Day2(a): Science makes us sweeter

“Researchers Try to Cure Racism” caught my attention after it was released by Wired Science and generated controversy on the Digg network, within days of President Obama’s inauguration. Brown University’s Michael Tarr  led the study, which invited participants to view pictures of similar-looking black faces and record their immediate, spoken responses. The responses were characterized with respect to racial bias, and then those same subjects were exposed to 10 hours of “training,” where they became familiar with the faces and were asked to speculate about the habits of the pictured people — for instance, what they liked to eat. By the end of the training, the subjects’ biases had been diminished. Somewhere around 200 comments below the story ranged from supportive to derogatory. Some complained that the researchers themselves were the most biased of all, and defensively accused them of attempted brainwashing, “social engineering” to weed out racism. Some said racism with respect to black people is justified, given black representation in crime statistics. A few said such research is a waste of time.

I seldom think scientific research is a waste of time. That’s one of my biases. Another of my biases: I gain happiness each and every time I am able to build a bridge between myself and “other,” whether that person is of another race, culture, political or religious persuasion. If a researcher is out there designing tools that might increase my happiness, I’m all for it. I took the study as a personal reminder to try to find common ground — establish familiarity — with people whose background or views are different from my own.

The scientific process is robust; its only weakness is human error. Science provides us with a delicious, ever-evolving buffet of information. And when science delves into human behavior, that knowledge offers power, not a mandate. Strike up a conversation about sports with someone of a different race today, or don’t. It’s Sunday: talk about the weather with someone who believes in Creation, or evolution — or don’t. My belief, based on my personal experience, is that our collective spirit would be improved if we heeded the new study and all the messages preceding it – indeed, dating back thousands of years — that urge cooperation, kindness, and mutual efforts toward understanding.

In about six hours, another research paper will go public that brings similar ideas to bear on a human behavior even more commonly seen as undesirable: violence in schools. Stay tuned for Day 2(b)!