# Science is not a Panacea **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [April 26, 2014, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-is-not-a-panacea/687021 "2014-04-26T04:29:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2014, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-is-not-a-panacea/687021/61 "2014-04-26T18:37:16Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > Regarding the XKCD Wikipedia game, it’s no longer true, if it ever was. > > Start here: [Culture - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture) and you’ll see what I mean. Eh? That page links to Philosophy in a mere eight steps. Somebody must’ve inserted an edit in the few hours since you posted. :o ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2014, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-is-not-a-panacea/687021/62 "2014-04-26T18:43:29Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > Panacea is that big building in Honk Kong, isn’t it? You know what scares me? A goose big enough to eat a building. ---
**Author:** ![nevadaexile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb8c5e/32.png) [@nevadaexile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nevadaexile)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2014, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-is-not-a-panacea/687021/63 "2014-04-26T19:00:07Z")
> [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](#): > > I thought panacea was that Italian bacon. LOL…That’s _pancetta_. And it’s the same word that Argentinians use for the very delicious pig product.😛 I doubt that the OP knows this (or cares) but the Nazis were influenced by occult and supernatural beliefs, not science. They believed that their perceived superiority was granted to them by divine right, as well their rather inaccurate and perverted views on genetics/eugenics. Perhaps the OP should study the movement more closely as that would help him (yeah…it’s almost certainly a guy when the comparison to of something to Nazism comes out) make a more accurate assessment of historical facts. Anyway OP, you do know the Indiana Jones is a fictional character and not indicative of anything practical or useful here in the real world,correct? What happened during the narrative of his 1989 film (which, BTW, was only saved from mediocrity by the presence of Sean Connery in the cast) has nothing to do with either skepticism, science or even Nazi ideology. ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2014, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-is-not-a-panacea/687021/64 "2014-04-26T19:12:56Z")
> [@Smeghead](#): > > What are you, some sort of anti-Carthegenian?! Heck no. I even have Dido on my iPod. I just think that “Hannibal” would disgust most lecters. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2014, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-is-not-a-panacea/687021/65 "2014-04-26T19:40:22Z")
> [@buddha\_david](#): > > Eh? That page links to Philosophy in a mere eight steps. > > Somebody must’ve inserted an edit in the few hours since you posted. :o I just checked again and it’s doing exactly what it was doing when I posted that. On the page for [Culture](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture) the first non-italicized link that’s not in parens links to [Classical Antiquity](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classical_antiquity), and that page links back to [Culture](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture), so you end up stuck in a loop between the two. You won’t get to Philosophy or anything else in any number of links. Maybe someone changed it before you looked at it and someone then changed it back afterwards. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2014, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-is-not-a-panacea/687021/66 "2014-04-26T19:42:57Z")
> [@buddha\_david](#): > > Well, to play Devil’s Advocate (may I, Marge?) the esteemed Dr. Henry Jones, Jr. did specify _philosophy_ as the gateway to “truth”, not science. And when you take into account the ever-popular [xkcd Wikipedia Game](http://xkcd.com/903/) which always resolves to philosophy, not science, well – maybe science should at least recognize it’s not the top dog when it comes to discovering secrets of the universe, from the Ancient Greeks through modern day and beyond. But philosophy \*is \*a science, sort of. A science about science. Which makes it more meta-, which makes the wiki game work as an artifact of how Wikipedia structures its content. Done right, philosophy’s just as rigorous as any MIT lab experiment. To the Ancient Greeks there was no epistemological distinction between the logic pretzels twisted by Socrates about ethics (Socrates who died for being an unrepentant atheist, one might note), hilarious anatomy and quadratic equations. It was all Sophia, knowledge or wisdom. Applying your gods-given [del]brain[/del]heart to unlocking the secrets of the spheres. Of course they got a whole lot of it wrong, but they didn’t have quite as many giants on the shoulders of which to stand on. Well, no metaphorical ones. They did have a cyclops, and a hecatonchire, so maybe a system of ladders could have been devised to…I’m sorry, I got sidetracked. But the point is, from there, to “natural philosophy” (see: Leibnitz, mathematician, politician, entrepreneur, researcher, philosopher,[sex symbol](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6a/Gottfried_Wilhelm_von_Leibniz.jpg)), to Science! It works, bitches. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2014, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-is-not-a-panacea/687021/67 "2014-04-26T19:51:34Z")
> [@Finagle](#): > > Heck no. I even have Dido on my iPod. I just think that “Hannibal” would disgust most lecters. This is starting to read like _ **Finagle** s Wake._ ---
**Author:** ![Battle\_Pope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@Battle\_Pope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Battle_Pope)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2014, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-is-not-a-panacea/687021/68 "2014-04-26T19:55:36Z")
Panacea is actually slang used in the _Kriegsmarine_. Speciffically, it’s a rope-locker inside the conning tower of a U-Boat. It’s where Indy hid while travelling to the island. Later the name was adopted by an American white-goods manufacturer for their line of lead-lined refrigerators. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2014, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-is-not-a-panacea/687021/69 "2014-04-26T20:35:51Z")
