IS SCIENCE THE NEW RELIGION?

Did you ever ask yourself the reason why science is always right or why we explain everything from the scientific point of view? Because I always do, mostly when the philosophy classes started. One day, I was talking with a friend about science and its new innovations and possible new theories. Then, she said: “How do we know for sure if the scientific explanation of everything is true? Every day I am becoming more aware that science is just the new religion, not just for Atheists but for religious people too.” I got surprised by her thoughts and since then I always think about it.

From my point of view, since we are little, we are taught to base everything we see on science. As far back as I can remember, I always tried to find an explanation for everything (just like everyone does):  the meaning of life and its cycle, how are the planets held in the universe,… and it seems that science has always found an answer for every question.

The problem comes when we start to think for real. If we focus on the explanations they give to us it is always introduced by “The theorem of…”, for example, the gravitation theorem or the evolution theorem. As the name says, every explanation is a theory. The scientists are not sure about anything, and that is why they use the word “theorem”.

When it becomes to the similarity between science and religion are not obvious, but even so, there are some points of each which are alike, for not saying the same.

On one hand, science has its own “priesthood”, which are the well-known scientists. Their opinion and statements are not questioned, until someone better than them demonstrates the opposite or something new. For example, Bohr’s atomic model was accepted until Schrödinger idealized another atomic model. Nowadays, the actual atomic model is more actualized from the Schrödinger’s one, but even so, who guarantees us that the actual atomic model is the one for real? We have to believe that the atomic model is correct to understand the substances.

On the other hand, talking about believing, science implies having a little bit of faith even if we think it is nonsense, considering that science knowledges are based on experiences. As I said before, no one guarantees any explanation that science contributes. This indicates that we can never know for sure anything that comes from the experiences (experiments). We only have to believe in science and have faith.

As a conclusion, I only have to say that everyone who says they are not religious because they do not believe in anything are lying. They believe in science. It is true that science has changed our lives (in the negative or positive way). The kinematic principles, the different forces and energies, … are nothing more than laws that we have to accept without question it to comprehend the way that life works. I have to say that If we could recollect each scientific law and principle, we could write a holy book.  

FRIENDS MET UP IN MALAGA

This article was published on the 13th of January by the Dailymail newspaper. This news is about two friend who met in Spain because it was cheaper than getting the train.

One of the friends, Lucy Walker who is from Birmingham, planned to visit her friend Zara. She realised that the trip would cost about 105 pounds. However, she realised that she could travel to Malaga for 20 points with Ryanair, after looking online, and her friend’s flights from Birmingham to Malaga cost 55.29 pounds with Vueling, despite the English cities are only 200 miles apart and between the UK and Malaga 1,500 miles.

According to the girls, they also found a cheap hotel where they would spend three nights. During the days in Spain they visited Malaga and Granada.

This is a diagram which shows the prices and distance between the cities and UK - Malaga.

OPINION:

Personally, I think this is the best opportunity that someone can have to travel. It is a perfect excuse to visit new places. On the one hand, the two friends had bad luck for the expensive train tickets. But, on the other hand, that is a good thing because now they can meet somewhere unusual.

When it becomes to the costs of the trip they took, this is low. As the girls said, in Spain the life is cheaper than in England. That’s a point in favor.

The Ryanair company did such a good job to create this new promotion, just as Vueling did. Now we can travel without having to spend a lot of many, depending on the country where you want to fly and with which class, of course.

NEW ZEALAND WHALES: HUNDREDS MORE STRANDED

This article was published on the 12^th of February in the BBC newspaper. It talks about the hundreds of whales found in the Farewell Spit’s beach.

According to the news, there were found more than four hundred whales on Thursday. Abot 300 died, but a group of volunteers managed to refloat a hundred of whales. Also, they try to keep cool the rest of the survivors with water and wet pieces of hankies. The Project Jonah, an environmental group, has a plane flying all over the see to study the whales’ movements.

The reason why the whales are arriving in the land is not clear. But, even so, experts have different theories. On the one hand, they think the whales were pursued by sharks, considering they have shark’s bites. On the other hand, they think their navigation went wrong.

As reported by the news, it is not the first time whales and other aquatic mammal, like dolphins, were found in Farewell Spit.

Volunteers trying to cool a whale.

OPINION:

The fact that these whales ended up in the Farewell Spit is so sad. For me it is shocking to see that number of whales in a beach. But it looks like the people from there are used to it. That is the reason why there are a lot of maritime professionals and experts. I think that’s a good thing; if anything happens (like this time) they can react and act immediately.

As for the number of volunteers from that town is extremely amazing. Seeing people from different ages helping those poor animals is a sign of solidarity.

VOCABULARY:

Receding: que s'allunya.
Stranded: encallat/da.

FRENCH FARMER ON TRIAL FOR HELPING MIGRANTS ACROSS ITALIAN BORDER

During Christmas holidays I read this article and I thought it would be good to talk about it. This news was published in The Guardian newspaper on the 4th of January.

This article talks about a French farmer, Cédric Herrou, who is accused for helping undocumented foreigners enter in France. He helped African migrants to cross the border from Italy, giving them shelter, considering that his farm is near the borders of Italy, a famous road for migrants.
According to the news, he was arrested before for smuggle Eritreans. However, the case was dropped out because they considered he did an act of humanity grounds.

Even so, he is accused for being an activist. He takes part of a network of citizens who help people and they have been linkened by others to the French people who helped hide Jewx during the second world war. Now he faces up to five years in jail and €30.000 fine if convicted.

Cédric Herrou (the one in the centre) arriving in the court in Nice, France.

