Definition of pre-Hispanic

: of, relating to, or being the time prior to Spanish conquests in the western hemisphere

History
Pre-Spanish Period

The Banaue Rice Terraces

Even before the colonization by the Spaniards in the Philippine islands, the natives of
the archipelago already had practices linked to science and technology. Filipinos were
already aware of the medicinal and therapeutic properties of plants and the methods of
extracting medicine from herbs. They already had an alphabet, number system, a
weighing and measuring system and a calendar. Filipinos were already engaged in
farming, shipbuilding, mining and weaving. The Banaue Rice Terraces are among the
sophisticated products of engineering by pre-Spanish era Filipinos.

Science and Technology Fields

Life Sciences

Life Sciences is a very broad field, it encompasses numerous specializations. It is

commonly defined by sciences that pertain to living organisms like microorganisms,
plants, animals, and most importantly human beings. Some of the well-known fields in
the Life Sciences are zoology, botany, biology, microbiology, biotechnology, and
biomedical technologies.

In the Philippines, the various fields of the Life Sciences is under the Department of
Science and Technology (DOST). This government office is responsible for the
coordination and funding of different researches by Filipino scientists and inventors,
which can potentially help the progress of science and technology in the Philippines.
There are different agencies under DOST which cater to specialized fields, these are the
Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration
(PAGASA), Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS), and the
Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic, and Natural Resources Research
Development (PCAARRD). The Secretary of Science and Technology is appointed by the
president of the Republic of the Philippines, and this position has no fixed term. The
incumbent Secretary of Science and Technology is Mario G. Montejo, a professor of the
University of the Philippines Diliman, he was appointed by President Benigno Aquino III
on June 29, 2010.

Botany and Biology

Botany and biology are two of the highly sought-after research topics in the Philippines,
given its rich biodiversity in flora and fauna.

Eucheuma denticulatum is a species of red alga that naturally exists in the country.

Several Filipino scientist have pioneered in the field of biology. Eduardo Quisumbing, a
biologist who graduated MS in Botany at the University of the Philippines Los Baños in
1921, and Ph.D. in Plant Taxonomy, Systematics and Morphology at the University of
Chicago in 1923. He conducted research on taxonomic and morphological papers deal
with orchids[40] and authored the book Medicinal Plants of the Philippines.[41] The species
of Saccolabium quisumbingii was named after him. Dioscoro L. Umali, is an agriculturist
that was dubbed as the Father of Philippine Plant Breeding due to the programs he
conducted that are related to rainfed and upland agriculture, social forestry, and
environmental preservation.[42] Marine biologist helped improve the knowledge on
aquatic resources like Angel Alcala, a biologist who was recognized for his research on
amphibians and reptiles diversity and marine biodiversity in the country and served as
consultant on marine and aquatic projects under the United Nations Environment
Programme, World Bank, Asian Development Bank and others,[43] Gavino Trono, a
biologist who was dubbed as the Father of Kappaphycus farming for his contributions to
the study of tropical marine phycology, focusing on seaweed biodiversity, established
the largest phycological herbarium in the country – the G.T. Velasquez Herbarium in the
University of the Philippines’ Marine Science Institute, and authored a book that was
considered as the most authoritative books in the country on the seaweed flora titled
Field guide and atlas of the seaweed resources of the Philippines.

Biotechnology

The Philippines Biofuel Act of 2006, RA 9376 mandates an increase of the minimum 5%
bioethanol blend (E5) in gasoline to 10% ethanol blend (E10). In 2011, 600 million
liters of gasoline was consumed by car owners in the Philippines, if the 10% bioethanol
blend would be followed, this would be equivalent to 1 million metric tons of sugar.

Ethanol is an alcohol produced from fermenting carbohydrates in plants. Bioethanol can

be produced mainly from three different kinds of raw materials, namely simple sugars,
starch, and lignocellulosic biomass. Since the prices of the raw materials are very
volatile and can easily change, lignocellulosic biomass has been extensively studied due
to its cheap price and abundance in agricultural countries like the Philippines. Some of
the top sources of lignocellulosic biomass are forest residues, municipal solid wastes,
and agricultural wastes like sugarcane baggase, nipa sap, rice straws, etc.

