by Heath Cleaveland

Created on: June 15, 2009   Last Updated: July 19, 2009

The beautiful thing about science is that when objective evidence comes into the light that contradicts one of its ideas, it actually addresses the new evidence and adjusts accordingly. Science has made a name for itself by predicting events that will definitely occur well in advance and by challenging old ideas, once held as fact. Science has rendered many ideas obsolete and for that we can wonder if science will one day lapse into obscurity itself. Certainly not is the answer.

The central methodology of science is the scientific method. From a hypothesis through experimentation to a theory and finally to a law, the scientific method teaches us that without any supporting evidence we cannot have valid ideas. Truth sustains itself by valid demonstration. Before the scientific method, the ultimate marker of truth was authority, particularly of elders in the church.

The word "science" comes from the Latin "scientia", "knowledge", which is exactly accurate. Anything you can prove beyond a shadow of a doubt is true until proved false in a knowledge-based equation. The terms of science give us the backbone of our legal system (so we think), where evidence of a crime needs to be supported 100% before punishment is levied. Although the actual laws are based on subjective predispositions which remain untested, we can still look to our scientific legal system to generally correctly assess whether a specific law has been broken. Whether that law itself is truly universally applicable or only in America is another question.

In any case, science, knowledge, is a pursuit that knows no limits. There are always new ideas to test and the money to accomplish same is relatively scant. However, that is not to say we have eliminated quacks from science, far from it. As a matter of fact, it is hard to pinpoint what science is truly useful and what is promotional. Medications are routinely rigorously tested when homeopathic remedies and other non-invasive techniques are relatively ignored. We have in the US the impression that if we can't solve our medical issues with a pill, then there needs to be more research. In my opinion, that idea needs to change. Some medical issues are a question of lifestyle and attitude, obesity for instance.

In brief, there is "good" science, which stimulates new technologies, and "bad" science, which proves that wine is healthy when grapes are really just as beneficial if not more (as they occasionally admit in the studies). Science

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