Sunday, September 5, 2010

How (if at all) is Science Limited?

Science seems like an absolute truth in terms of how the universe works. If you are standing on the ground and you jump, you will inevitably fall back to the ground. If you depress your brakes, the friction will cause your car to slow down. We all believe that these are laws of the universe which cannot be broken. No matter how many times you jump in the air, you will always come down.
As science advances and more accurate methods of measurement are devised our whole concept of what it true can sometimes change. Each of these "laws" are only hypothesis's that after taking into account all of our knowledge at the time seem like the most likely reason for things happening the way they do. When scientists discover that one of the methods of measurement is incorrect or could be wrong then a new hypothesis is formed and sometimes agreed upon sometimes debated for quite sometimes.
The only limitation to science is that we can never be certain what we've gotten wrong. The uncertainty is also the beauty of science. Nothing is good enough; there is no perfect answer, only a better reason. Science will always change and always get more and more precise.

"Opinion: The Limitations of Science." Time in Partnership with CNN 07 May 1965: n. pag. Web. 5 Sep 2010. .

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