Numerous studies have been done by Filipino scientists on what raw material should be
used to achieve an efficient and cost-effective bioethanol production. Studies on nipa
sap showed that molasses is still more advantageous to use, as for the same amount of
bioethanol produced, a greater amount of nipa sap was needed compared to molasses.
A study by Tan et al.reports on corn as being viable for bioethanol production, and
could give a yield of around 0.37 Liters per kilogram of corn used. Other studies
showed that sugarcane juice produced approximately 70 Liters per ton of sugar, but
using sugracane juice as the primary feedstock for bioethanol production, would be
problematic, as this would mean that it would be competing with the sugar production
in the country. These problems have pushed Filipino scientists today, to continue
searching for alternatives to sugarcane. One of the most promising fields is the study of
lignocellulosic agricultural wastes, as they are abundant and very cheap.

A study by Del Rosario in 1982 identified sweet sorghum as a possible source of

ethanol, it is a very adaptive crop which can withstand drought and grow in the low-
lands as well as in the high lands. A study by the International Crop Research Institute
for the Semi-arid Tropics (ICRISAT) showed that the production costs for sweet
sorghum is higher than sugarcane by 4.28%, but this is balanced out by the grain yield
of 1 ton per hectare. In 2007, the University of Philippines-Los Banos, together with the
Bureau of Agricultural Research (BAR) and ICRISAT conducted studies on sweet
sorghum as feedstock for bioethanol production.

In 2013 the Bureau of Agricultural Research (BAR) announced that the country may
start producing its first sweet sorghum-based bioethanol. The Philippine National Oil Co.
-Alternative Fuels Corp and the San Carlos Bioenergy Inc. are discussing on creating a
1,000 hectare sweet sorghum plantation solely for the purpose of using the produce as
feedstock for bioethanol production.

Engineering

Engineering is the field of science that applies both science and math to solve problems.
It concerns the use of technology in practical ways that can advance the human
condition. Some of the fields of engineering include mechanical engineering, electrical
engineering, civil engineering, structural engineering, and industrial engineering.

In the Philippines, many organizations and research institutes for engineering were
established, such as the National Engineering Center and the Philippine Institute of Civil
Engineers.

The National Engineering Center (NEC) was first established on January 27, 1978 as the
research arm of the University of the Philippines College of Engineering. It absorbed the
UP Industrial Research Service Center, the National Hydraulic Research Center, the
Training Center for Applied Geodesy and Photogrammetry, the Transport Training
Center, and the Building Research Service.

The Philippine Institute of Civil Engineers (PICE) was the result of the merging of two
separate civil engineer organizations, the Philippine Society of Civil Engineers (PSCE)
and the Philippine Association of Civil Engineers (PACE), on December 11, 1973. It was
given accreditation by the Professional Regulation Commission on August 13, 1975 as
the only official recognized organization of civil engineers in the Philippines. It was
established to advance the knowledge and research and to maintain high ethical
standards of civil engineering.

The University of the Philippines also established the National Center for Transportation
Studies (NCTS) to contribute to scholarly research and training in the field of
transportation. They advocate sustainable transport, integrated transport system, road
safety, and institutional development. They release advisories and feature studies by
both undergraduate and graduate students on transportation. For example, the NCTS
website links to downloads of Emer T. Quezon's research into the effects of flyover
construction on traffic flow in Nagtahan and R. Magsaysay Boulevard intersection in
1994, as well as the research of Franklyn T. Amistad and Jose Regin F. Regidor, Dr.
Eng. researched into ways to improve traffic management and congestion in Vigan
without sacrificing its legacy as a World Heritage Site.

