TED Conversations

Anisha Rikhy

This conversation is closed. Start a new conversation
or join one »

to what extent can science be considered as a biased way of obtaining knowledge?

Although we all tend to believe scientific discoveries, to what extent are we being manipulated to do so? Can scientists be using the confirm bias explanation to prove their theories right ? In the world today, several theories continue to be proved wrong, what does this say about science ? Thus, is science any more reliable than history ?

Topics: Bias Science Global issues history science
0
Share:

Showing single comment thread. View the full conversation.

  • thumb

    Ram Sidh

    • +1
    Dec 18 2011: Science is one of the most important facets of our everyday experience in life, as the understanding of the workings and interactions between matter and energy is what helps us live the lifestyle we have today. But, as I said so, science has really no explanation for why things happen the way they happen, or why things should happen at all, why there should be only 16 known elementary particles, four being gauge bosons or force-carriers while the rest have to constitute the particles that produce these particles. Where does the force that manipulates these so-called 'elementary particles' come from? See, science is merely a vague approximation of natural events and is nothing more. Of course science has provided us with in-depth knowledge of nature, but without the why and with just the how, you can't really understand nature. I will give you an example of how science has a tendency to 'create' new theories to fit gray areas in other theories. Almost all of the time these 'spontaneously created new theories' are somewhat vague and almost indistinguishably resemble pure fiction. These can be seen in the case of dark energy and dark matter. Even more so when we read up on the particle physics concepts of strings and membranes, where scientists describe our entire three-dimensional universe as being a rolled-up twinkie stuck in a nine-dimensional membrane. Even with these defects in science, science has made amazing new progresses that even I myself appreciate greatly.

Showing single comment thread. View the full conversation.