I read all the comments and there's a connection with some of them. I think it's, like the band himself stated, critique on the corruption of science in general. I found out about the song and also the band through Breaking Bad which I only recently started watching, so my thoughts are necessarily colored by the series' premise, and.. honestly, it's incredible how much of the lyrics directly connect with the story in that episode. If I didn't knew better, I'd say the song was made for Breaking Bad specifically.
But there are some things that make me think it's about science in general. 100 years ago (consecutively, steampunk "setting") people were convinced science would give them near godlike powers, and Earth would be transformed into paradise. Optimism was great - the "modern" period. Then everything bad in 20. cent. happened - two WW's, economic crises, pollution... Science didn't solve problems, it just made new ones, great suffering and disparity still remain a problem for many people. Ours are the post-modern times. And stance on science changed. It became almost corporate entity, almost everything is for the money. Profitable researchers and projects acquire funds, those that don't make money, just "academic" ones don't, wither and die out. How deep have we fallen from one Tesla, Galilei, or Aristotles to falsifying research data to bring a drug on market quicker than competition, how many researches work on petty aesthetic surgeries vs. obscure disease research/NASA, how much resources does military research devour, etc, etc, etc..
tl;dr: So after that long rant, here are my clues for corruption of science theory:
First two strophes have many verses with the same structure - first a broad scientific term (trying to reconstruct the air, oxidation, forcing a fire, methods, vacuum..) and directly opposed to them something negative ( trying to reconstruct something, forced compromises, falsifying deeds, disconnection from all creeds, fortune (opposed to scientific certainty)..
Also the whole this strophe:
Eternalised. Objectified. (scientist's job)
You set your sights so high. (see e.g. A.C. Clarke's scientific optimism, or general stence to science on the beginning of century, or in the 60.)
But this is beginning to feel like
the bolt busted loose from the lever (overuse, Oppenheimer's "I have become death, destroyer of worlds", our scientific knowledge expanded, but our ethics, psychology and empathy remained the same caveman-like)
Never you mind
Death professor
Your structure's fine
My dust is better
Your victim flies so high
All to catch a bird's eye view of who's next (reference on drugs maybe. Many of today's illegal drugs emanated from common medical drugs - cocaine (from south American coca plant which natives chewed and used as anesthetic and for blood-clothing), opium for antidepressant, LSD, meths, and not to forget medical weed)
Never you mind
Death professor.
Your shocks are fine,
My struts are better.
Your fiction flies so high,
Y'all could use a doctor
Who's sick, who's next? (psychology maybe; unnecessary shock treatments in 50. and 60., self-help/10-step industry which offers quick solutions to great psychological problems and so in the long run doesn't help a lot if at all.. and earns tons of money in the process, reality ruled by political correctness, politeness and similar buzzwords, but actually inhumane, distant, cold and somewhat crazy - movie American beauty comes to mind - you/we all could use a doctor)
I read all the comments and there's a connection with some of them. I think it's, like the band himself stated, critique on the corruption of science in general. I found out about the song and also the band through Breaking Bad which I only recently started watching, so my thoughts are necessarily colored by the series' premise, and.. honestly, it's incredible how much of the lyrics directly connect with the story in that episode. If I didn't knew better, I'd say the song was made for Breaking Bad specifically. But there are some things that make me think it's about science in general. 100 years ago (consecutively, steampunk "setting") people were convinced science would give them near godlike powers, and Earth would be transformed into paradise. Optimism was great - the "modern" period. Then everything bad in 20. cent. happened - two WW's, economic crises, pollution... Science didn't solve problems, it just made new ones, great suffering and disparity still remain a problem for many people. Ours are the post-modern times. And stance on science changed. It became almost corporate entity, almost everything is for the money. Profitable researchers and projects acquire funds, those that don't make money, just "academic" ones don't, wither and die out. How deep have we fallen from one Tesla, Galilei, or Aristotles to falsifying research data to bring a drug on market quicker than competition, how many researches work on petty aesthetic surgeries vs. obscure disease research/NASA, how much resources does military research devour, etc, etc, etc..
tl;dr: So after that long rant, here are my clues for corruption of science theory: First two strophes have many verses with the same structure - first a broad scientific term (trying to reconstruct the air, oxidation, forcing a fire, methods, vacuum..) and directly opposed to them something negative ( trying to reconstruct something, forced compromises, falsifying deeds, disconnection from all creeds, fortune (opposed to scientific certainty).. Also the whole this strophe: Eternalised. Objectified. (scientist's job) You set your sights so high. (see e.g. A.C. Clarke's scientific optimism, or general stence to science on the beginning of century, or in the 60.) But this is beginning to feel like the bolt busted loose from the lever (overuse, Oppenheimer's "I have become death, destroyer of worlds", our scientific knowledge expanded, but our ethics, psychology and empathy remained the same caveman-like)
Never you mind Death professor Your structure's fine My dust is better Your victim flies so high All to catch a bird's eye view of who's next (reference on drugs maybe. Many of today's illegal drugs emanated from common medical drugs - cocaine (from south American coca plant which natives chewed and used as anesthetic and for blood-clothing), opium for antidepressant, LSD, meths, and not to forget medical weed)
Never you mind Death professor. Your shocks are fine, My struts are better. Your fiction flies so high, Y'all could use a doctor Who's sick, who's next? (psychology maybe; unnecessary shock treatments in 50. and 60., self-help/10-step industry which offers quick solutions to great psychological problems and so in the long run doesn't help a lot if at all.. and earns tons of money in the process, reality ruled by political correctness, politeness and similar buzzwords, but actually inhumane, distant, cold and somewhat crazy - movie American beauty comes to mind - you/we all could use a doctor)
+1000 That's the whole point, love that u mention great Tesla ;)
+1000 That's the whole point, love that u mention great Tesla ;)