It may sound strange to talk about science in a politico-economic Libertarian blog, but in the following postings we will show how relevant this topic truly is.
In a nutshell, science is a process that tries to create models describing how the world (or the universe) works. If you prefer a convoluted definition please see Wikipedia Science.
Science is not a religion.
Science is not an does not provide neither certainty nor truth.
Actually, science is wrong all the time and it is so by definition. How is that?
Simple, as mentioned before, science creates models of reality. Reality itself (the real thing) is infinitely more complex than our scientific models are capable of describing. Hence, science is wrong all the time at describing reality. However, this is not to say that scientific models are not useful. They are quite useful.
Scientific models are good enough, for now, to get something done or sufficiently known. This is all it takes to make them useful.
For example: Let’s assume you are supposed to be in the office at 8:00 AM exactly. Your alarm clock is 2 minutes off. Your wristwatch is 7 seconds off. Your car clock is 1 minute and 33 seconds off. The office clock is 2 minutes and 18 seconds off. Given that all these watches and clocks are off from the “real” time, it is virtually impossible for you to arrive at the office at exactly 8:00 AM. You will inevitably arrive a little bit sooner or later. When you arrive, the scientific model will tell you that you are there at about 8:00AM, but you will never be 100% sure of the exact time. But, does it matter? Does it really matter if you arrive at the true 8:00AM or 8:01AM or 7:59 AM? For any intent and purpose, it does not matter. It is good enough being there at about 8:00AM.
And there you have it, the scientific model at work!
Note: please see the Glossary if you are unfamiliar with certain words.
Continue to What is science and how it works – Part 2