Ricardo G. Sigua is a professor who contributed to engineering research in the

Philippines. Sigua, a professor at the Institute of Civil Engineering in the University of
the Philippines, Diliman, wrote a book called The Fundamentals of Traffic Engineering
due to the scarcity of textbooks on the traffic engineering relevant to the Philippine
context. His book covers topics such as traffic management and regulations, traffic flow,
traffic studies, intersection design and control, geometric design of highways, road
safety, traffic accident analysis, travel demand forecasting, the origin-destination table
(OD Matrix), and the intelligent transportation system.

Electronic products accounted for 40% of the Philippines' export revenue in April 2013,
according to the Semiconductor and Electronics Industry in the Philippines, Inc., which
groups 250 Filipino and foreign companies, including Intel. The share of high-tech
products among exports declined between 2008 and 2013 from US$26.9 billion to
US$19.7 billion.

Agriculture and Aquaculture

Agriculture is the field in science wherein it concerns with the different techniques of
land cultivation, crop and livestock raising, or otherwise, farming. The Department of
Agriculture (Philippines) (DA) is a government agency responsible for the development
of the Philippine's agriculture by generating policies, investments, and support services
which are significant in the local and export-oriented trade. In the Philippine
Development Plan (PDP), Chapter 4: Competitive and Sustainable Agriculture and
Fisheries Sector, both agriculture and fisheries sector provides the needs and raw
materials for the market and surplus labor to the industry and service sectors. The
focus for improvement would be to generate more opportunities of employments and
increased income for the farmers which would encourage participation from them.
Development of the agricultural sector is critical in maintaining an affordable price for
food especially for the poor which, then, could be translated to inclusive growth and
poverty reduction. Proceso J. Alcala is a former district representative and the recently
appointed DA secretary by President Benigno Aquino III in 2010. He is considered the
'Father of Organic Agriculture' because of his work in the Organic Agricultural Act of
2010 (RA 10068).

Developments regarding the research and technology of Philippine agriculture are

currently in the works. Most of the researches are inclined in solving the problem of
increasing hunger in the country by creating a more efficient and cheaper process of
yielding produce. The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) is an international
research consortium, including the Philippines, which serves to improve the rice
production and quality through biotechnology and research. One of their ongoing
research involves changing the normal C3 carbon fixation mechanism of rice into a
supercharged photosynthetic mechanism, C4 carbon fixation. Converting rice from a C3
plant into a C4 plant would be beneficial because the latter can efficiently produce more
yield than the former in a given and limited amount of resources (land, water, and
fertilizer) which bodes well to the Philippines' situation. IRRI have made calculations
which shows that converting rice into a C4 plant would increase the yield at around 30-
50%, demonstrating a double water-use efficiency, and providing more at less fertilizer
usage. Other rice varieties have been developed to increase efficiency without
sacrificing the quality too much. PSB Rc26H (Magat), PSB Rc72H (Mestizo), and PSB
Rc76H (Panay) are some of the rice hybrids developed but only Mestizo is currently
available for planting. The texture and taste quality of Mestizo is comparable to the
normal grain, IR64.

Overall records and statistics about Philippine agricultural growth is provided by the
CountrySTAT Philippines. In 2014, gross domestic product (GDP) increased by 6.13%.
The gross value added (GVA) in agriculture and fishing went up by 1.60% and this
accounted for 10% of the GDP increase. There was an increase in the production of
livestock rated at 1.01%. Gross outputs of the following livestock showed an increase at
different rates: hog, cattle, carabao, goat, chicken, duck, and other products such as
chicken eggs and dairy. There was an increase in the prices of different produce such
as crops, fruits, and livestock and a decrease in the prices of vegetables. Food and
other non-alcoholic beverage had an increase of 6.68%. Earnings from exports
increased by 5.78% and top earners were from coconut oil and banana. Expenditures
for imports increased by 19.86% and the highest spending were from wheat and milk
products. The labor force totaled to 40.05 million and 11.21 million were employed in
the agriculture sector which was around 30% of the national employment.

