Unit 2 Lesson 4 The Limitations of Science

Unit 2 Lesson 4 The Limitations of Science

BELLRINGER - Quiz 2. 7 Lowell’s observations of Mars were used to support a theory that has been demonstrated to be false. Are those observations therefore worthless? 2. 8 What caused BCS theory to become accepted as the proper scientific explanation for superconductivity?

IV. The Limitations of Science Introduction Now that you have seen some instances in which the scientific method failed to produce reliable conclusions, it seems only natural to discuss the limitations of science. Although science is incredibly interesting and has helped us greatly in our understanding of how the world works, it is not flawless. As I mentioned at the beginning of this unit, science cannot prove anything. It can provide evidence that a certain idea is true, but it cannot prove the idea. It is also not 100 percent reliable. As the history of science clearly shows, scientific theories and laws can be overthrown as the result of new information and ideas. A.

Limitations of Science B. Three limitations of science: 1. Science cannot prove anything 2. Science is not 100% reliable. 3. Must conform to the scientific method.

Limitation of Science C. What Science can do: 1. Some people have a very limited view of science say that science cannot be used to study anything we do not observe happening today. a. Ex. We can use science to study how cancer forms in the body and how to cure it since we see cancer affecting people every day. We can also design experiments in which we observe whether or not proposed cures actually work. However, these same people saw that we cannot use science to examine questions such as the age of the earth, how life originated on earth, or how the earth was formed. After all, they say, no one was around to observe these events.

Limitations of Science b. Remember the only limitations to science are that in cannot prove anything, it is not 100% reliable, and it must conform to the scientific method. -Can we apply the scientific method to the questions we just talked about? Of course! - We cannot observe the formation of the earth, but we can certainly observe the structure and composition of the earth. We can then form a hypothesis about how the earth came into existence. We can then do more experiments on the earth to learn more about its structure. The data collected from those experiments can be used to test the hypothesis. The hypothesis might have to be refined, but eventually, it might become a theory. More experiments on the structure of the earth can be done, and one day, theory might even become a law.

Limitations of Science In the end, then, science is not limited to answering only certain questions. If we apply the scientific method properly, we can use science to attempt to answer virtually any question. You must realize, however, that any answer you get from science is tentative. It can always be demonstrated to be wrong.

Limitations of Science n n n So what can you do with science? You can study virtually anything and attempt to answer virtually any question. As long as you adhere to the scientific method, you will be using science. You must remember, however, that no matter how well you apply the scientific method, your conclusions could be wrong. The more scientific evidence you have to support your hypothesis or theory, the less likely it is that your conclusions are wrong. Nevertheless, science is not 100% reliable and cannot prove anything. Thus, your conclusions are always subject to change.