Scientific Literacy - Essay Example

Module Scientific Literacy The modern world is shaped by constant scientific knowledge and discoveries in the world of technology. This has resulted to increased pressure on individuals to be equipped with scientific information in different fields. However, critics argue that it is not important for individuals to be scientifically literate on all subjects because they only need to know what they desire to know. In other words, scientific literacy is not important in all subjects. Scientific literacy is defined as the broad understanding of scientific terms, processes and concepts and the ability to use the se concepts in practical contexts (Martin et al. 81). This paper explores some of the reasons why scientific literacy is not important in all subjects. My Personal Experience My personal experience demonstrates that scientific literacy should not be incorporated in every subject of study, instead students should be allowed to study their areas of interest scientific or otherwise. For instance, I was hardly interested in the study of organic foods until I came across a recent feature on the news. The feature was scientific in nature and caught my attention owing to the fact that I found it interesting and educative. The feature focused on a Chinese based company known as "Bai Wei Yua" and specialized in agricultural trade. The company is involved in the sale of organic products and vegetables. However, recent reports have revealed that the company the company buys regular fruits and vegetables and packages them as organic products and sells them at inflated prices. This is ethically wrong as the company dupes the customers into thinking that they are buying organic products. "Bai Wei Yua" uses the appropriate procedures to produce and trade the organic products that is highly impressive. However, they are wrong in labeling regular foods as organic foods. I was stunned to realize that a legitimate company was packaging regular fruits and vegetables, packaging them as organic products, and selling them to the market at high prices. This issue aroused my curiosity in the topic of organic foods. I was more interested in government regulations and policies with regards to organic foods. This case study shows that individuals should be allowed to pursue the kind of scientific knowledge they are interested in pursuing. This argument is supported by various cases from the text. Case study 1: Mara Mara, a thirty one year old woman who works as a technical worker holds a different view with regards problems of immunity. She has had a personal experience as she was a caregiver to a sick friend and all her college roommates died of AIDS. She was familiar with the language of scientific literacy from her experience of dealing with AIDS (Martin et al. 85). The study of AIDS is a scientific topic and Mara has attained knowledge about the disease from her experience. She did not have to go to class to acquire scientific knowledge about the condition in order to understand it. This goes ahead to prove the argument that scientific literacy is not important in all subjects as we gain such knowledge from other avenues. Case study 2: Bill The second case study refers to the perspective of Bill an informant who refers to the issue of boundaries and the immune system. Bill was originally from Argentina and lived in Baltimore with his family where individuals live openly as homosexual couples. His fascination about the local autonomy was clear when he was questioned about the immune system. At first, he was reserved and stated that he did not know much about the immune system. However, when he compared the immune system to a social system he was able to give sensible and relevant information about the immune system (Martin et al. 85). The understanding of the immune system is based on his thoughts of an image and nation- state relationship. Bill was able to give a detailed discussion of the immune system by using the metaphor and was able to share his opinion on the interrelations of individual rights, national priorities and preventive health. The scientific study of the immune system can be complicated to explain for someone who does not the scientific knowledge to support it. However, it is surprising just how much information individuals have about the immune system (Martin et al. 85). Bill likened it to a social system and his explanation was on point. This supports the argument scientific literacy in every subject is not important as long as individuals understand the concepts and explain them in their own way. Case study 3: Professor Keller Professor Keller is a professor of microbiology teaching an undergraduate class on the biology on AIDS and cancer (Martin et al. 87). His teachings are based on increasing awareness of the two diseases in the light of social expectations and calling on students to take care of themselves and maintain their health. This case study shows that scientific knowledge should not be necessarily incorporated in all subjects; instead, students’ interest in the particular topic should arise from real life experiences or vested interest in the area of study (Martin et al. 87). He introduces in the class an aspect of critical awareness and the shortcomings of the Western medicine. He particularly stresses on the lack of sufficient understanding of the human body and raises questions about the causes of cancer and other diseases. The main purpose of the class is to enlighten the students about various ways of thinking about the body, self, illness and death. Two students were interviewed on the impacts of this class on their lives. Mike stated that