Metal Industry

This industry deals with the creation and innovation of metallic and steel products. The
metal/steel industry have shown remarkable technological dynamism over the centuries
and with the growing product innovation, there have been a great significance on the
steels' economic and political influence. The Philippines have become part of the
growing revolution of the industry. The Metal Industry Research and Development
Center (MIRDC) is a government agency under the Department of Science and
Technology that supports the local metals and engineering industry through support
services enhancing the industry's competitive advantage. The agency's mission would
consist of providing both public and private sectors with professional management and
technical expertise, quality control, research and development, technology transfer, and
business advisory services.

MIRDC have been cooperating with different organizations to create technology for
various improvements and purposes. The Automated Guideway Transit (AGT) System
and the Road Train were unveiled to the public during the annual Lantern Parade in the
University of the Philippines Diliman. It was a collaboration between UP Diliman and
MIRDC for the purpose of faster travel time for students in UP and the public. It had
two stations, one located along C.P. Garcia and the other one is along the University
Avenue. The Hand Tractor was from the works of both MIRDC and Center for
Postharvest Development and Mechanization (PhilMech). The concept of the equipment
is a transplanter-attached hand tractor and harvester-attached hand tractor wherein
rice transplanting and harvesting implements are readily available from the tractor.
Farmers would benefit from this because of the reduced cost and more utilization of
hand tractor.

Statistics of recent steel and steel-related industry developments were published by the
Census of Philippine Business and Industry (CPBI) of the National Statistics Office (NSO)
with 2001 as the reference year. The industry totaled to 1,895 establishment which is
29.6% of the manufacturing firms. Of all the establishments, 403 or 21.3% of the steel
industries were from intermediate steel sector and 1,246 were from manufacturing
industries. The steel industry was able to contribute 369,985 worker to the
manufacturing sector. Total compensation paid by the steel industry reached to P47.9
billion which was about 41.2% of the total salaries and employers' contributions
SSS/GSIS. The total expenses made by the industry was valued at P692.6 billion which
accounted for 48.8% of the costs made by the manufacturing establishments. The total
output of the industry was estimated at P832 billion which accounted for 46.3% of the
manufacturing output valued at P1,795.8 billion.

Food and Nutrition

Food science or nutritional science is the field of science studying the nature of foods
and the natural changes in them resulting from handling and processing. It is the
science concerned with food and nourishment and the role of nutrients in health. In the
Philippines, food and nutrition research investigates the ideal diet for Filipinos to solve
the problem of malnutrition and the current state of nutrition.

The Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI) is the principal research arm of the
Philippine government in food and nutrition. It was first created in 1947 as the Institute
of Nutrition to serve as a clearing-house of data and information regarding nutrition. In
1949, it was authorized to conduct research in the applied science of food, as well. The
FNRI was reorganized in Executive Order No. 128, s. 1987 to redefine its mandate to
research food and nutrition in order to research and identify solutions to malnutrition
problems, develop programs, projects, and policies to address malnutrition, and
disseminate these findings. In accordance with these functions, the Food Composition
Laboratory was established. Now known as the Food Analytical Service Laboratory
(FASL), it is the pioneering laboratory researching into the food and nutrient
composition of Philippine foods. Their services include chemical testing, microbiological
testing, physico-chemical testing, and research and consultancy services. FNRI also
develops simple recipes for small scale and household use, especially for the
consumption by infants and children. They provide the nutritional information,
properties and even market potential.

Aside from the FNRI, Philippine scientists have been researching into food science.
Patricia T. Arroyo, Ph.D., an assistant professor and chairman of the Department of
Fisheries Technology of the University of the Philippines, Diliman wrote The Science of
Philippine Foods as a reference for students of food chemistry and food technology to
be used instead of foreign books. This book is a compilation of scattered literature
about Philippine foods and contains information about the structure, composition,
methods in preparation, standards of quality, preservation, and experiments about
various food such as eggs, rice, red meat, poultry, fish, fruits, vegetables, fats, oils,
milk, milk products, wheat, flour, and sugar.