OPINION:

Personally, I think it is obvious the reason why Cédric Herrou was arrested. If you break the law, you take the risk to get arrested. This is how it works. But the problem comes when someone gets arrested for making a solidarity act, like Cédric. In my opinion, putting to one side the laws, he just acted how we all should act. As he says, “If we have to break the law to help people, let’s do it!”.

We also must have in mind the fact that he constantly sees the migrants crossing the border. He sees how they struggle to just get a better life. As the news informs, it is not the first time he got arrested. This indicates he does not give up on helping because he considers it necessary. It is necessary. Just like it was necessary to help the Jews in the Second Wold War, the refugees from countries in a horrific war or the migrants who want to live a better life.

In my opinion, I think the worst thing is that there are people who commits crimes which harms a society (the opposite from Cédric’s acts) and do not get arrested or if they do, they do not suffer the consequences as Cédric does.

VOCABULARY (translation in English-Spanish):

ERITREAN: Perteneciente o relativo al mar Rojo o a los territorios que baña.

UNAPOLOGETIC: Sin remordimientos

SAMARITAN: Persona amable que ayuda.

SMUGGLE: Contrabandear, traficar.

COOL HUNTERS: THE LEGAL STALKERS OF YOUTH CULTURE

After I read this fragment from the third chapter of Naomi's book, 'No logo', I have to say that in only four paragraphs the author explains how the fashion insdustry and marketing work. In general, I agree with what she comments, for example, when she says that the cool consultancies advise their clients to use 'viral communications'. I think the best way to carry the brands buisness on is using slogans and ads which you can easily influence people with, mostly the youth. When it becomes to the strategies and politics of these industries, the cool hunters do such a good job.

I hate the idea of being influenced (or even 'infected' by 'the plagues' the brands marketing create) by the politics the brands use. But at the same time, I think that the buisness world consists of getting benefits; we can not stop these types of politics, making as an excuse their successful work.

In my opinion, nowadays it is easy to drag people into the consuming world because, even if we do not realise it, we are exposed to multiple influencers.

If we get shocked with the idea of superbrands tagging the graffiti writers, the skaters or even the londoners roadmen, who initially were people who reclaim against these types of politics, think about the youtubers you watch who get sponsored and who do not stop talking about products which they even like or the number of companies' logos a football field has 'to wear'. As Naomi says: 'no space has been left unbranded.'

REVIEW: TED TALKS ON FASHION

The different ted talks that I have watched talk about several fashion aspects. Some people explain different ways to make fashion morally fine or the disadvantages and issues that fashion really brings.

In the first video, Cameron Russel, a model, admits that being a model does not depend on you. She says that it is like a 'genetic lottery' that not everybody wins. She also comments the way the society judges by the way a person's look and not by who they really are.

I agree with Cameron Russel in some aspects. She explained how is it being a model and what you go through. I think that she is right when she says that she simply won 'a genetic lottery'. But, when she started to say and confirm how is the industry of fashion in real life and the advantages that she had since she was 16 years old I thought about one simple question. If she is not happy with how fashion works, why does she continues working on being a model?

In the second video, Jessi Arrington explains how someone can easily wear cheap clothes and feel comfy with it. She remarks that we do not have to buy expensive clothes from different famous clothes brands to feel good with ourselves. To prove that, she shows some outfits which she recreated with second hand clothes.

Here is the video of the Ted Talk she did:

And here is the Ted Talk of Cameron Russel:

THE CLIMATE CHANGE IN DRAWINGS

Zaria Forman's drawings show the beauty and the fragility of Earth. She travels around the world, mainly to the Artic, the Equator, Greenland and the Maldives. With each photographs and experience that she lives, she makes a painting to show the world how the climate change is affecting each part of our planet.

I think that the climate change is one of the current biggest issues of the human being. It is already happening and represents one of the greatest environmental, social and economic threats facing the planet.

The warming of the climate system is unequivocal, as is now evident from observations of increases in global average air and ocean temperatures. I read in a newspaper article that the Earth's average surface temperature has risen by 0.76º C since 1850.

The climate can affect every person and our health directly through increases in temperature. Such increases may lead to more extreme heat waves during the summer while producing less extreme cold spells during the winter. Actually, we start to feel that. It's November and the Sun still shines like if it's Summer. Also, people with heart problems, asthma, the elderly and the very Young can be especially vulnerable to extreme heat.

Most of the warming that has occurred over the last 50 years is very likely to have been caused by human activities. Nowadays there are so many factories that exhale really destructive substances and pollute the air. We all know very well that air is something we can’t live without. When we breathe the polluted air, we can get seriously ill.

Another huge problem is that the sea levels are rising worldwide. Also the expansion of ocean water is caused by warmer ocean temperatures...The temperature is rising which means all the mountain glaciers and small ice caps are melting faster and faster, just like Zaria Formans said. Zaria drew a few paintings where we can see the melting of the ice in Greenland and in the Artic.
She has also went to places which are dryness. People from Africa, for example, can not cultivate plants because the dryness don't allow it. That is why they die from malnutrition; they can not get food from anywhere. Once again, they are suffering from a fact created by the pollution that we create.

As a conclusion, I think that as the responsables of this problem, we should take responsability of it. The autorities should start to make changes to slow the efects of the climate change, considering that it can not be stopped now. If we don't make any change, we will end up like the third world. Zaria does such a good work. All of her drawings, apart from being very beautiful, original and impressive, reflect very good the issues that the climate change brings.

You can check out the Zaria Forman's Ted Talk where she talks about her drawings and the climate change.