the class positively impacted on his self confidence however, he stated that the presentation on the immune system had a minimal influence on him. This is owing to the fact that he could not connect how the immune system could function independently outside his body. This shows that scientific literacy should not be incorporated in all subjects, as there are students that are not interested in scientific topics (Martin et al. 87). Basing on Mike’s experience it is clear that scientific literacy is not important in all subjects as individuals can learn what interests them on their own. On the other hand, Elizabeth understood the lessons taught in the class and used them to change her life. Case study 4: George and Philip George and Philip, a gay couple in their early 20s, meet regularly in social places to discuss issues of sexuality and the AIDS epidemic. While Keller’s students get a sense of empowerment from Keller’s classes, George and Philip have experienced the loss of their gay friends. Their talk revolves around issues, risks and safety and show the risk of HIV as a regular risk (Martin et al. 83). Both emphasize on the use of a condom as a mode of protection. George also gives emphasis towards protecting oneself from contracting HIV from all points of entry and various body fluids. With regards to the issues of illness and health, the couple applies the ideas of permeability of bodily fluids and barriers. From the case analysis it is clear that the couple as learnt about the disease from real life experiences. The couple did not have to necessarily attend a scientific based class to learn about HIV and its prevalence among the gay community. The information they had gathered of over time was from the issues in their environment and from experiences by their friends. These cases studies show that scientific literacy entails much more than knowing basic scientific facts. People use these facts in different contexts and according to their own understanding. Mara integrates the lessons she has learnt into the metaphysical and moral meaning of the concept of life and death. Bill uses the scientific facts about the immune system to get a better to create better visions about the nature of political and social perspectives. Keller’s views on the issue are explicit and he intends to convey much more than scientific facts to his students (Martin et al. 87). Finally, George and Philip talk about the immune system concerning boundaries. Counterargument On the contrary, scientific literacy is important and should be taken into account in every subject of study. The argument is supported by various arguments. For example, it is a widely accepted fact that individuals who are equipped with scientific knowledge have access to diverse job opportunities and are better positioned to keep with the introduction of new technologies. Furthermore, they handle the demands in the daily life better in the world that is characterized by increasing technology and are can analyze and react to arguments used politicians, commercial organizations and advertisers (Martine et al. 87). Finally, they are better prepared to make imperative decisions that impact on their economic, security and health well being. Secondly, there are numerous benefits accruing to society as a whole including enhanced democracy, an enriched cultural health and an improved economic health in general. Improved scientific literacy promotes democratic decision making by encouraging citizens to use their democratic rights. In my opinion, intelligent decision-making is a result of improved scientific literacy in society and depends on the definition of the term and how it is incorporated in the curriculum. Improved scientific literacy benefits the field of science itself through the better public expectations from the public and more individuals that support the scientific idea. A scientifically literate people with the predisposition to think critically, has a rational outlook of the world and the ability to evaluate scientific evidence and challenges the direction of scientific and technological innovations (Martin et al. 87). Thirdly, one of the benefits of literacy is to equip student with holistic knowledge in all areas that helps them deal with various issues in life. The current discussion focuses on scientific literacy in the education sector. This form of literacy helps people to make sound decisions and appreciate the environment. Within the education curriculum, scientific literacy gives students the ability to discover answers through a logical and scientific perspective and be able to develop literary tools (Martin et al. 81). It requires more than a basic understanding of scientific contexts and ideas. In other words, the concept simply refers to the essential knowledge that the public needs to make up to date decisions on economic, civic and personal issues. The above discussion clearly shows that scientific literacy is not important in all subjects of study. This argument is supported by evidence from my personal experience whereby by scientific knowledge was inspired by a news feature. Secondly, the case studies from the primary sources further show scientific literacy is not important in all subjects as individuals can obtain scientific knowledge that they find relevant from other sources. This leads to the conclusion that scientific literacy is not important for all subjects of study. Work Cited Martin et al. “Scientific Literacy; What It Is, Why It’s important, and Why Scientist Think We Don’t Have It.” Crosscurrents: Reading in the Disciplines. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, 2013. 81- 87. Print. Read More