I recently did a presentation for over 7,000 teachers in a global teaching forum. One of the questions I was asked was - why do I consider science - a required skill?
The answer to that question lies in our commitment to effective & ethical problem solving.
In order to solve problems, we have to be realistic about what is causing those problems. If we misdiagnose our problem - we will not only fail to solve our problem, we may actually make things worse.
Since - I want to make things better - I work on making sure what I think is true - actually is true. That is where science comes in.
Science is an attempt to objectively know things through systematic study. I am currently helping my son learn math. The most important part of learning math - is to be systematic about it. If you skip a step, you introduce error. The same is true for every field of study.
Systematic - works to reduce errors. Every time you can reduce errors - you increase your chance of success.
I don't think you can be a humanist if you are NOT committed to embracing science and critical thinking. You just can't.
The problem is - science isn't always right. Mostly - they are just - less wrong. Meaning - scientists are dedicated to learning what they are wrong about and learning how to be less wrong. And that's great.
No one is perfect. Being humble enough to admit you might have been wrong and looking for ways to be less wrong - is what creates progress. It's definitely better than the alternative - which is to just - always be wrong. Being less wrong - is actually right.
Here is an essay I wrote on this - that discussing Isaac Asimov's approach to science - which is the relativity of wrong http://humanisthappiness.blogspot.com/2012/01/how-being-less-wrong-is-actually-right.html
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