Wednesday, April 01, 2009

Science is eminently useful, but it's still a belief system.

Why science doesn't make sense - Telegraph:
"Wouldn't it be great if science was a cool, logical process? If you could work out how the universe ticks without making the chilling discovery that most of it is missing? Or if, when you were investigating the placebo effect, you didn't find that some licensed drugs only work when you know you're taking them?

Unfortunately, as these examples show, things don't often work as neatly as scientists might like. Doing science is messy and difficult – and that's before you factor in its human side. Jealous rivals, journal editors who think your subject is a joke, or colleagues with a lot to lose if your latest discovery pans out: other people can all make the scientific life a difficult one...."

But of course, Robert Anton Wilson told us all this years and years ago...

The New Inquisition by Robert Anton Wilson - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:
"The New Inquisition is the author's term for what he refers to as a tendency within mainstream science to forbid certain forms of theories from being classed as 'science.' He cites the cases of Wilhelm Reich, Rupert Sheldrake, and the Mars effect controversy, among others, in support of a central claim that a materialist bias within the scientific community has led to some speculations and theories being unjustly thought of as unscientific."

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