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1. aazaa+dy[view] [source] 2020-04-26 23:48:40
>>qqqqqu+(OP)
Sort of meta, but I always shudder when someone says that science has "proven" something.

What sets science apart from most other methods of seeking answers is its focus on disproof. Your goal as a scientist is to devise experiments that can disprove a claim about the natural world.

This misconception rears its head most prominently in discussions at the intersection between science and public policy. Climate change. How to handle a pandemic. Evolution. Abortion. But I've even talked to scientists themselves who from time to time get confused about what science can and can't do.

The problem with believing that science proves things is that it blinds its adherents to new evidence paving the way to better explanations. It also leads to the absurd conclusion that a scientific question can ever really be "settled."

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2. Goblin+gP1[view] [source] 2020-04-27 14:45:52
>>aazaa+dy
> Your goal as a scientist is to devise experiments that can disprove a claim about the natural world.

If this claim was true, it would disallow science to make true claims, because no experiments can disprove such claims. Truth is a delicate matter and can't be handled by simple methods. Questions may not be settled, but they can be difficult to challenge.

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3. alphyd+a62[view] [source] 2020-04-27 16:31:26
>>Goblin+gP1
> it would disallow science to make true claims

Isn't that exactly how science work? It does not make true claims. It produces statements with disclaimers. If this and this then Y is true, as long as we don't observe Y.

You cannot use the scientific method to definitely say: "X is true".

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