> [@Battle\_Pope](#): > > Panacea is actually slang used in the _Kriegsmarine_. Speciffically, it’s a rope-locker inside the conning tower of a U-Boat. It’s where Indy hid while travelling to the island. > > Later the name was adopted by an American white-goods manufacturer for their line of lead-lined refrigerators. I believe you are thinking of ÖPERÄTIÖN: PÄNAZEÄ, Hitler’s plan to win the war using witchcraft and the occult. It was famously portrayed in the documentaries Raiders of the Lost Ark and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. > [@TonySinclair](#): > > What if I call you a moron? As your question has a factual answer, I believe it would be more appropriate in General Questions. ---
**Author:** ![shantih](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f6c823/32.png) [@shantih](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shantih)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2014, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-is-not-a-panacea/687021/70 "2014-04-26T22:09:11Z")
> [@nevadaexile](#): > > Anyway OP, you do know the Indiana Jones is a fictional character and not indicative of anything practical or useful here in the real world,correct? What happened during the narrative of his 1989 film (which, BTW, **was only saved from mediocrity by the presence of Sean Connery in the cast** ) has nothing to do with either skepticism, science or even Nazi ideology. (bolding mine) Pistols at dawn, sir. ---
**Author:** ![Octarine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/22d042/32.png) [@Octarine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Octarine)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2014, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-is-not-a-panacea/687021/71 "2014-04-26T22:25:43Z")
Skeptics breathe oxygen – JUST LIKE THE NAZIS!! Some skeptics occasionally wear awful plaid suits – JUST LIKE THE NAZIS!! Skeptics see better in daylight – JUST LIKE THE NAZIS!! Skeptics use shampoo – JUST LIKE THE NAZIS!! > [@Miller](#): > > I think the Nazis were ignorant. What does that make me? Hitler. But a really _skeptical_ Hitler. ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2014, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-is-not-a-panacea/687021/72 "2014-04-26T22:30:34Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > First they came for the numbers, and I said nothing because I wasn’t a number… **I am not a number**. I am a free (wo)man! ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2014, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-is-not-a-panacea/687021/73 "2014-04-26T23:18:23Z")
> [@BubbaDog](#): > > I’m guessing you never read anything from the “Left Behind” series. It’s not that the ideology is bad. :dubious: I’ve never bothered to read it, but I’ve often heard it described as Christian torture porn where all the “sinners” and unbelievers are gruesomely tortured and slaughtered. That’s pretty bad ideology. > [@Octarine](#): > > Skeptics breathe oxygen – JUST LIKE THE NAZIS!! > > Some skeptics occasionally wear awful plaid suits – JUST LIKE THE NAZIS!! > > Skeptics see better in daylight – JUST LIKE THE NAZIS!! Trust in Count Dracula - at least _he_ isn’t a _Nazi._ ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2014, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-is-not-a-panacea/687021/74 "2014-04-27T00:31:20Z")
I did nazi this coming. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2014, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-is-not-a-panacea/687021/75 "2014-04-27T01:17:24Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > I think the Nazis were ignorant. What does that make me? A Quisling! Quislings were just like the Nazis, but looked down on Nazis. I know they looked down on Nazis, because they lived north of the Nazis! ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2014, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-is-not-a-panacea/687021/76 "2014-04-27T16:58:49Z")
> [@Oldeb](#): > > Meh, everyone knows astrology is fake. But I weep for Miss Cleo trapped even now in an attic, waiting for the day she’ll be free to step outside again. She should have seen it coming. > [@xenophon41](#): > > An ignorance Nazi? No ignorance for you! ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2014, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-is-not-a-panacea/687021/77 "2014-04-27T17:36:45Z")
True, science is not a panacea. It’s a methodology for documenting phenomena and determining the likelihood of theories about those observations. But it is highly useful and well considered. There is no direct correspondence between skepticism, scientism, and fascism. Real scientific thinking is more agnostic than skeptical. What you see as skepticism is actually just rigor. It’s testing a bridge before you walk on it, not refusing to travel because you decide a bridge can’t exist. ---
**Author:** ![Gagundathar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a183cd/32.png) [@Gagundathar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gagundathar)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2014, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-is-not-a-panacea/687021/78 "2014-04-27T18:33:14Z")
> [@Battle\_Pope](#): > > Panacea is actually slang used in the _Kriegsmarine_. Speciffically, it’s a rope-locker inside the conning tower of a U-Boat. It’s where Indy hid while travelling to the island. > > Later the name was adopted by an American white-goods manufacturer for their line of lead-lined refrigerators. I agree with you and wish to subscribe to your newsletter. If I make a point of believing in astrology, does that make me ineligible to be a Nazi? How about if I say that since I am a Virgo, I am skeptical of astrology? Maybe would should all just ask, “What Would Indiana Jones Do?” ---
**Author:** ![Battle\_Pope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@Battle\_Pope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Battle_Pope)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2014, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-is-not-a-panacea/687021/79 "2014-04-27T21:16:22Z")
> [@Gagundathar](#): > > Maybe would should all just ask, “What Would Indiana Jones Do?” He just makes things up as he goes. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2014, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-is-not-a-panacea/687021/80 "2014-04-27T21:48:24Z")
He’s pretty good at destroying archaeology sites. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-is-not-a-panacea/687021.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/science-is-not-a-panacea/687021.md?page=5)