Articles

The Intersection of Science and Logic

Categories: Business Management, ISSA Insights

Science: The intellectual and practical activity encompassing the systematic study of the structure and behavior of the physical and natural world through observation and experiment.

Logic: Reasoning conducted or assessed according to strict principles of validity.

—definitions from Oxford Languages.

How do we arrive at the intersection of science and logic and use both of them in the cleaning industry to advance clean, drive innovation, and change the way the world views cleaning?

I like using analogies or comparisons. One of my favorites involves carpet cleaning equipment and how cleaning professionals should choose the machine (tool) used based on what they are cleaning (small room versus an airport concourse). We make the comparison (analogy) to mowing grass (the task). Sure, a small battery-powered mower (tool) works fine on a small front yard the size of a postage stamp, but if you are mowing down acres of lawn, you want something (bigger tool) that is more practical.

Science is an intellectual tool to determine best practices and prove what the facts are about a certain task or activity, such as cleaning and disinfecting.

Some things are just plain logical, like washing your hands. We know we should wash our hands, the science proves we should wash our hands, and those who are logical wash their hands. It seems silly to keep telling each other to wash our hands.

But I digress. Let’s get back on track. The science tells us what and why. The logic tells us how. It guides us in implementation—the action plan. Here are a few examples. I’ll start with an easy one and work my way to industry application.

Science: Gravity pulls objects having mass towards each other.
Logic: Avoid falling off the roof.

Science: Face coverings (masks) help protect people in a specific radius from getting infected.
Logic: Wear your face coverings.

Science: Cleaning and disinfecting create healthier surfaces and indoor environments.
Logic: Do more cleaning and disinfecting.

The intersection of science and logic. It’s a good place to be. We have the science. What we need is logic to go along with it.

That’s logical, right? 

For more Straight Talk! from ISSA Media, be sure to visit the webcast’s portal at issa.com/straight-talk. 

About the Author.

Jeff Cross is the ISSA media director, with media brands that include ISSA Today, Cleaning & Maintenance Management, and Cleanfax. He can be reached at [email protected] or 740-973-4236.