Why Science is Never Settled

By Roberts, Tedd

Book Id: WPLBN0003548827
Format Type: PDF eBook:
File Size: 0.9 MB
Reproduction Date: 2014

Title:	Why Science is Never Settled
Author:	Roberts, Tedd
Volume:
Language:	English
Subject:	Nonfiction, Science, Essay
Collections:	Science Fiction Collection, Baen Library Collection
Historic Publication Date:	2014
Publisher:	Baen Publishing Enterprises


Citation APA MLA Chicago Roberts, B. T. (2014). Why Science is Never Settled. Retrieved from http://www.gutenberg.cc/

Description
Description: This article goes into detail about why science is a constant never ending process in discovering new things in many different areas.

Summary
Summary: This is curiously at odds with a society that simultaneously praises and distrusts science. We live in an age filled with the wonders of scientific advancement –- from medical/health care, to computers, to self-driving cars –- yet we also have groups that loudly proclaim their distrust of anything technological or scientific and turn toward mystical and superstitious explanations instead. But this is not intended as a political rant, and I am not necessarily referring to the groups and actions that you might infer from the title or previous statements. Read on, and let's look at what science is, who scientists are, and examine the ways in which Science, as a field, makes mistakes, changes its mind, and arrives at its findings. We will then compare and contrast those observations with the quasi-religious approach which declares that the scientific evidence for or against a particular subject is settled, that there is consensus among all right-thinking scientists who support that view, and that the opposition are not real scientists at all.

Excerpt
Excerpt: Science is a process, not a conclusion -– you'll read that quite often in this article and in my other writing. I think that the exact wording is original to me, but it may have already escaped my control and entered the 'net at large, given that I use it quite often. I have a small plaque in my academic office which states: Research is the process of going up alleys to see if they are blind. [I may have to use that in a title someday.] My graduate research mentor claimed that the plaque should read Science is the process of going blindly to see if there are alleys.

Table of Contents
Table of Contents: