Another example of random-bad-behavior-giving-science-a-bad-name was on an educational page.
The poster saw an article about microwaved water doing harm to plants. The article has been around for years and it is always flamed when it appears.
No different this time.
Even though the educator merely suggested teachers try it with their students and see what results they get, the storm troopers descended and got ugly very quickly.
One claimed it had been disproved repeatedly so there was no point. Another claimed it violated some “Law”. Another one – more snide – suggested the poster take the refresher course Physics 101. Still another accused the poster of being a technophobe, distrusting something as simple as microwave technology.
All very classic examples of rude people thinking they know it all.
And at the end of this long line of doomsayers, came a refreshing post by a teacher in New Jersey.
She said, yes, by all means, try the experiment with your class. Her class did it and she was amazed to see the microwaved water actually harmed the plants.
By this time, the troopers had finished their storming and moved along to attack the next unwary poster.
The only problem with all this is that the only “scientist” in the group actually tried the experiment rather than relying on the mountain of hearsay on the web saying such an experiment would be pointless.
People who seemed to have gotten their basic “scientific degrees” in reading skeptical websites need to get off their high horses.
Let’s leave the science to people willing to do the footwork, not simply regurgitate what someone else has said.
It may be skeptical but it is far from insightful, and completely devoid of use.