Maria Ligaya T. Braganza, Ed.D, the Dean of the School of Food Science and
Technology at the Philippine Women's University conducts applied researches on food
and product development. One of her studies investigates the use of banana flour as a
wheat flour extender in pan de sal and doughnuts.

Ame P. Garong, a museum researcher at the National Museum of the Philippines,

published Ancient Filipino Diet: Reconstructing Diet from Human Remains Excavated in
the Philippines based on her doctoral dissertation. Using isotope analysis, she
reconstructed the diet from the archaeological human remains from different burial
sites in the Philippines. Based on the bone, hair, muscle samples and plant and animal
tissues, Garong traced the diet of ancient Filipinos. Filipinos in the pre-colonial and early
colonial past ate mostly aquatic resources (such as marine fish, freshwater shellfish,
and coral reef resources). Some samples showed that the ancient Filipinos practiced
prolonged breast feeding.

Health

One aspect of healthcare is the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of diseases; the
other pertains to provisions for medical care for people in the community. In the
Philippines, healthcare is under the Department of Health (DOH). This government
office is responsible for organizing public healthcare and making sure that all Filipino
citizens have access to quality health services. This office is also responsible for
supervising and funding researches pertaining to new medicines and medical devices.
The DOH has different bureaus, all of which have different areas of specialization, these
are the Bureau of Health Devices and Technology, Bureau of Health Facilities and
Services, Bureau of International Health Cooperation, Bureau of Local Health
Development, Bureau of Quarantine and International Health Surveillance, and Food
and Drug Administration. The DOH has a budget of Php 87.6 billion for the year 2015.
The Secretary of Health is nominated by the President of the Republic of the
Philippines, the incumbent Secretary of Health is Janette Garin; she was appointed last
February 17, 2015.

The DOH has recently implemented the Philippines eHealth Strategic Framework and
Plan (2013-2017). This focuses on the application of Information and Communications
Technologies for healthcare. It draws up a long-term strategic plan for the development
and implementation of eHealth services in the Philippines. It looks into realizing a
national electronic public-health information systems, if this is reached, it can greatly
improve the surveillance and response to health emergencies, it can also impact
researches of epidemiological nature, greatly speeding up the process as sampling
would be very convenient already. Another program recently started by the DOH is the
Universal Health Care high Impact Five (UHC-Hi-5), which focuses on the regional
operations and its convergence in high priority poverty program areas. Its goal is for
tangible outputs within a 15-month period of its implementation.

Anti-cancer research

Soybean is a very sought-after crop, as its by products are used to generate bioethanol,
and most importantly it is linked with cancer research. During the past decade, soybean
has been extensively studied due to its 43-amino acid polypeptide called Lunasin. The
anti-cancer properties of Lunasin was first discovered by Dr Alfredo Galvez and Dr.
Benito de Lumen, both Filipino doctors, when they were enhancing the nutritional
properties of soy protein. Dr. Galvez observed mitotic disruptive properties of Lunasin in
mammalian cancer cells, he saw that it prevented normal cells from turning into
cancerous cells. This eventually lead to more research about its anti-cancer properties.
In 2005, Dr. de Lumen conducted an experiment on Lunasin using skin cancer mouse
models, he discovered that Lunasin internalizes in mammals within minutes of
exogenous application, it eventually ends up in the nucleus wherein it inhibits the
acetylation of core histones. Dr de Lumen observed that in spite of Lunasin’s anti-
cancer properties, it does not inhibit the growth of normal mammalian cell lines.

A very recent study on Lunasin showed that at certain doses, it reduced non-small cell
lung cancer tumor volume by 63%, it also showed a capability of inhibiting non-small
cell lung cancer cells by suppressing the cell-cycle dependent phosphorylation of the
retinoblastoma protein. More studies of Lunasin also showed that it possesses
antioxidative, anti-inflammatory, and a cholesterol regulating role; all of which makes it
a very good potential source of dietary supplements. All of these researches would
have not been at the level of where it is now, if not for the Filipino doctors who first
discovered Lunasin.

Social sciences

Encarnacion Alzona, the first Filipina to get a Doctor of Philosophy.

