This post assumes a very positive view of humanity. It assumes that people aren’t studying science in large enough numbers because the knowledge isn’t exciting and attractive enough. The alternative assumption is that people aren’t studying science because they’re thick, or lazy, or both.
In Britain, fewer and fewer young people are choosing to study science at A-level (16-18) and university, despite the increased number of them continuing education after compulsory education ends (16). This is mainly blamed on them choosing to do new, ‘soft’ options, of which Media Studies is the primary scapegoat (but a Google for ‘Mickey Mouse degrees’ or a flick through the prospectus of a lower-order university will find plenty of others). This can’t be attributed to the non-secret nature of science, because Media Studies is just as non-secret. If the open nature of science was really the problem, it would be a problem shared by every single subject from science to media studies to plumbing apprenticeships, and enrolment would be falling in every subject, not just science.
I don’t actually disagree with the main point of the post—that secret knowledge is more attractive—but it wouldn’t solve the problem of lack of interest in science. If science went cultish, they would see a short-term increase in interest, but then media studies academics would hide their ‘knowledge’ as well, and we’d be back where we started. Even if the knowledge was secret I’ve no doubt that most young people would consider the secret media studies knowledge more attractive than the secret science knowledge. “The chanting isn’t as weird, and the robes are better, and even under those hoods you can tell the Physics cult is a total sausagefest.”
I think you might have failed to realize what will determine which cult people will choose. When the Media cult makes their presentation, they’ll be reduced to showing a movie (or equivalent, maybe a lo-fi virtual reality) and saying “look at this fancy media we can create, wouldn’t you like to be able to do that?” But then the Physics and Mathematics cult (I really do fail to see how they could be separated successfully) presents a light bulb, a tesla coil, and possibly a miniature sun and gets to say “this isn’t even the half of what we could do if we wanted to. If you want to know how to do it, you’ll have to deal with us.”
This post assumes a very positive view of humanity. It assumes that people aren’t studying science in large enough numbers because the knowledge isn’t exciting and attractive enough. The alternative assumption is that people aren’t studying science because they’re thick, or lazy, or both.
In Britain, fewer and fewer young people are choosing to study science at A-level (16-18) and university, despite the increased number of them continuing education after compulsory education ends (16). This is mainly blamed on them choosing to do new, ‘soft’ options, of which Media Studies is the primary scapegoat (but a Google for ‘Mickey Mouse degrees’ or a flick through the prospectus of a lower-order university will find plenty of others). This can’t be attributed to the non-secret nature of science, because Media Studies is just as non-secret. If the open nature of science was really the problem, it would be a problem shared by every single subject from science to media studies to plumbing apprenticeships, and enrolment would be falling in every subject, not just science.
I don’t actually disagree with the main point of the post—that secret knowledge is more attractive—but it wouldn’t solve the problem of lack of interest in science. If science went cultish, they would see a short-term increase in interest, but then media studies academics would hide their ‘knowledge’ as well, and we’d be back where we started. Even if the knowledge was secret I’ve no doubt that most young people would consider the secret media studies knowledge more attractive than the secret science knowledge. “The chanting isn’t as weird, and the robes are better, and even under those hoods you can tell the Physics cult is a total sausagefest.”
I think you might have failed to realize what will determine which cult people will choose. When the Media cult makes their presentation, they’ll be reduced to showing a movie (or equivalent, maybe a lo-fi virtual reality) and saying “look at this fancy media we can create, wouldn’t you like to be able to do that?” But then the Physics and Mathematics cult (I really do fail to see how they could be separated successfully) presents a light bulb, a tesla coil, and possibly a miniature sun and gets to say “this isn’t even the half of what we could do if we wanted to. If you want to know how to do it, you’ll have to deal with us.”