Thursday, August 4, 2016

Can We Trust Science?

        I would like to start off by saying that I like science!  I am an analytical, data driven type of person.  I work on computers a lot and I appreciate all the scientific advancements that mankind has made.  Science has produced some really cool technology and other human advancements.  However, we enjoy the benefits of science so much that sometimes we forget to ask the important questions.
     Can we trust Science?  Our culture answers this question with a resounding YES!  We worship all things science.  If a scientific study says something is true, then don't ask questions just believe it!  If you try to challenge the conclusions of science you are insulted and called names.  This position that science has in our culture creates some questions. Do we understand the consequences of worshiping science?

Is it healthy to worship science?
    It is said that a strength of science is that it is "self correcting", meaning eventually the correct conclusion is reached.  However, I see this as a reason for caution.  If science is constantly correcting (a.k.a changing), we cannot tell if we are at the final correct conclusion or just a intermediate conclusion, then how can we so boldly follow and repeat the most recent scientific conclusion!?
   If a nobody like me is aware of our culture's obsession with anything that has the approval stamp of "science", then a lot of much more powerful, dishonest people are aware of this too.  They can easily manipulate huge masses of people by influencing the conclusions of a scientific study, project, or research.  The stamp of "science" is becoming a weapon wielded by all the parties fighting for a foothold in the battle for your mind.
   Part of the reason that our culture puts so much weight on "science" is because they perceive science to be objective, neutral, and less prone to corruption.  However, as I learn more about our world and human thought processes, I think that these perceived qualities of science are very questionable.  Science in its purest, theoretical form, does appear to have these qualities, but in reality our form of science is far from the theoretical and often very distant from its purest form.  A neutral scientist is getting harder and harder to find.

Conclusion
Science is not useless.  Science is great and has contributed greatly to society.  However, science should not be blindly trusted and new information always requires some vetting and a healthy dose of skepticism.  Science is really about man observing creation, learning about how it works, and finding new ways of arranging it so that it benefits man more.  God is the creator of all things and without him science would have nothing for it to study or rearrange.


For Further consideration:

Biblical history and role of science - creation.com
http://creation.com/biblical-history-and-role-of-science

Is Science Bullsh*t? John Oliver Explains The Corruption Behind Scientific Studies | Collective-Evolution
https://www.collective-evolution.com/2016/06/15/is-science-bullshit-john-oliver-explains-the-corruption-behind-scientific-studies/


Wikipedia has a page on scientific misconduct. one person was accused of publishing 90 fraudulent research papers.

Scientific misconduct - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_misconduct -  List of scientific misconduct incidents

The See also section of the above Wikipedia article lists these additional topics:


Same data different interpretations - creation.com
http://creation.com/same-data-different-interpretations 

The Limits of Science | Answers in Genesis
https://answersingenesis.org/what-is-science/the-limits-of-science/
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