Notable Filipino scientist have been contributors in the field of social science in the
country. Raul V. Fabella was an academic, economist and scientist that graduated in
Seminario Mayor-Recoletos (Bachelor of Philosophy; 1970); the University of the
Philippines School of Economics (Master of Arts; 1975); and Yale University (Doctor of
Philosophy; 1982). He had written articles in both theoretical and applied fields: political
economy and rent-seeking; the theory of teams; regulation; international economics;
and mathematical economics and was associated with the concepts of "Olson ratio" in
rent-seeking, egalitarian Nash bargaining solutions, and debt-adjusted real effective
exchange rate.[82][83] Teodoro Agoncillo, a 20th-century Filipino historian, and received
the national scientist award for his contributions in the field of history. He graduated
from the University of the Philippines (Bachelor of Philosophy; 1934) and finished his
Master of Arts degree in the same university in 1935. He also wrote books regarding
the Philippine History like History of the Filipino People.[84] Encarnacion Alzona, a
pioneering Filipino historian, educator and suffragist became the first filipina to obtain a
Doctor of Philosophy. She got her degree in history and a master's degree from the
University of the Philippines and later obtained another master's degree in history from
Radcliffe College in 1920, and a Ph.D. from Columbia University in 1923. She was an
advocate of women suffrage in the Philippines and authored the book The Filipino
Woman: Her Social, Economic and Political Status (1565-1933). that stated a stable
account for women despite their lack in political and social rights.

Forestry

Forestry is the field of science that practice planting, managing and taking care of trees.
The governing body for the Philippine forestry is the Department of Environment and
Natural Resources (DENR). This department started way back in 1863, when the
Spanish Royal Decree established the Inspeccion General de Montes. This was
transformed into the Department of Interior in 1901. Then when the government
reorganized, it became the Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources. During
1987, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources was formally established.
Under this department, the Forest Management Bureau was the sector that focuses on
preserving the forest and the harvesting of its resources.

The Philippines have an actual forest cover at 6.5 million hectares (ha) or 24% of the
total land area. A lot of Filipinos rely on these resources for their survival. The country's
goal is to have a sustainable forest-based industry that can contribute to the socio-
economic development and support the disadvantaged sectors of society. Several
projects have been started by the Forest Products Research and Development and
Institute (FPRDI) to accomplish this goal. It starts with the identification of the nation's
tree species. and subsequently developing the products-based industry of wood and
lumber. The Institute also covers the sustainable creation of furnishings using wood,
bamboo, rattan and vines.
Natural disaster preparedness

The Philippines is one of the world’s most vulnerable countries to natural disasters.
Every year, between six and nine tropical cyclones make landfall, alongside other
extreme events such as floods and landslides. In 2013, the Philippines had the
misfortune to lie in the path of Cyclone Haiyan (known as Yolanda in the Philippines),
possibly the strongest tropical cyclone ever to hit land, with winds that were clocked at
up to 380 kph.

To address disaster risk, the Philippines has been investing heavily in critical
infrastructure and enabling tools such as Doppler radars, generating 3D disaster-
simulation models from Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) technology and the wide-
scale installation of locally developed sensors for accurate and timely disaster
information nationwide. In parallel, it has been building local capability to apply,
replicate and produce many of these technologies.

Folk Science

Why our intuitions about how the world works are often wrong
By Michael Shermer on August 1, 2016

