Scientific merit

#DiaryOfCriticalThinking #3 - Scientific Merit

Happy new critical-thinking year! We are starting the new year strong with a good one: #ScientificMerit.
During university, we often encountered it while handing in papers. Scientific merit rates the #impact that academic work has on its field of study. Does it bringt us #forward in research? Will this #benefit other research?

You may be wondering - and rightfully so - why I am mentioning this here. We are not in academia after all. Yet, I feel like it is a concept that we should extend to our daily life, too: Social Merit, Political Merit, Technology Merit, Security Merit; you name it. Whenever we post something (and, for sure, you can argue about the merit of this post) we should start thinking about the possible impact it has on others. Not only in terms of topics, but also possibly people. We waste tons of potential on incomplete posts (insufficient focus on a problem, not considering different perspectives, missing grasp of the context, etc.) and do not hold ourselves accountable for it. Yet, we tend to convince ourselves that there is "nothing else" to consider.
For sure, there is never an easy solution, no way of thinking about every possibility nor finding the one-fits-all option. Yet, should we not look #beyond? Does the content of my post really bring us forward? Does it help or is it a mere #spinetingling #parroting on the latest LinkedIn #trend?

Let us examine one everlasting topic: #Veganism. I am not trying to take any sides here, just using it as an example. There was a post about the reasons locally produced meats and dairy were more environmentally friendly than soy, avocados etc. due to their global distribution. Yet, it missed crucial points to even be considered remotely useful:
- What other alternatives do vegans eat that are produced locally?
- Where was the actual scientific proof for the stated points?
- How could you improve the ecological footprint while still consuming animal products?
- Can we find a conclusion to the discussion?

Sharing your ideas always brings us forward, yet leaving fundamental issues unanswered does not help. There is no #merit if we do not understand contexts, correlations (remember?), advantages, and drawbacks. Without, it is an empty promise for #chaos.

Besides that, you are the #best.

Over and out. #KeepThinking