Thomas Jefferson is supposed to have said, “An educated citizenry is a vital requisite for our survival as a free people.” I recently read in a history book that while the statement is likely an accurate paraphrase of his views on education, the exact phrasing apparently cannot be found in any of his writings. I understand because I get blamed for saying a lot of things I never say also.
As much as I admire Thomas Jefferson, I wonder if that statement is true regarding formal education. We have had public education in this country for a very long time, but I don’t think that we are any “more free.” One of the more tyrannical aspects of modern life is the public school system.
For families with children, schools dictate when family members rise in the morning, when they go to bed, what they do on most weekends, when they take vacations, and what children can eat for lunch. With the shortening of summer vacation, schools even determine summer jobs and activities in which children can participate. Some of these restrictions also extend into the workaday world for those without children.
The problem, it seems to me, is that humans have decided that the brain teaches the body. So, they spend their time and energy in school teaching abstract ideas and concepts that are supposed to help students behave more freely, I guess. The common belief is that book learning changes behavior, and what we think influences what we do.
But what if it’s behavior that changes the brain?
Perhaps our founding fathers had a different idea in mind when they discussed how democracy could only exist with an educated populace. Consider that if people know how to do something, they are free to do it. However, if people can’t do anything, they aren’t free to do anything. Their lack of skills binds them.
If you'd like to dissect a tiny insect under a microscope, please give me a call. I am pretty good at that, and I can help you. If you want someone to help dig post holes, you could call me, too, though I’d rather you didn’t. However, if you need help with welding, I'm afraid I can’t help you. My lack of knowledge about welding limits me. I’m only free to do the things I have learned how to do.
I know, there is not much demand for dissecting tiny insects. I’ve figured that out. I didn’t need a course in economics, political science, literature, American government, or cultural heritage to discover that the skill of dissecting insects was in low demand. Still, it seems to be a rare skill and therefore, according to economic theory, worth more than more common abilities.
The truth is that school had very little to do with teaching me the talent of dissecting insects. I learned how to do it myself because I wanted to know something. The only way I could find the answer to my question was to look inside a tiny insect.
I believe that if people know how to do something, they will also become good thinkers. Abstract ideas can often even confuse the issues. When asked if I can help a friend or society in general with something, I don’t need to analyze my philosophy about the economy, proper priorities, political rights, checks and balances, or redistribution of wealth. When asked to help, my answer is either “I can’t weld” or “I can next Tuesday”.
The foundations of modern science were established by men who built their own microscopes, invented their own stethoscopes, constructed their own oil-drop apparatuses, designed their own radios, and developed their own rudimentary computers.
Men are truly free when they are free to DO something. If they cannot DO anything, they are not free to DO anything. Where do our children go to learn how to DO something today? And what if what we do changes the way we think?
What if it’s what we DO that changes the way we think?
Instead of answering that question this week, I am going to change the subject. (But I will explore this idea more next week.
This essay was written on July 4th to celebrate the freedom scientists enjoy in the United States. No one is forced to become a scientist in America. And, for the most part, we are free to choose which field of science to pursue and what we want to investigate.
Of course, a person can be persuaded to become a scientist by good pay, intellectual stimulation, pleasant working conditions, and the allure of risky experiments involving things like diseases or explosives. I should warn anyone interested in becoming a scientist, though, that there is a whole lot less sex and violence in the sciences than you might think from what modern sci-fi movies portray.
I've heard that, in some countries, people are forced to become scientists. I'm not quite sure how that would work. You can't make people think, let alone think in a specific way. You must hand it to schools, though. They keep trying.
The truth is that science is open to anyone who wants to be involved. However, most people don't want to conduct experiments just for fun if they can convince someone else to fund them. And other people only want to give money to scientists to investigate something that has even greater value for the person providing the money, like more money.
But America's scientists are free to investigate whatever they want. So, how do they make up their mind? You might think that someone ought to do something about Malaria, but the people who have Malaria seldom have much money, so few scientists study it. And you may question some of the things scientists investigate, but often it is merely because someone is giving them your tax money to do it.
When money doesn't do the trick, scientists can be encouraged to investigate specific phenomena by the threat of violence. After all, we're only human. There are governments worldwide that do this. I imagine this is not much fun since governments often just want to investigate boring subjects like building better methods of killing or controlling large numbers of people.
Anyway, that minimal scope of investigations must be unrewarding. That is, if you don't count "escaping violence" as a reward. I am grateful no one makes me do anything in the United States except obey thirteen trillion laws. I can research whatever I want … and can afford.
I experimented for fun just the other day. I've been worried about my bees on a hot day. So, I tilted the lid of their hive just the width of a stick to help with ventilation. Then I got this idea. My wife had an empty plastic gallon milk jug. I rinsed it out, filled it with ice water, and set it on top of the hive's flat, now tilted, aluminum lid. Then I poked a couple of tiny holes in the bottom of the jug so the water could trickle out and run across the hot lid to cool it. The trickling began, and I went off to tend to other matters.
A couple of hours later, I checked on my system only to discover that the plastic had melted into a blob the size of a softball and was sealing off the tiny holes. The experiment wasn't a complete failure, though, because now I know it doesn't work.
Much of my research has been valuable in eliminating ideas that don't work. It has become a specialized scientific discipline that I have been fortunate enough, and free enough, to develop. You have no idea how many experiments I have performed that have saved other people from having to perform them. I should get a raise.
There are numerous theories out there, and someone must identify the ones that don't work. I discovered early that I had a natural talent for this sort of thing. Because I live in America, where I am free to develop whatever skills I have, I have had a mediocre career of weeding out the things that don't work.
I love that at a young age. You taught me that I was more free if I learned how to play the piano. Then as an adult, I was free to choose whether or not I wanted to play. I am so grateful for that freedom!