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Scientific method serves to develop progressively more accurate theories by testing hypotheses and discarding those that do not stand up to scrutiny. It "change
by silentbicycle 18y ago
Scientific method serves to develop progressively more accurate theories by testing hypotheses and discarding those that do not stand up to scrutiny. It "changes opinion" because while scientific understanding is influenced by intellectual trends, cultural dogma, political pressure to manufacture evidence, etc., its fundamental emphasis on testing works as a corrective force in the long run. (As Kuhn noted in _The Structure of Scientific Revolutions_, if the old generation refuses to let go of old models a generation may pass before new ideas are really accepted, but such change can be measured in years rather than millennia.)
- lst 18y agoOnly few scientists are sincere to themselves -- most are following some ideology, and so they are highly biased...
- silentbicycle 18y agoSometimes true, but science has self-correcting measures that compensate for this eventually. In contrast, religion could (in these terms) be characterized as a process in which someone has a revelation and tries to pass it on, it gradually becomes distorted through transmission, and there are recurring attempts to return to the original vision.
- lst 18y ago> Sometimes true, but science has self-correcting measures that compensate for this eventually. I completely agree: but sometimes you have to wait centuries for this to happen...
- silentbicycle 18y agoBut it actually happens, which is pretty remarkable in light of the rest of human history.