#scientist witch

[hypotermiart]

Witchtober 2018 // misc witches pt. 2 // prompt list

prompts in the captions!

[samthesciwitch]

Witchcraft Asks 16: Would you consider yourself knowledgeable?

In what? 😂

In my field of study/PhD, I have mixed talents. I am mediocre at some things and exceptional at others. I wouldn't say there's anything I can't do or learn. Some things take longer than others for me to master.

In general-- about politics, spirituality/religion, science literacy, current events, and generally understanding and keeping up with the world-- I would say I'm more knowledgeable than most, but there are people who know much more than me in each specific area.

In witchcraft, I would say I'm likely somewhere in the 15-25 percentile range. In other words, I know a bit, but less than the average witch who has been practicing for multiple years. I am definitely still a baby witch. ✨

[devonia]

Hihi, is that narwhal infuser thing still a thing because omg that is the best thing i've ever seen. also since I'm new, scientist + witch? I'm intrigued, those contradict for a lot of people. how does it work together for you?

lmao yes it is! if i can find a cheap way to send it i’d be happy to give you one. 

and witchcraft is just that: a craft. personally, i like the way that it makes me, an anxious sack of jitters, focus and think about one thing at a time. i want to believe in a mutable energy that can be altered by sufficient will, but whether or not i truly do i’m not actually sure. 

maybe the point is to want it, and wanting to believe in it makes it real for me. this gets into the concept of the placebo effect, which can be said dismissively but is, in actuality, a profound statement on the power of the mind over the body. in case you aren’t familiar with it, the placebo effect is defined as a beneficial effect, produced by a placebo drug or treatment, that cannot be attributed to the properties of the placebo itself, and must therefore be due to the patient’s belief in that treatment. i mention it as an extension of the original medical use of the term: if you believe in something, you can make it real.

that said, medication and science and evidence are definitely real and cannot be ignored because we are uncomfortable with them. you can’t cure your cancer with some quartz. depression doesn’t go away because you lit the right color candle or drank some strange tea. but i am not as much of a hardass about what kind of evidence is acceptable as many other scientists are because i have actually done real research with an extremely reputable institution and, well, my field (paleontology/evolutionary biology) involves some level of subjectivity. you can run the phylogenetic analysis one hundred thousand times and still only be 70% sure you have the right phylogeny for a specimen. in fact, that’s pretty typical. 

as a scientist, i believe in both truth and the eternal quest for it. witchcraft makes me better at what i do because it chills me the fuck out and helps me remember to keep an eye on the weird shit in our lives that we tend to dismiss because it doesn’t fit a predetermined narrative. if i can name a species off a single fossil specimen, then i must admit it is also possible that the hundreds of thousands (millions? a lot) of people who claim to have experienced strange energies might have a point. because if just one of those experiences is legitimate, then we’re looking at a new species.

[spookylittleghostgirl]

*Meets with some of the scientists I work with in my dorm.*

*quickly shoves tarot cards in fluid mechanics textbook*

*Leans against wall to cover sigil*

“Yes yes all these plants are important for... reasons of science”