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Science, what are it's strengths and weaknesses? (piefed.world)
submitted 15 hours ago* (last edited 7 hours ago) by to c/asklemmy@lemmy.world
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One strength : we can do it in groups.

One weakness : uses models.

What's up with the downvotes. Did I accidentally contradict a dogma?

Ok, allow me to explicitly state the popular belief that I seem to be contradicting here.

Science is perfect. It has no weaknesses.

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[+] [S] -8 points 14 hours ago* (13 children)

We humans can use models but we don't have to. There are other options like gut, intuition, convention, habit, aesthetic, vibe..

Science, after the experiment, is all models, tho.

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  • [–] 4 points 9 hours ago

    Gut, intuition, convention, habit, aesthetic, and vibe are all examples of unconscious or unexamined models. Habit, for instance, is when one's unconscious mind has a model that says that a certain sequence of actions leads to a rewarding sensation.

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  • [–] 10 points 14 hours ago* (last edited 13 hours ago) (8 children)

    Any part of your brain that makes a decision is modeling the world. Anything that causes you to feel surprise is modeling the world. A plant that turns its leaves toward the sun is modeling the world. A bacterium that follows a nutrient gradient is modeling the world.

    Nothing can live without modeling its world.

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  • [–] [S] -5 points 14 hours ago (6 children)

    Let's start with observation.The rest is debatable.

    I doubt that modelling is necessary. In fact that assertion contradicts my own observation.

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  • [–] 5 points 14 hours ago (5 children)

    Your mental model is wrong.

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  • [–] [S] -2 points 13 hours ago (4 children)

    Spoken like a true believer :)

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  • [–] 3 points 13 hours ago* (3 children)

    I make no bones about that. There is science and there is ignorance.

    Also I would point out that you have a mental model of what a true believer is. I have one, too. And according to my model, there is no insult in believing something that can be established by evidence.

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  • [–] [S] 0 points 12 hours ago* (2 children)

    But what is established (a model) and the evidence (observed phenomena) are qualitatively differ. Extremely so. So there is that vast loss in the translation.

    One sketches a banana and, examining the sketch, concludes that bananas are 2d.

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  • [–] 2 points 12 hours ago (1 child)

    If one is an idiot, yes.

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  • [–] [S] 0 points 12 hours ago

    It's a metaphor. It illustrates the failing of models. Consider how your models might similarly fail. But beyond that detail, the fact remains, in the translation from observation to model there is a world of loss.

    One cannot eat the word "banana" and gain nutrition, after all. I think we can agree on that.

    And look how this conversation has digressed from a listing of science's strengths and weaknesses into a defense of science and a trouncing of the unbeliever. Emotional. Unattractive.

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  • [–] 7 points 14 hours ago (1 child)

    There are other options like gut, intuition, convention, habit, aesthetic, vibe..

    Your feelings are important, but they do not determine what is true. In fact, they can often lead you away from truth. Are you familiar with confirmation bias? You might see what you want to see and believe you are correct even if your gut feeling is wrong. That is why we test it with measurable criteria.

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