Delirium-EDIT PLEASE!!!
Following Truth
In America today, higher education is a privilege that not all can afford however all may benefit. Universities are known to provide a source of new theories and research that advance civilization. Public universities such as the University of South Florida offer a more affordable education to those who seek knowledge and truth. With the separation of church and state, public universities no longer abide by ancient dogma nor do they limit the subject matter of the curriculum to the more orthodox studies. Modern higher education systems in the United States do allow students and researchers to investigate new theories and question earlier beliefs. Thomas Jefferson established the University of Virginia to provide an opportunity for Americans to learn and produce new theories on subjects that may never have been previously questioned. "This institution [i.e., the university] will be based on the illimitable freedom of the human mind. For here we are not afraid to follow truth wherever it may lead, nor to tolerate any error so long as reason is left free to combat it.” (Jefferson to William Roscoe, 1820) With knowledge comes freedom.
Colleges, such as the University of South Florida, a public institution, does not limit freedom in academic studies. Most professors have to do research and be published during their tenure. They do not always prove their theories right, sometimes they prove it wrong and it is just as important. Grad students are required to have and defend a thesis statement to achieve a masters or Doctorate degree. The thesis statement is attacked by a committee to approve or fail the Masters/PhD candidate. Thesis statements are supposed to be original ideas so that the masters/PhD candidate proves the ability of advanced learning and is worthy of the title Master/Doctor. Original thought is rewarded but reason dictates acceptance.
To advance civilization, universities provide a source of theories and new ideas. Because new ideas often challenge popular belief systems, the quest for truth overrides any apprehension in an educational mindset. Tolerance of irreverent thoughts due to higher education can be displayed in recent Nobel Prize winning theorist from the Physics Department at the University of California, in Berkeley, California. The American physicist provided evidence to support the “Big Bang” theory of the creation of the universe. Gallileo/Copoernicus? only a few centuries earlier was persecuted for suggesting that the Earth was not the center of that same universe. Allowing researchers the chance to investigate and disprove long held ideas is proof that Jefferson’s plan did in fact work. Religious ideals aside, Americans have provided a natural (not supernatural) source of the planet’s creation.
On the other hand, some theories do not follow reason and are discredited. One such idea is cold fusion. In 1989, Stanley Pons and Martain Fleischmann, two researchers from University of Utah, attempted unsuccessfully to demonstrate the cold fusion as a real phenomenon. Other contemporary scientists tried to verify the validity of the controversial claim but Pons and Fleischmann were unable to reproduce the experiment and the incredible results. "The 'cold fusion' phenomenon, in which the law of conservation of energy is apparently violated when electricity and heat are applied to special systems involving hydrogen isotopes (in water or gaseous form) and particular metals (notably palladium and nickel), defies conventional scientific explanation. All new theories explaining 'cold fusion' effects require large revisions in existing physical theories (one might call them 'miracles'). Scientific skepticism requires that unless the experimental evidence justifies belief in these miracles, we must conclude that experimental errors are being misinterpreted as positive results.”(Heeter)
The right to critically think and express new ideas is defended in the arena of higher education in the United States just as Jefferson had hoped. Contemporary students have less apprehension and more desire for the truth in all subject matters, even those concerning established beliefs. “Shake off all the fears of servile prejudices, under which weak minds are servilely crouched. Fix reason firmly in her seat, and call on her tribunal for every fact, every opinion. Question with boldness even the existence of a God; because, if there be one, he must more approve of the homage of reason than that of blindfolded fear.” (Jefferson, Reason Versus Fear) In the end, truth really has set us free.
In America today, higher education is a privilege that not all can afford however all may benefit. Universities are known to provide a source of new theories and research that advance civilization. Public universities such as the University of South Florida offer a more affordable education to those who seek knowledge and truth. With the separation of church and state, public universities no longer abide by ancient dogma nor do they limit the subject matter of the curriculum to the more orthodox studies. Modern higher education systems in the United States do allow students and researchers to investigate new theories and question earlier beliefs. Thomas Jefferson established the University of Virginia to provide an opportunity for Americans to learn and produce new theories on subjects that may never have been previously questioned. "This institution [i.e., the university] will be based on the illimitable freedom of the human mind. For here we are not afraid to follow truth wherever it may lead, nor to tolerate any error so long as reason is left free to combat it.” (Jefferson to William Roscoe, 1820) With knowledge comes freedom.
Colleges, such as the University of South Florida, a public institution, does not limit freedom in academic studies. Most professors have to do research and be published during their tenure. They do not always prove their theories right, sometimes they prove it wrong and it is just as important. Grad students are required to have and defend a thesis statement to achieve a masters or Doctorate degree. The thesis statement is attacked by a committee to approve or fail the Masters/PhD candidate. Thesis statements are supposed to be original ideas so that the masters/PhD candidate proves the ability of advanced learning and is worthy of the title Master/Doctor. Original thought is rewarded but reason dictates acceptance.
To advance civilization, universities provide a source of theories and new ideas. Because new ideas often challenge popular belief systems, the quest for truth overrides any apprehension in an educational mindset. Tolerance of irreverent thoughts due to higher education can be displayed in recent Nobel Prize winning theorist from the Physics Department at the University of California, in Berkeley, California. The American physicist provided evidence to support the “Big Bang” theory of the creation of the universe. Gallileo/Copoernicus? only a few centuries earlier was persecuted for suggesting that the Earth was not the center of that same universe. Allowing researchers the chance to investigate and disprove long held ideas is proof that Jefferson’s plan did in fact work. Religious ideals aside, Americans have provided a natural (not supernatural) source of the planet’s creation.
On the other hand, some theories do not follow reason and are discredited. One such idea is cold fusion. In 1989, Stanley Pons and Martain Fleischmann, two researchers from University of Utah, attempted unsuccessfully to demonstrate the cold fusion as a real phenomenon. Other contemporary scientists tried to verify the validity of the controversial claim but Pons and Fleischmann were unable to reproduce the experiment and the incredible results. "The 'cold fusion' phenomenon, in which the law of conservation of energy is apparently violated when electricity and heat are applied to special systems involving hydrogen isotopes (in water or gaseous form) and particular metals (notably palladium and nickel), defies conventional scientific explanation. All new theories explaining 'cold fusion' effects require large revisions in existing physical theories (one might call them 'miracles'). Scientific skepticism requires that unless the experimental evidence justifies belief in these miracles, we must conclude that experimental errors are being misinterpreted as positive results.”(Heeter)
The right to critically think and express new ideas is defended in the arena of higher education in the United States just as Jefferson had hoped. Contemporary students have less apprehension and more desire for the truth in all subject matters, even those concerning established beliefs. “Shake off all the fears of servile prejudices, under which weak minds are servilely crouched. Fix reason firmly in her seat, and call on her tribunal for every fact, every opinion. Question with boldness even the existence of a God; because, if there be one, he must more approve of the homage of reason than that of blindfolded fear.” (Jefferson, Reason Versus Fear) In the end, truth really has set us free.