Like many of my classmates have mentioned, I found the last chapters of The Ghost Map to be just as interesting as the first, and I was excited to draw connections between some of the ideas Johnson brought up and some of the conversations we have had in class. What first came to mind was the idea of social prejudice, an incredibly large stumbling block in the way of real scientific answers in both the case of the London cholera epidemic and the HIV/AIDS one today. It is truly frightening to note that even in this era, with all of our technological advances and scientific research, prejudice can still cloud and warp our rationality.
But another part of the reading I found interesting and relatable in terms of our class was Johnson’s statement on page 125: “So often what is lacking in many of these explanations and prescriptions is some measure of humility, some sense that the theory being put forward is still unproven. It’s not just that the authorities of the day were wrong about miasma; it’s the tenacious, unquestioning way they went about being wrong.” I was so intrigued by this idea because I remember specifically complaining about the article we were given to read in class about a possible correlation between cholera and the environment-but my complaint was about that the writer lacked the ‘tenacious’ way of the London cholera writers. I had found the article in class to be too apprehensive when I read it. Because its authors were was too afraid to make any concrete claim, I thought, the article’s finding’s were unconvincing and even inconsequential. But after reading this passage in Johnson’s book, I began to reconsider, to appreciate the open mindedness and even humility of that article. Isn’s that method so much better, so much more conducive to the ever-changing world of scientific discovery? Our human desire for concrete answers and tangible results may cloud our judgements, so it is important to remember the dangerous tenacity and narrow-mindedness of the people Johnson mentions and always keep an open mind.
Hi Rachel,
Make sure you change your category from “uncategorized” to the correct date so that you get credit for your work!