Leonardo Walks Into A Bar...

Hey, buddy, that's a pretty cool drawing you got there.
   Yeah... just a thing I've been working on. You got anything bigger than a bar napkin?
Sorry, that's about it. What'll you have?
   Got any mead?
Ah... no.
   Chaculato? Sack? A little violet water?
We got none of that. How about a beer?
   Well, if that's all you have...
Those are pretty eclectic tastes. I like that accent, where you from?
   Italy.
Huh. I thought Italians were more demonstrative. Happier. You seem pretty down.
   I am. But I don't want to burden you with my ills.
You wouldn't believe some of the stuff people tell me.
   You sure? Okay, but remember this was your idea. I'm feeling a little down about the state of modern science.
What are you talking about? Science is everywhere. Did you know they have an electric razor you can use in the shower?
   That's exactly what I'm talking about. Who gives a crap about that? So what?
It is kind of neat.
   But the guy who invented that could be working on a cure for cancer. Or a way to extend Einstein's theories. Hell, a way to refute his theories. Anything but figuring out how to make an electric razor work in the shower.
Don't get me wrong, but what concern is that of yours?
   Hello? Father of modern science here. Leonardo.
Hey. I'm Harvey.
   So it doesn't bother you, Harvey, the trivial uses that people put science to these days?
Nah. The little things just make life worth living.
   Fine, say I agree with you on that, small things are good. What about the abuses of science? What about Google eavesdropping on wi-fi traffic, or taking pictures of people on the street without those people knowing about it or agreeing to it? Or violating copyright on thousands of books by digitizing them without the authors' consent?
Jeez, why are you picking on the nerds at Google?
   Okay, forget that whole evil empire, they carry with them the seeds of their own destruction. People aren't going to put up with their crap for much longer. What about this whole global warming thing?
Yeah, see, now that's a problem.
   Is it? Really? How do you know?
Well, that's what they say on the TV all the time...
   Doesn't it bother you that this concept has gone from a vague notion to unassailable dogma in a matter of a few years? Doesn't it bother you that anyone who might question the science behind the research becomes demonized and vilified?
But if everybody says it's true, those guys shouldn't say it's not.
   That's not the way science works. Scientists are supposed to put forward a theory, then other scientists discuss it, pick it apart, and put it back together to make a better theory. And then the whole mess happens again. Over and over and over, it's never done, it's never something set in concrete. Science isn't a talking point, it's not a bullet on a Power Point slide.
But a lot of people say global warming is true.
   Science isn't a popularity contest either. Something isn't true just because it's on the cover of Time magazine. Especially not science.
Sounds like you got a bug up your ass about this one.
   Yeah, well... it just pisses me off. All this work I did creating the modern concept of science, and a few douchebags with a good PR engine throw it all to hell.
Ain't it always the way?
   Bastards. I'd like to invent a siege engine that would thin out their ranks a little.
A what engine?