Why can't scientists show some humility?

Question

Seriously, shouldn't science texts be peppered with the phrases "As far as we know..." "our best guess is...." or "we think..." when it comes to things like the age of the universe, how long the sun will last, man can't travel faster than the speed of light, etc.

If we can't be 100% sure about something, and it's a theory, why treat it like fact instead letting people know it can still be questioned and challenged and in fact SHOULD be questioned and challenged!

Long live Karl Popper!

Answer 1

The question can be  an open challenge for our modern scientists of our universe During 1960-62,the history of science(Physics) was written and it is clearly stated that fundamental fact of universe is Death but science cannot forcast it: Death will occur at a particular place & time.Accordingly, Science is not the  fundamental truth. There is uncertainty in scientific phenomena such as in the Prediction of Earth Quakes,Heart attack,Weather Forcasting etc. However,there is uncertainty Phenomenon in Physics which cannot be proved practically yet.On the otherhand,our present Scientists are away from truth & honesty than  20 years ago when the computer technology has come to in force and thinking power of persons have come down.If some one has any question about it you can contact:[e-mail]. Moreover,the efforts are being made to provide uncertainty free phenomena in science as well as open question in Logic: There is no always output for any input(the present work y=f(x)) in computer sciences. In conclusion, the questioner has stated the fact about science of our present time and it cannot be challenged by any one as  above given examples in sciences. If such fundamental truth & honesty would disappear on our universe then there mighty be very serious danger of universal Peace either by Natural Disastor(Earth Quakes,Tsunami etc) or World War etc. It is our great honor & pleasure  and we should thanks to Yahoo Q/A permits us to ask such questions and its  answers.Thanks to the questioner for an important and interesting question for our universal people.

Answer 2

Aren't your textbooks expensive enough? If we had to add disclaimers to every statement, your textbook costs would go up 25% or thereabouts. The first thing that you should have learned in science class is that you can never be 100% sure about anything.

Answer 3

No one is more aware than scientists themselves how tenuous scientific knowledge is, and how susceptible to challenge.  During the first lecture I attended as a graduate student, the professor said, "Remember all those things we told you were so when you were a undergraduate?  Maybe not!"

This information is usually discussed during more advanced classes, however.  On the secondary and undergraduate levels, the emphasis is on providing the students with a body of knowledge, a foundation in the subject.  It wouldn't be reasonable to confuse students who are young in the field with all the controversies that abound.

Also, you are not reading the actual research, you are reading distillations of research filtered through textbook authors and journalists.  Since they are trying to make the material accessible to people who are not well-versed in the field, they may have to oversimplify and make our understanding sound more secure than it really is.

Answer 4

Its like the old joke whats the difference between god and a scientist..........god doesn't think he is a scientist

Answer 5

i completely agree with you

i have also thought about it......

The facts that we were 100% sure about like few centuries ago  are myths now

but they should not be necesarily be challenged

they can be challenged only if u have some proof against these pre existing facts or theories

Answer 6

While I do not know who Karl Popper is, I fully agree with you.

It is both absurd and preposterous to assume we know anything to an extent that we can give difinitive answers, but unfortunately, that is the way it has always been...

The folly of man's traditions!

I am sure that there would still be a few scientists claim the earth is flat if we didn't have full pan pictures of the earth!

Answer 7

it's true.  biologists are particularly bad for thinking that their solutions are above challenge.  evolutionary biology?  comparative biology?  arts at best and opinion at worst.  there are lots of people making claims about biology to advance their own agendas these days.  but scientists get their paychecks from the military, and the corruption begins to seep in.  they speak with the authority of false priests.

Answer 8

scientist are arrogant cos science its all they have, they dont get any s*x

Answer 9

good point, makes you wonder though, do they actually know and just do not want to tell as it may result in something unfavorable to them, or the world in general?  im really with you on this one, it does not make sense to me, but then again not much does.