Why does science tend to be a "self-correcting" way of knowing things?

Question

I have a lot of confusion to what this exactly means. All I really need is a short answer or some clue to understanding it. Thanks.

Answer 1

If I understand the practice of science correctly, I believe science is so robust because there's no part of it that can't be questioned. Even a small inconsistency could upset a huge theory, forcing everyone to reassess everything they know.

That's its power. For instance, at the turn of the 20th Century, many (admittedly second-rate) physicists were reportedly complacent that physics had advanced to the point where it might not be possible to improve our understanding of it.

But there was this small problem that concerned the top physicists at that time. Everyone understood that light was a wave, and not a particle. Experiments had demonstrated wave-like properties of light, so science, apparently, had confirmed this impression.

However, an inconsistency kept showing up with this picture. It so happened that exposing a metal plate to light that had a lot of blue-color light frequencies in it, would cause that metal plate to emit electrons. (Like solar cells do today - they make electricity.)

But exposing that plate to light with only red-frequency light "waves," caused no electrons to be emitted - even if very intense red light was used.

What gives? If energy is transmitted via waves, you'd think at least some electrons would be liberated by light waves.

This is where Einstein comes in. He demonstrated that light had a particle nature, which particle he named "photons," the term we use to this day. "Red" photons didn't have the energy to kick electrons out of the metal, but "blue" photons did.

That one observation earned Einstein the Nobel Prize in 1921 (I think), and it led to enormous changes in physics.

This is why scientists are very, very careful with what they say, and are hyper-critical about the evidence they cite, if they are any good. Over time, this forces the scientific body of knowledge to become more and more powerful at describing phenomena.

Answer 2

Science, unlike religions, change their books to reflect accumulating knowledge and gives up false beliefs when disproven or they defy common sense in the extreme.

A scientist is required to be skeptical by nature and put every claim or belief to the test whenever possible.

Since only scientific concepts can be tested, when they are wrong about a theory or belief, they must accept it. Anything else is bad science.

True science MUST begin with accepting the realistic possibility that a theory might possibly be wrong.

Integrity is the backbone of good science.

If you do research, you will find that in the past lots of scientific ideas turned out to be wrong. Those old erroneous theories and the books that carried them were replaced with corrected versions. That's how good science works.

When thousands of other scientists around the world can test a theory, if it is wrong, they will eventually see this. This will put science back on the right track or self-correct its assumptions accordingly.

Science only deals with facts, not blind beliefs. If a theory or belief is something that cannot possibly be physically tested or led to by prior proven facts and logic, it isn't in the realm science nor of any valid concern to science.

There is a HUGE difference between believing something and knowing something.
 

Answer 3

Science operates on theories of how things are or work the way they do. If a situation ever arises where the going theory cannot explain some observation, then the theory must be modified or scrapped altogether. Keep in mind that "theory" in this sense does not mean a guess, but an established set of ideas that explain a given observation.

Answer 4

Science encourages questions and experiments, and that means that our understanding of things gets better. If there is ever a question about something we are told, we can devise a test for it and find out the facts. This means that as we test our assumptions, we discover what the facts are, and any mistakes that have been made will eventually be found and corrected using the new knowledge we have gained.

Answer 5

Science is the study of observables. Physics, furthermore, requires the description to be quantitative (measurable). That means theories have to be able to be confirmed or refuted by quantitative observations of the physical world as opposed to, say, purely rational arguments or authoritative texts like philosophy or religion, respectively. While what is "reasonable" can be subject to endless debate, and texts are subject to interpretation, you can't argue with a voltmeter.

Answer 6

Melba Phillips wrote... ' The trouble with problems in physics education is they don't stay solved '...1998

A great illustration is a newly developed theory I have developed which extends the speed of light constant. As a result - allows for faster than light speed travel in space.

Answer 7

New discoveries force scientists to make corrections in existing theories. Sometimes these theories are entirely replaced when major discoveries are made through experiments or observation.

Answer 8

It is self-correcting in the way that nothing is considered to be science unless it is something that can be measured or proved.
If you are wrong, then somebody will sooner or later find evidence that you are.