Limits of science

It’s definitely not anti-science to think about limits of science. Yes, there are limits as our brain is limited in physical capacity, processing speed but also in understanding complex relationships. The WSJ had a warning earlier this year about treating science as ideology written by Sue Desmond-Hellmann, the current CEO of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Skepticism is the lifeblood of scientific progress. By constantly asking whether there is a different answer, a better approach or an alternative view, scientists drive improvements and innovations that ultimately benefit everyone. It is not “antiscience” to be skeptical—it’s definitively pro-science… Valuing beliefs over science manifests itself as cynicism at best, denialism at worst. Scientists talk about skepticism to assert that nothing should be accepted or rejected without considerable evidence …. What is undeniable is that the scientific breakthroughs in which we invest, …, help people around the world survive and thrive. How many more people benefit—and how quickly—will depend in part on public confidence in science. We can rebuild that confidence by uniting around the qualities of the scientific method. As the name suggests, the scientific method is not a belief system, it is a practice. We would all benefit from more practice.