LIVING IN A Snowflake SOCIETY
Humanity should be proud of the scientific method.
Science has driven us forward like nothing before it. Scientists are known for their intellectual prowess, willingness to be proven wrong, and ability to withstand criticism as long as it is in the name of progress and the greater good.
Here’s a quick definition of the scientific method in case you’re unfamiliar with the concept:
A method of discovering knowledge about the natural world based in making falsifiable predictions (hypotheses), testing them empirically, & developing theories that match known data from repeatable physical experimentation.
The scientific method is a marvel. Scientists are meant to be in a constant state of intellectual discomfort. That’s their game; to constantly propose new ideas and hypotheses even if they might be proven wrong and in fact, because they might be proven wrong.
Mike McCulloch is a Physicist, PhD, Lecturer, author and artist. In his own words, he has “…proposed new physics that gets rid of dark matter & allows a new engine.”
That is some bold physics talk right there. But I’m not here to talk about physics. I know too little about it to even consider explaining dark matter in any way. I’m more interested in a recent tweet from Mike that really made me sad, frustrated and concerned about the current state of society:
Can you believe that I've been banned from speaking at several campuses because my opposition to #darkmatter makes the astrophysicists there "uncomfortable"? Physicists are supposed to be intellectually uncomfortable! That's how they discover.
— Mike McCulloch (@memcculloch) September 10, 2021
I call this kind of action Snowflake Science and it applies to society too, Snowflake Society, if you will:
A society that is too afraid to point heat at their own ideas for fear of the idea melting.
This is not science. This is not a society that values facts. This is not a society that values progress. This is not a society that values equality and equity. This is a society that values silence, fear, destruction and pain.
Our wokeness is starting to affect our ability to embrace progress and be resilient.
When scientists - apparently the most progressive people in the world - are not willing to listen to opposing ideas and put those ideas to the test where does that leave the rest of us?
You can see this new Snowflake Society evolving and solidifying everywhere.
People are afraid to say anything online, do anything meaningful, have an opinion, challenge ideas or push boundaries in case they get cancelled.
There are situations where opinions are offensive and facts are fraudulent but gagging opposing views is not the way to create progress and push the world forward. Creating a culture of fear and reticence online is not going to help humanity find common ground. Rallying mobs to destroy people because they don’t agree with us is not going to end well.
Of course, everyone is entitled to their own trauma, triggers, and right to speak up about any topic. But what happens to society when everyone is triggered by everything? What happens to the evolution of culture when nothing is allowed to be challenged? What happens to businesses when teams can’t push back and leaders can’t impart their ideology into their own business? What happens when the far left and the far right decide that the middle must choose or be done away with? What happens when the snowflake wokeness of a generation starts to feel the heat and begin to melt?
If you believe in your opinions strongly enough then a variation of the scientific method is the path of progress. Allow other people to challenge you and engage in healthy debate. Don’t shout them down. Don’t send an army to shut them up. Don’t be so naive as to believe that your made-up view of the world is better than my made-up view of the world. I may have seen things that you have missed and vice versa.
The Snowflake Society that is developing right now is dangerous because it is polarised and binary. You are either right or wrong. You are either left or right. You are either wealthy or poor. You are either white or black. You are either with us or against us.
There is no healthy resolution in a polarised and binary society that so many believe to be zero-sum.
If you believe in your ideas, allow them to be challenged and embrace healthy debate. Lower your ego and find the right platform for the right debate with the right people.
In case you wanted a quick guide:
Twitter is not the right platform to convince anyone that they are wrong
Facebook is a big snowflake mountain
Shouting someone down won’t convince them you are right
Your feelings are valid and your own, but facts are universal and belong to everyone (gravity is a fact and belongs to everyone)
It’s tiring to watch a Snowflakes Society descend into defensive rhetoric that never moves forward. It’s frustrating to see smart people believe that their way is the only way that ever was and ever will be. It’s irrational to believe that what we know and experience now is what we will always know and experience into the future.
I have a list of Nicisms that I try to live by, update and challenge constantly as I trundle through life. One of the most important is:
Strong opinions loosely held.
It’s OK to believe something strongly and to fight for and defend it but it is more important to hold that strong opinion very loosely so that when the facts change, your opinion can change too.
Your goal, our goal as a society, should be to engage our resilience and to challenge hypotheses until newer, better, more robust versions emerge. Accepting one group’s perspective as the default worldview is a dangerous path to aimlessly meander down.
