Why can't Science give us Absolute Answers?
Our modern world is full of engineering marvels crafted with great precision. Science seems to have the answer to everything, but at a fundamental level, science cannot give us absolute answers.Science is the systematic study of natural phenomena. The scientific method, which is the foundation of science, is an iteration towards perfection without ever achieving it. The scientific method has basically four steps consisting of 1) observation and description, 2) formulation of a hypothesis to explain the observation, 3) use of the hypothesis to predict other phenomena, and 4) perform new experiments to verify the predictions. This is a never-ending cycle that gets us closer and closer to the truth.
The reason that science cannot give us absolute answers is that there are limits to what we can observe and measure. The Heisenberg uncertainty principle is a mathematical formulation that describes the limits of our ability to perceive. The inability to measure with absolute precision means that science cannot give us absolutely precise answers. Another obstacle to our pursuit of absolute answers is that the scientific method only applies to reproducible events. Events for which it is not possible to formulate a hypothesis will forever remain outside the domain of science.
The scientific method, which has its origins in the 17th century, has served mankind well. Our modern civilization would not exist without it. Modern humans have been around for around 60,000 years, but the greatest advances in science have been made only in the last 400 years as logical thinking has gradually replaced mysticism and obscurantism.
© Copyright - Antonio Zamora
