If science has been wrong in the past?

Question

why do people believe everything about it. Obviously 200 years from now people will be thinking how ridiculous it was to believe humans came from apes.

gelfling, I've heard from atheists that we came from apes, so if you guys can't agree on it, that just makes it more unbelievable

Im sorry if this offended anyone, I was just "attempting" to state a point. Because I could of sworn that science thought the earth was flat, and now we know its a sphere.

Answer 1

Science hypothesis has been wrong in the past. Remember that people before thought that the earth was the center of the universe. According to them their proof was that the sun would travel over the sky, but in fact this proved that the sun was the center of the galaxy. You see? scientists have proof that we MIGHT come from apes, they haven't really proved anything 100% Maybe in the future they will prove the ape theory wrong. Maybe not.

Answer 2

You don't understand how it works.

Science does not work in a vacuum. Honest mistakes have been made, yes, and probably dishonest ones too for we are all humans.

But 150-odd years of sharpening a theory and global agreement among a very large body of biologists and related sciences save for some of the details means there is no 'discovery' waiting that can overturn the whole thing.

If you want to bark, go for abiogenesis. It is completely seperate from evolution, and it is still hypothesis (as opposed to theory). This is rough terrain. Many ideas, no conclusive evidence.

update: actually, the bible told us the world was flat. Science disproved it. While you are at it, inquire about the geocentric view of the universe, and look up what the church did to the guy who said the sun is the center of our solar system, not the earth. He's named Galileo.

Answer 3

Science is never wrong. Scientists are wrong sometimes. Nobody says humans came from apes.
At the time of men like Copernicus and Galileo, scientists, not science, had "proved" beyong all doubt that the earth was the center of the universe, that the sun, the planets, and the stars, all rotated around the earth.
For men like Copernicus and Galileo to question their FACTS, proved the "ignorance" of those two men!
In the same way, if you dare question any aspect of the theory of evolution today, you will be proving your total "ignorance". The only difference, you are not likely to be burned at a stake.

Answer 4

You don't seem to understand...science is not a belief, the way religion is. It is a SEARCH. It is never-ending. It knows and acknowledges that there are times when it's right, and times that it's wrong. In the beginning of any scientific theory, there are going to be imperfections. You continue to search, study, and experiment. Eventually, you come to something that's pretty close to the truth. ANY scientist will tell you that any scientific discovery still has ways that it can be improved, and certain aspects that will probably be disproved eventually. Science is willing to admit if something it previously believed is proven wrong. Science is willing to admit it's imperfect. Science is adaptable.
Religion, on the other hand, just claims to be absolutely correct, with NO evidence, NO room for questioning, NO room for searching, and NO room for adapting. And it will NEVER, EVER admit that some aspect of its belief is wrong. (No matter HOW much proof is shown.)

Answer 5

Or...in 200 years people will be thinking how ridiculous it was to believe humans were created by a "higher power".

Don't say "obviously" like you know for a fact you're right. I'm not saying you are, not saying you aren't, but do you have any PROOF of what's the truth?

No. Because if we had proof, this debate would never have occured in the first place.

Answer 6

Because that is the process of science. To keep re-evaluating what we know. What is there still to learn? That's what they are working on now. We don't believe everything about it, and it doesn't say believe, it shows what it has and says, this is what we know. We know that evidence shows that we probably evolved. It presents the evidence and thn re-evaluates. The Bible is as is. If one part is wrong, well, then it's wrong. Science doesn't say the new thing is the last word. Just a new word and something new we found. That is all.

Answer 7

Well, that's possible. We could find out differently. The difference is that science keeps seeking the facts and the truth. There's nothing wrong with admitting you're wrong based on new facts and information. Science is ever changing based on new information and facts, it doesn't exist in a vacuum. Just as these facts and information change, so should our beliefs. We should never be so inflexible to assume that what we believe now should be true ten years from now.

Answer 8

Only non-scientists believe science. Things are judged on their evidence then seen as true, false, probable, or improbable. Belief is something that's accepted as true without evidence. That's the domain of religion, magic, and metaphysics.

Sure, interpretation of evidence changes when the evidence is added too. That said, very, very few basic principles and concepts have changed dramatically. Quantum mechanics and Relativity overthrew Newtonian mechanics, but 97% of Newtonian mechanics is still quite accurate. Only in the very very fast and the very, very small have things changed. The basics haven't.

Your words are one of those who've never really studied science, only took high school courses that were required. Had you studied the evidence about evolution, you would have either quit studying early because it threatened your religious beliefs, or you'd have had to question your beliefs. I consider you either quite ignorant of the subject you talk about or intellectually dishonest. Perhaps both.

Answer 9

Science is SELF-CORRECTING, which is it's strength, unlike religion which can be wrong, and remain wrong, forever.

Humans did not "come from apes" as you've so ignorantly put it. Modern apes and humans descended from a common ape-like ancestor. You can dislike this theory as much as you want, but DNA, the fossil record, and virtually every learned scientist in the world is in agreement that it is the best, most likely explanation for the existence of modern humans.

Sorry to "burst your bible."

Answer 10

.... science says the earth is round, you going to say thats a lie too? Evolution has been tested, rested, and tested again. Theres evidence to support it. BILLIONS of scientists have worked on it over the years.

It is NOT ridiculous to think we came from apes (which it does not say we did btw, its just closer than saying we came from monkeys. If you're going to argue it, get it right. It says we came from a common ancestor), its ridiculous to think there's some fairy tale pixie omnipotent omniscient god in the sky that controls everything and will send you to heaven to bask in his glory for eternity so he knows how wonderful he is or to hell where you burn and are tortured for all eternity because you did something minor to tick your god off like disrespect your parents by telling them to "bite me".

Which is more likely? Evolution or your fairy tale god? Because the bible is full of as much fiction and fantasy as any Piers Anthony novel.