You Love Science.

You LOVE science. You think you don’t, but you do.

You may say, “what? I’m not remotely the science type! My job has nothing to do with science, and after I took that one basic biology course I was required to take, I never looked back.”

OK, fair point. I understand science has terrible Public Relations, and I also know from my own experience how exclusive and unfriendly it can be, especially when we are kids.

But science is all around us all the time. All. The.  Time.

And it’s friendly, and it wants what is best for us. And you like it much more than you think you do. 

You might even love it, but you don’t realize it.

Yes, I’m being bossy and assumptive, and Jedi-mindtrick like about this (although obviously none of you is weak minded!!!), but let me show you what I mean.

Science is Pervasive…

Do you bake? Do you cook? Do you season your foods? Do you know how to put different flavors together and why a small amount of flour in some of the dishes makes a big difference?

Do you drink beer, wine, or any kind of cocktail?

Do you use Post-It Notes? Ride a bike, take public transportation, or drive a vehicle? 

Who doesn’t use a phone these days? 

Have you ever had a roll of film developed? (um… maybe not… but that’s science, too, and I remember when a 5-day development time was considered a miracle!)

See, science is everywhere. E-V-E-R-Y-W-H-E-R-E.

Science is perhaps the only absolute common element across the world among all humans. When all else is different, yeast still enables dough to rise and drinks to be served, people still digest their foods the same way, and certain technologies remain constant and consistent regardless of native language and hemisphere.

When we see how common science is, we can make far greater strides in improving lives around the world AND being an active part of science.

We are science, and the world is science. There is every reason why we should all feel comfortable and knowledgeable about the basics. We are science’s greatest and most important stakeholder!!

And specific to science, we are biology, biochemistry, physics, anatomy, and physiology…

The details are complex because we are complex, but remember: we are science, and we thrive because of science. If we only know that, we know all we need to know.

In fact, let me show you how much you know.

Your Scientific Knowledge Bank

You may not know that 12,000 years ago farmers enabled people to settled down and grow enough food to feed a village, but most of us do know the advantages of going to a grocery store or a neighborhood market to pick out a variety of vegetables. 

In many geographies, local farmers still provide essential foods to communities. The farmers know the right techniques to create, grow, and sustain food sources (in my world, farmers are our first scientists). They know how to cross-pollinate and change their crops in order to assure improved crop health, and while this used to take decades, some biotechnologies enable a much faster benefit to the public now, including how to organically treat soil to enhance plant health. That is science.

Those same fruits and vegetables you enjoy, how you eat them, and what your body does with the nutrients: that is also science.

How we avoid and protect ourselves from mosquito and tick bites, how we protect our pets from the same, how we enjoy Air Conditioning in hot humid seasons (if we’re so lucky), what we know about allergies, and how we know about the importance of water for our overall health: also science. 

The average life expectancy in 1920 was 53 years old vs the life expectancy in 2020 of 79 years old (O'Neill, 2021), made possible because of science—and a lot of that because of biotechnology and its ability to fight infections, strengthen avoidance of infections, and enable treatments that improve quality and length of life.

In fact, I want you to think about something that makes your life easier, or safer, or enhanced. I would wager money that science is at the root. 

Keep This Close to You: You Are Science

You don’t need to be a world renowned chef in order to cook basic food and enjoy it.

You also don’t need to be a deeply technical science in order to benefit from basic knowledge of science. But we all DO need to remember that we are, as living, breathing organisms, science. 

As such, we are all better off knowing the facts and essentials of science and how it fortifies our lives in so many ways.

Think you don’t love science now? (let me know…)

If you liked this article then make sure to follow me for more content to help demystify biotech!

? 2021 Christa Dhimo

(and as always, let's give credit where credit is due!!): 

Works Cited: See direct links within the article as well as:

O'Neill, A. (2021, February 3). United States: life expectancy 1860-2020. Statista. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1040079/life-expectancy-united-states-all-time/.