a lack of understanding makes it very hard to trust. That seemed very apt as well even now, where people can be very scared of things that they do not understand.
Honestly, a lot of what we learned in this class and supporting classes was kind of sad, but at the same time it also made me appreciate many other things a lot more. This new understanding really made me happy to take part in numerous activities that we did on campus. One that stuck out to me this semester was the trip to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s Merill Center. We were given a tour of the amazing building as well as information about the Center as a whole. The entire building runs on rainwater, and centralized heating with very few walls and rooms to improve circulation. All the material making up the building is also recycled. It really showcased what a bunch of dedicated people working together could really do. Especially when within the last two years they were able to have their first C rating on their Bay Health Report Card after continual work for thirty years. It proved that what we learned in class about working together and applying good scientific practices will eventually yield a difference.
In conclusion, SGC has not changed my outlook on science, but it has enhanced my understanding on how science is utilized and viewed in society. By knowing that, it makes it easier to know when the work I and others do makes a difference in people’s lives. Sometimes you must work hard to make people understand the research you do, and that is as important as getting it done in the first place. I understand the need for good science and to keep the flow of information smooth in our society, especially when places in the world are still very much in authoritarian control, where public, media and scientific dialogue is censored. Even in Bangladesh, where I was born, there were protests months ago by students wanting better infrastructure and safer roads which were responded to by violence from the government3. I hope that one day I will be able to do more and help where most of my family lives. So far going through college, especially with SGC, I think I am on the right track to be able to contribute to something that will help someone in the world.
Work Cited