Thirteen years after the legendary confrontation over the theory of evolution between
Bishop Samuel Wilberforce ("Soapy Sam") and Thomas Henry Huxley ("Darwin's
bulldog"), Wilberforce died in 1873 in an equestrian fall. Huxley quipped to physicist
John Tyndall, "For once, reality and his brain came into contact and the result was
fatal."
When it comes to such basic forces as gravity and such fundamental phenomena as
falling, our intuitive sense of how the physical world works--our folk physics--is
reasonably sound. Thus, we appreciate Huxley's wry comment and note that even
children get the humor of cartoon physics, where, for example, a character running off
a cliff does not fall until he realizes that he has left terra firma.
But much of physics is counterintuitive, as is the case in many other disciplines, and
before the rise of modern science we had only our folk intuitions to guide us. Folk
astronomy, for example, told us that the world is flat, celestial bodies revolve around
the earth, and the planets are wandering gods who determine our future. Folk biology
intuited an lan vital flowing through all living things, which in their functional design
were believed to have been created ex nihilo by an intelligent designer. Folk psychology
compelled us to search for the homunculus in the brain--a ghost in the machine--a mind
somehow disconnected from the brain. Folk economics caused us to disdain excessive
wealth, label usury a sin and mistrust the invisible hand of the market.

Folk science gets it wrong because we evolved in a radically different

environment.

The reason folk science so often gets it wrong is that we evolved in an environment
radically different from the one in which we now live. Our senses are geared for
perceiving objects of middling size--between, say, ants and mountains--not bacteria,
molecules and atoms on one end of the scale and stars and galaxies on the other end.
We live a scant three score and 10 years, far too short a time to witness evolution,
continental drift or long-term environmental changes.
Causal inference in folk science is equally untrustworthy. We correctly surmise designed
objects, such as stone tools, to be the product of an intelligent designer and thus
naturally assume that all functional objects, such as eyes, must have also been
intelligently designed. Lacking a cogent theory of how neural activity gives rise to
consciousness, we imagine mental spirits floating within our heads. We lived in small
bands of roaming hunter-gatherers that accumulated little wealth and had no
experience of free markets and economic growth.
Folk science leads us to trust anecdotes as data, such as illnesses being cured by
assorted nostrums based solely on single-case examples. Equally powerful are
anecdotes involving preternatural beings, compelling us to make causal inferences
linking these nonmaterial entities to all manner of material events, illness being the
most personal. Because people often re-cover from sickness naturally, whatever was
done just before recovery receives the -credit, prayer being the most common.
In this latter case, we have a recent scientific analysis of this ancient folk science
supposition. The April issue of the American Heart Journal published a comprehensive
study directed by Harvard Medical School cardiologist Herbert Benson on the effects of
intercessory prayer on the health and recovery of patients undergoing coronary bypass
surgery. The 1,802 patients were divided into three groups, two of which were prayed
for by members of three religious congregations. Prayers began the night before the
surgery and continued daily for two weeks after. Half the prayer recipients were told
that they were being prayed for, whereas the other half were told that they might or
might not receive prayers. Results showed that prayer itself had no statistically
significant effect on recovery. Case closed.
Of course, people will continue praying for their ailing loved ones, and by chance some
of them will recover, and our folk science brains will find meaning in these random
patterns. But for us to discriminate true causal inferences from false, real science
trumps folk science.
What is Indigenous Science

Like Western science (WS), Indigenous science (IS) relies upon direct observation for
forecasting and generating predictions; it’s power lies in its ability to make connections
and perceive patterns across vast cycles of space and time. Indigenous scientists are
trained in various specializations such as herbalism, weather observations, mental
health, and time keeping, and there are tests to ensure IS validity.

One marked difference between the two sciences: Data from IS is not used to control
the forces of nature, but instead is used to find methods and resources for
accommodating it. Other critical distinctions apply to IS, including:

 Indigenous scientists are an integral part of the research process and there is a
defined process for ensuring this integrity.
 IS tries to understand and complete our relationships with all living things. All of
nature is considered to be intelligent and alive, thus an active research partner.
 The purpose of IS is to maintain balance.
 IS collapses time and space; our fields of inquiry and participation extend into
and overlap with past and present.
 IS is holistic, drawing on all senses, including the spiritual and psychic.
 The end-point of an IS process is an exact balance where creativity occurs.
 We always remain embodied in the natural world. In other words, when we
reach the moment/place of balance, we do not believe that we
have “transcended.” Instead, we say that we are normal.
 Humor balances gravity and is a critical ingredient of all truth seeking, even in
the most powerful rituals.