It often strikes me as a profound tragedy that so many Malawians find it almost impossible to believe in the scientific achievements of the recent past, such as the remarkable fact that men actually set foot on the moon during the 1960s and 70s. To present to them the idea that a spacecraft launched decades ago has now left the confines of our solar system and is destined to roam endlessly through the vastness of space for thousands of years is beyond their wildest disbelief. Suggest this, and you run the very real risk of being branded as someone lacking in soundness of mind or accused of spinning wild tales. Yet, and this is where the irony is almost painful, the very same people will swallow some of the inane and absurd beliefs without hesitation or question.
For instance, many have no trouble believing that a maize mill — a heavy and power-hungry machine — runs entirely on human power. They do not find it strange that for such a mill to function, people supposedly “kill” their relatives and place them inside the machine so that it can be set in motion. The willingness to accept such tales defies all common sense. Likewise, it is universally accepted without question that an elderly person in the village instructs youths in the dark and ancient art of witchcraft, passing down mysterious knowledge that no outsider could hope to comprehend. Most disturbingly, far too many believe that the body parts of persons with albinism possess supernatural powers that can bring wealth to whoever possesses them.
Our collective belief system is, to put it mildly, severely warped and distorted. This is not mere scepticism or mild disbelief — it is a fundamental misalignment with logic and reason. Take the maize mill motor, for example: it typically has a power rating of fifteen or more horsepower. Meanwhile, the best a human being can manage over a sustained period is somewhere around half a horsepower — and that is the feat of a well-trained cyclist, capable of maintaining 0.5 to 0.53 horsepower for roughly an hour or more. It beggars belief to imagine that a 15-horsepower machine could ever be powered or driven by the paltry strength of a human exerting just a fraction of that. Simply put, the claim that a 15-horsepower machine depends on a 0.5-horsepower human being to grind maize is utterly illogical and contradicts everything we know about physics and mechanics. The absence of clear thinking on this issue is truly baffling.
Equally misguided are the many claims circulating in various traditional medicine circles that certain potions, herbs, or charms can magically confer wealth upon those who use them. I have encountered countless ‘medicine people’ hawking all manner of potions and animal parts — faint promises that these objects will transform an ordinary person into someone fabulously rich. Yet the purveyors themselves live in humble conditions, showing no sign whatsoever of the riches they promise to bestow. They appear as far removed as one could imagine from the likes of Elon Musk, a global titan of wealth, or Aliko Dangote, Africa’s wealthiest individual. Surely, it would be far wiser to seek guidance from individuals who have actually attained great material success — to listen to the habits, disciplines, and choices that have propelled them to such heights — rather than chasing after dubious claims involving the grotesque theft of body parts from vulnerable people with albinism. Such grim ideas belong to the realm of absurdity and moral depravity.
Science and technology, while certainly not perfect and far from free of error, provide the best tools we have for explaining the natural world and improving human life. Scientific explanations and technological solutions invite critical examination and rigorous testing. If one is dissatisfied with a particular theory or method, one is free to propose alternatives and evaluate them with the same critical tools. This openness to review and improvement is central to scientific progress. It stands in stark contrast to superstition, which often rests on dogma and unquestionable beliefs, and represents little more than a refusal or unwillingness to think critically.
Those who promote superstitions often assert that they have received special knowledge in dreams from deceased ancestors or discovered secrets from the unlikeliest of places, such as the depths of the ocean. These claims are designed precisely to make others believe that they are beings of extraordinary insight — people who possess access to hidden truths beyond ordinary human experience. Yet this supposed uniqueness is a cloak that too often hides ignorance and fear.