sicist’s Conception of Nature (1955) by Werner Heisenberg
The nature of science is that prevailing theories are constantly being superseded by better theories, and only remain true within certain validities. It is foolhardy at best to treat science as a panacea for all of life’s maladies, because there are limits to the things that science can describe. This is an important framework especially when presented with information like miracle cures, because each problem has its own separate cause, and cannot be brushed aside with the same brushstroke.
The problem with putting science on a pedestal is that one will get stuck in a closed feedback loop and dismissing other theories as wrong. Science is a continuous endeavour, and should be treated as such. On one hand, it is all too common for people on comment sections to constantly rely on science to back up every possible argument, from the anti-vaccination movement to flat-earth societies. On the other hand, there have been theories which have been considered absolutely preposterous historically that have been proven to be the keys to unlock previously impenetrable gateways. The textbook example of that would be the cosmological constant, which Einstein reportedly said was his “greatest blunder”. It is now used as a way to track fluctuations in space and the mysterious “dark energy”.
This is especially prevalent when (pseudo-)intellectuals try to advance their personal ideologies in the name of “science”. One only need recall the way the Nazi regime misused genetics to support a racist “science” to see this in action. Another area one can see it today is in militant atheism and overzealous religious apostles, both of whom can be guilty of pushing for an agenda under the veil of cosmology or advocating for creationism at the expense of evolution. By insisting on their viewpoints and not giving others the benefit of the doubt, it is difficult to progress in knowledge. Science should be conscious of its limits, and we should be too. Treading the middle ground through blind faith in science and reckless skepticism is the mark of a scholar.
The textbook example of that would be the cosmological constant, which Einstein reportedly said was his “greatest blunder”. It is now used as a way to track fluctuations in space and the mysterious “dark energy”.
After deconstructing the nature of scientific pursuits, how then should we gain insight from the sciences? The answer lies at the starting point, the original intention of the scientific method — rational skepticism. By treating what you read online as data, perform experiments by measuring it against other sources, and analyse the data through the filters of logical analysis before finally deciding if the information is accurate. If this seems like a lot of work, it is. As the Chinese proverb goes, the acquisition of knowledge is like rowing against the waves.
Therefore, scientific information presented should be treated with a certain level of skepticism, and should not simply be taken as a monolithic truth. This is not to say, however, that we should not trust science completely. We just have to be more stringent in our absorption of information, and to do the due diligence before accepting what is being transmitted. Science is an ongoing pursuit of knowledge and truth, and should not be treated as a closed area of knowledge in which the last full stop is final.
About the author:
Nicholas Lim is the co-founder and lead editor of Cogito. His bachelor’s thesis was on the hierarchy problem and supersymmetry, and he hopes to pursue a Ph.D in the near future.
References can be requested at email@example.com
Featured image: The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp by Rembrandt
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