There must be enormous numbers of planets around the stars in the many galaxies in our observable universe. We may be sure that wonderful things are happening on these planets that the human race never will observe.
Jim PeeblesRead
We often say that our science is objective and accurate, but we don't often say that our science is incomplete - that although the established parts of natural science are very well tested and the evidence makes a compelling case for things being as they've been described, there nevertheless are open questions that we cannot answer.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Science is often viewed as complete and objective, but many questions remain unanswered.
In this quote, Jim Peebles emphasizes that while we may perceive scientific knowledge as objective and thoroughly validated, it is crucial to acknowledge its inherent limitations. He reminds us that despite the robustness of established scientific theories and the compelling evidence supporting them, there remain numerous unanswered questions that highlight the incomplete nature of our understanding of the natural world.
Themes
ScienceKnowledgeIncompletenessQuestionsUnderstanding
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about the importance of scientific research funding.
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Most Jupiter-sized planets orbit the mother star in a highly elliptical orbit. This means they will often cross the orbit of any Earth-like planet and fling it into outer space, making life impossible. But our Jupiter travels in a near-perfect circular orbit, preventing a collision with any Earth-like planet, making life possible.
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When I meet God, I am going to ask him two questions: Why relativity ? And why turbulence ? I really believe he will have an answer for the first.
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Michael FaradayRead
I told him that for a modern scientist, practicing experimental research, the least that could be said, is that we do not know. But I felt that such a negative answer was only part of the truth. I told him that in this universe in which we live, unbounded in space, infinite in stored energy and, who knows, unlimited in time, the adequate and positive answer, according to my belief, is that this universe may, also, possess infinite potentialities.
Albert ClaudeRead
Where we have good, testable explanations, they then have to be tested, and we drop the ones that fail the tests.
David DeutschRead