On Sun, 3 Feb 2019 at 16:14, Kiran K Karthikeyan < [email protected]> wrote:
> This thread has had me huffing and puffing (or perhaps hand wringing) for > a while, but the topic is such that any response can be countered. A proper > discussion on the various nuances of each cited instance where science has > apparently failed is one I am woefully inadequate for. Therefore, I say my > piece: > > One of the few things that has stuck with me since my school days is the > concept of significant figures [1]. There are more details to this concept, > but in the context of this discussion what is relevant is that an accurate > measurement [2] would run into infinite significant figures. In other > words, we would need infinite resolution in the measuring instrument to > make an accurate measurement. > > So the fact that science is approximate, imprecise etc. is a fair > complaint if the goal is accuracy, but accuracy is not practical. I am glad > some wise humans decided I should be told this sooner than later. Instead > we have the scientific method, peer review etc. which is probably the best > that we humans have come up with to deal with the infinitely complex > universe we live in. > > This leads me to the point I'm trying to make - the reason to accept > science and its findings, warts and all, is simply because we are human and > the scientific method is the best method of enquiry we have at our > disposal. This obviously doesn't mean blind acceptance, but it does mean we > ask for a preponderance of evidence which peer review (sometimes) supplies. > The system is not perfect but that is a problem with actors in it who are > unfortunately human. > Should add here, just in the interest of completeness, that time is also an actor here that leads us to accept approximations i.e. should we wait 10-20 years for conclusive data on a vaccine for a disease that will become a pandemic in months. > Add to this the last para of Heather's response on whether we can ever > truly know something. > > [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Significant_figures > [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accuracy_and_precision >
