Tainted Theories

By: Jonathan Seidel

In writing the previous essay, the title itself was a desired goal. I expected the results to be favourable. From the simplest data collected, it seemed to be aligned. Extensive research provided context to the the obvious hypothesis. The surrounding influences and effects would provide more historical information. Displaying honest continuity. Demonstrating the linear connection between the ideas and the events. Oh how wrong I was. With all the data collected and yet the conclusion was off. 

What ended up being an ironclad theory was falsified in the end. Popper was correct in his analysis. The theory was proven to be untrue despite the overwhelming contextual relation. The hours of research flushed down the toilet with realisation of its falsity. Misconstrued notions unveiled their truth. Recognising the truth behind the hopeful aspiration. So close yet so far. All the historical analysis pointed to its verification but it didn’t. It was skewing statistics to fit an agenda. It was displaying a counterfactual for its own correction. It didn’t line up. It was never supposed to. Only the arrogant believe their theories to be ironclad. The genuine scientist is cautious of his proposals. It is possible to be correct and possible to be incorrect. It is a matter of experimentation to figure out the truth. 

Treating a hypothesis is a shot in the dark. A clever thought mixed with assurance. This could be true, let us see if it is. It is the research that demonstrates the experimented hope. Does this fall in line with the proposal? Does it match up?  In my case it didn’t. The hypothesis was personally assured success yet in the end, it only proved the improbability of scientific research. A lesson in its own right. Clever thoughts do not always mean correctness. At times these ideas are fleeting abstracts to be left that way. They seem identical but they are sorely mistaken. It fails to mesh with the preconceived notion. It seems odd but yet also clarified. The hypothesis engenders the individual to live up to his theory. Do not just state but prove. It calculates the human engagement with his own line of thinking. Taking his theory seriously. Being responsible for his claims. Galileo stood against the dismissing authorities. Proving his conclusions were correct. 

Research is a validation technique but it also aids in refining misunderstood notions. An experiment proven false is due to the incompatibility between the two. The historical event was misunderstood. The historical canon does not link up because the former event was misunderstood. The hypothesis fell flat because the control group was not controlled. The control group was rogue. Instead of boy participants it was filled with girls. The theory was overturned due to a lack of comprehension. Yet the research demonstrated this. With the final look inward, the scientist recognises that his problem is his own mishap. He failed to set up the control group adequately. It was not a variable gone awry but his own incompetence that messed up the chain of command. Then again, it also demonstrated that his research needed to be brushed up. A moment of humility and recognition of his fault with a renewed vision for the next project.

The mistake was only realised in the final moments. Putting all the pieces together it was up to the final straw to tie it all together. Yet in that moment he realised that he had only looked at two examples from the control group. The control group was more extensive than he imagined. While some of his theory held up, his main point was overturned. His previous knowledge that he took for granted had now blown back in his face. Knowledgable of the trends that he screwed up big time. All the adequate research surrounded the control group. The control group was the only misinformation. The variables were on point but not the original seminal signifier. Coming full circle unwinded much of his reasoning. The events held their ground but their prowess decreases tremendously. Their purpose undermined. They no longer held the prestige or the chain that was intended. The chain was bruised. Only fixed with a new conclusion. Revamping the control group to a new order. With a new clear hypothesis. 

A lesson in disguise. Never take anything for granted. The control group must be checked on. Do research on the control group before moving onto the other variables. The surrounding context may be genuine but if it is not aligned with the control group it means nothings. It ends up being good history without a purpose. Cool facts to know without the punch. An English breakfast without the sausages. A key piece of the puzzle is missing. The centrepiece to complete the puzzle is absent. A new hypothesis must engage to bind it all together. A way of demonstrating purpose for the elongated historical venting. More than simply observing history. Providing a telos to the overgrown context. A commercial with a point at the end. Not sitting through a boring lecture of genealogical naming but of building toward a conclusion. Always double check your sources.  

Tick Tock Titanic

By: Jonathan Seidel

Plato’s allegory of the fools on the ship: a wrongful target, trusting the captain too much     

Plato’s allegory is ingenious but it marks the wrongful attack on democracy. While Plato used it against direct democracy, it also gains incredible scrutiny to representative democracy. Relying on representatives to honestly represent is pure naivety. Plato’s model is genuine in its ancient illustration. Plato’s allegory has to be modified to the modern age. A passenger ship transporting people from one place to the other across the ocean blue. The ship captain cares for the passengers’ welfare until someone screws up and an iceberg crushes the ship sinking it into the sea. Thousands are killed by ignorance and pride. From the crew to the architect. Too much hype and not enough attentiveness. 

