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NancyLebovitz comments on What truths are actually taboo? - Less Wrong Discussion
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Science really doesn't know everything.
Scientists rarely perform actual science.
What do you have in mind for actual science?
Aiming to falsify ideas rather than confirm them would be a nice start; that seems to be the most common rut.
How is this a forbidden discussion topic? Most of the public agree with this sentiment, and so do the scientists. Do LWers think otherwise?
From the OP:
I thought it was amusing that someone could wreck their credibility so quickly by saying something so obviously true.
There might be some markers which would indicate whether someone is heading off into nonsense with a claim that scientists don't have a complete understanding of the universe. Personifying science might be one of the markers.
Right, that's the OP's point.
I can count on one hand the number of times that I've heard someone worth listening to say "well, science doesn't know everything" in response to anything I've said or heard someone else say.
If the conversation goes:
A: I believe X.
B: X is contradicted by (citation to some study).
A: Well, science doesn't know everything.
then there is essentially no chance A has anything interesting to say about empirical topics - at least those unrelated to that person's job.
Tone matters here. Whoever says it as if any scientist were under the opposite impression has some serious problems.
Sometimes, saying something true is excellent evidence for believing falsehoods. Sometimes, giving knowledge is excellent evidence of ignorance. See Rand Paul's recent performance at Howard.
Yes, but they agree in different ways. As Dara O Briain says, "Science knows it doesn't know everything; otherwise, it'd stop." But the phrase "science doesn't know everything" in common usage has more to do with filling the gap with whatever fairy tale the speaker is fond of.