Saturday night thoughts

Today is the 26th of March, 2022. There’s some observations about artists, scientists, cultural components in propaganda, and yesterday’s visuals.

The day passed in news connected to the artists and scientists. In the morning I read “Let’s not abandon Russian scientists” - an open letter published in Science magazine. The group of scientists wrote:

“Shutting down all interaction with Russian scientists would be a serious setback to a variety of Western and global interests and values, which include making rapid progress on global challenges related to science and technology, maintaining non-ideological lines of communication across national boundaries, and opposing ideological stereotyping and indiscriminate persecution. […]  Decisions made in Western countries today about how to deal with Russia and Russians may be in place for a long time and, ultimately, difficult to reverse. We fervently hope that all future decisions about Russian scientists and Russian academic institutions will reflect a balanced appraisal that weighs the likely effectiveness of the measures under consideration in pushing or deterring the Russian state against the underside adverse impacts on Western and global interests and values.”

I know that sounds complicated, they didn't have my scientific chief as their teacher otherwise they would learn to use the language that even strangers from the streets could understand without translation from English to English. I’ll put it simple:

“You can’t isolate Russian scientists from the Western science community because it will lead to major fuckups on various technological and scientific projects that will affect our global communication as well. Not just because it’s descrimination, it gives ground for ideological context in the area where it doesn’t belong, it’s a setback for us. Decisions should be balanced and should actually be effective in deterring the Russian state, not the science”.

Science is the part that saves lives in the end - from diseases to climate change and new sustainable materials. In science you can’t just substitute one person with another - it’s simply impossible. Only if those are just working hands, not brains. The process of moving up is a process of selection, permanent fight for the place, money, own thoughts and projects, theories. Most of Russian science is about theoretical stuff, because that’s how it was developed during the Soviet times. There was no practical urge and deadlines pressure, no shareholders  and companies pushing new projects. It was mostly academic. While Western approach is pretty much money and urgent purpose based. 

Both parts can exist one without the other, but it’s better when they go hand by hand. That’s where a different point of view really makes things better, faster and drives changes. The whole system is based on circling ideas, communication, and discussions. You isolate one part and the amount of information will drop down radically. Because you will isolate not the country, but actual people with unique knowledge and thinking processes. Don’t even look at them as at people, look at them as a database that will be lost. A modern Library of Alexandria but with human minds instead of texts.