The Titanic is a perfect example of failed leadership. Yet unlike a bad team leader who is demoted or kicked off the team, this action cost countless lives. Their flawed engineering paid a high price. People trusted their expertise and their promise. Passengers wished to visit America for work or for loved ones. Living their lives. Lives cut short by arrogance. It was their duty to protect and they failed. Never held accountable for their sins. Martyring themselves for their mistakes along with their murdered passengers. Faith is a high price when unreciprocated. Dangerous waters outside patrolled by professionals. Professionals who screwed up haunting families and friends. The ship was professed unsinkable and sink it did. Sunk like many did before it. 

There was no man holding the captain at gunpoint. No enemy warship taunting its might. Just a passive object stationary. Smashing into an immobile frozen structure. Akin to crashing into a parked car. A defensive player trying to pull a charge. Move around it. Be aware of your surroundings. No. The unsinkable will not be outdone by a lowly inanimate object. A true David and Goliath story with David waiting for Goliath to pass out from exhaustion. The underdog of underdog stories is fluid victory over the aggressor. Pride foiled the lives of many attendees. Collateral damage in the name of supremacy. Dragging innocents into a lion’s den weaponless. Dragging them blind into the furnace of death. 

Blind faith in the captain’s efforts is not all dubious. He is trained to direct the ship and ensure the passengers’ safe passage to their destination. Skills are learned to eclipse excellence. Yet perfection is an almost impossibility. Though the difference in failure from a worker’s error to a captain’s is the difference between life and death. This same analogy applies to pilots. The captain is legitimized by the crew and his personal credibility. His previous successful voyages account for prestigious experience. Yet one false turn spells disaster. One bad decision leading to a travesty. Accidents happen. There is no denying that. Yet the pure animosity to humility doomed the ship from the start. Their pride was their downfall. A renowned legacy leader fondling in the spotlight. An expert fell prey to his image and his ship’s durability. 

Passengers likened his capability to an expert. He would accompany them safely. There was nothing to fear, the captain would steer. A few hiccups along the way was nothing to fret. Passengers enjoyed the lavish novelty of the ship. Embarking on this escapade was a luxurious experience. The ship was a landmark in revolutionizing ship travel. Marvelling the beauty of boat voyages with cruise-like mentalities. Enjoying the festivities, passengers paid little attention to the events encircling them. The captain would care for the safety while the passengers comforted themselves. Unaware of the danger lying ahead. The trust was banal as the ignorance was their ultimate downfall. Preoccupied with their benefits they saw little to concern themselves with the crew’s job. Enjoying the ship’s gifts compensated their attention engulfing them in a brief utopia. 

Captain cool hid the scary truth even as the end was nearing. Aware of the detrimental spiral he insidiously failed to alarm the passengers of the imminent threat to their lives. Disorderly forming rescue efforts to ensure the passengers’ survival. Arrogance fueled lacklustre rescue and ignorance ensured heavy losses. Lacking grave moral panic for the sake of order frustrated the fluid safety of more passengers. His efforts even if noble in the end were unnecessary had prior skepticism been a minute amount. Salving a sinking ship is already a horrid loss. Saving less than half of the passengers is a grave tragedy. Barking orders in the chaotic scare failed to compensate the rest of the castaways. His passionate last stand was underwhelming to the dead. Those forced to remain on the ship disallowed to enter the lifeboats. Ineptitude compelling others to fall for a personal mistake. 

Victims of the horrific tragedy cannot testify nor receive compensation. Their only sin was boarding the ship. Trusting in their legitimate abilities. Mistakes are inevitable. Yet precautions as well as acknowledgement of the stakes is necessary for the crew to take into account. This was not a cargo ship but thousands of people aboard. The spectacle of the ship’s luxury captured their hearts. Better to look nice than be safe. A design flaw that merely ousted the creator within moments of the crash. Victims who had little knowledge to react or plan to save their lives. Helpless sheep without a focused shepherd. The crew failed the passengers. Setting up a beauty for it to sink like all other ships into the sea. The beauty couldn’t not hypnotize the sea. The sea remained calm and the ship walked right into the trap. The devilish sea weaponized the arrogance emanating from the ship and taught them a lesson for the ages. 

High seas are not friendly. They will follow their current and act in their own self interest. It is too bad, the crew boldly deduced they could conquer the sea. Such pride knocked them on their stern. Passengers were comforted in the confines of he ship. Unaware of the imminent danger they enjoyed their everyday routine. Fond of the entertainment their minds were induced in the spectacle. Sit back and all would be found. Trust the experts. This trust brought a few days of flavorful enjoyment and tragic pain. The ship’s haul protected the passengers, it did not protect the ship. With the ship’s defences down sank its stern into the ocean. Some passengers got away but most drowned or jumped to their deaths. The freezing ocean water sunk the stressful souls creeping to safety. Once the ship was penetrated, its final nose dive was inevitable. Only negligence could be blamed pointing the finger elsewhere except themselves. Passengers suffered for negligence and little accountability was taken nor charged.