Science Journal

Dalhousie University

Nov 29, 2020

Price's chapter perfectly anticipates the current relationship between COVID-19 and the climate crisis. He shows how pathogens can cause global unrest causing destabilization of nations' political prospects by triggering poverty, and violence. He connects the dots between diseases and climate change and shows how the effects can not be negligible in a long run.

Price explains how the global spread of the pathogens is not a threat to human survival by itself, rather a threat to the socio-political prospects of human societies. He emphasizes that climate change is a significant threat to human health in the new century. Lessons can be taken to prevent the common curable diseases to become more resistant to the currently available treatments by adopting sustainable, eco-friendly, and healthy ways of living in order to prevent negative climate change.

COVID-19 leaves insignificant reasons for optimism facing global warming because it has exposed how humans can turn a simple pathogen into a deadly pandemic just by being ignorant to the facts, and not following basic suggestions for a bigger good.

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Dalhousie University

Nov 29, 2020

Dalhousie University

Dec 6, 2020

Racial tensions are nothing new North America and other parts of the world. Although since the beginning of the pandemic it has been exposed quite a lot than regular times. The first wave of racial tensions started with the Asian communities. When COVID-19 was only an epidemic in Wuhan many people in Canada and the US resorted to racial discrimination, verbal abuse against the Asian communities¹. It has exposed the suppressed xenophobic mindset within people, and gave them an excuse to defend their misconduct²; even though the defense is invalid. Donald Trump termed COVID-19 as the Chinese virus which led to widespread racial misconduct by white supremacists against the Chinese population³. It has also exposed how the BIPOC have been treated unfairly systematically as it is seen that most of the places with significant BIPOC population have underfunded infrastructure to support them during a disaster like this and the unwillingness of governments to upgrade them⁴.

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¹.https://www.capebretonpost.com/news/local/chinese-woman-says-sydney-ns-restaurant-discriminating-against-her-406361/

²https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/05/12/covid-19-fueling-anti-asian-racism-and-xenophobia-worldwide

³https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/03/20/coronavirus-trump-chinese-virus/

⁴https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/why-blacks-indigenous-and-other-people-color-experience-greater-harm-during-pandemic-180975773/

Dalhousie University

Nov 20, 2020

We are looking at the infection rates going up in Nova Scotia once again. International law and institutions have diverted and taken a lot of liberty out of people's lives; some for the good of the mass, some just getting another shot at making their grip on dictatorships stronger¹. Ethically the world should have worked it out together since the beginning but not much was seen during the first half of the hit. Doctors have repeatedly warned about the second wave since the beginning² as people would slowly let their guards down during this time, and we have already started seeing it. We're having new infection rates, "fewer" Canadians dying than the first wave. This pandemic has taken humanity in all the wrong directions where deaths are just numbers on screens. I assume by the end of this pandemic many humans would care way less about deaths and might become more insensitive towards one another, or it could also go the other way. There are hundreds of people dying all over the world due to this pandemic that we could have easily kept under control if everybody followed the rules and had care and respect for each other.

I also think once the pandemic is over many countries that make it with internal laws and rights intact would have strict health and safety regulations should take WHO's warnings and suggestions seriously, and work on solving issues in real-time.

Dalhousie University

Nov 7, 2020

Camus's Plague is about an epidemic in the city of Oran. The citizens were asked to quarantine due to the outbreak which the authorities were certain that caused by bubonic plague.

One thing to takeaway from the reading is that the spread of misinformation among the public. The role of different media; assuming that church is also a medium.

The misinformation caused a mass public reaction which was mostly negative. People were willing to break the rules and flee the city, and making the situation worse.

The situation can be related go to the US election results of 2020. Although it's not about the pandemic itself. This year the election was very different from other times. People were heavily relying on the internet; specifically social media for the updates and have been fed with so much misinformation. Even by the current incumbent himself. The spread of misinformation has led people to break social distancing advisory and gather around counting centers. A record high infection rate was recorded on the first day of counting. Which shows another aspect from the reading. People thinking they're an exception. The people of the United States finally voted and secured a place for a progressive regime but forgot about the social distancing measures immediately and got on the streets for a celebration.

Dalhousie University

OCT 17, 2020

Wujec argued that the astrolabe was an early computer, allowing people to get responses to complex problems without knowing to do the relevant calculations. Is this kind of technology supporting the development of new knowledge or impeding it? I think technological support e.g. astrola is impeding the already existing knowledge in human brain than supporting the development of new knowledge. Although, it opens boundary for growth, and solving more difficult problems but most of the time, techs like these let a human leave certain skills but standardize in higher one.

Dalhousie University

Nov 4, 2020

Telescopes and microscopes are simple tools that have been used by humans for centuries. Science is based on observation and evidence. Part of the validity of observations come from quantitative tests. Observations are to be peer-reviewed and validated in order to have the closest form of reliability. In order to make sure that we can trust the observations made with instruments like microscopes and telescopes, we have to test the same observation over and over again and should seek unbiased and independent research and opinions. The more an observation is tested and verified the better the quality of the data.

Dalhousie University

Nov 4, 2020

I guess nowadays most of the people have flown on an airplane at least once in their lifetime. Unless they want to believe that the aircraft is a simulation, looking outside from an aircraft the curvature of earth can be somewhat observed.