By Darrel Bernard & Lon Edwards
Q. How has the scientific method helped us in our fight against disease?
A. The scientific method was crucial in fighting disease. It solved problems like understanding the causes of diseases and ways to prevent them. Diseases like smallpox, measles, whooping cough, scarlet fever, diphtheria, yellow fever, malaria, typhus, cholera, typhoid fever and influenza can be cured at any stage.
Q. Write a note on better sanitary conditions available in our cities today and compare them with what they were like a hundred years ago.
A. Today, our city streets are paved and well-drained and are cleaned regularly. Sewage from all sections of the city is carried through sealed pipes to disposal plants. A hundred years ago, household garbage and other refuse were thrown into the narrow, unpaved and poorly drained city streets. Outdoor toilets were common and human wastes drained into wells of drinking water. Thus, sanitary conditions today are much better than they were in the past.
Q. What are the sanitary conditions like in our villages today and how would you improve them?
A. Sanitary conditions in our villages today resemble those of the past. Our villagers need paved streets, indoor toilets and, above all, awareness of the importance of sanitation.
Q. How has the scientific method helped us in the production and preservation of foods?
A. The scientific method has helped us produce a variety of foods. It makes them available throughout the year in all places. Dehydration and quick freeze methods preserve food. Selecting, grading, and processing remove the danger of food poisoning.
Q. We are now generally less fearful than our ancestors. What were our ancestors afraid of?
A. Our ancestors were afraid of black cats, broken mirrors and the number 13 because they were superstitious.
Q. How has the scientific method enabled us to get over the old fears?
A. It has been learned that there is always a good natural reason for everything that happens to people. Such an attitude has helped us to get over the old fears.
Q. What part did astrology play in the lives of men and women in the past? Give examples.
Ans: Astrology, in the past, highly influenced people’s lives, but only in negative terms. They believed in signs of good or bad luck. It made them narrow-minded.
Q. Describe some of the superstitions still current in our country. How do they affect the lives of those who believe in them?
A. A picture falling off a wall, calling someone going for a business back home, and screaming of owls are considered bad omens. The caw of a crow implies the expectation of a guest. A sneeze indicates that someone is recalling you. There are so many other superstitions too. The lives of superstitious people are affected greatly by such things. They do or avoid things for no reason other than belief in superstitions.
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