Who are they? And why do you believe them without question?

Question

Do you believe everything your government says without question? Do you believe that your neighbor bowled 5 perfect games in a row last night? Do you believe that your teenager has really cleaned their room, and they only need 1 more minute on the phone? Do you believe I have the cure for cancer, but I am just being selfish? No??? The why do you buy every word that comes out of the “scientific community” without scrutiny? I watched a group of astrophysicist on TV last night very mater of factually telling the viewers that “ The Universe is approximate 14, billion years old, with the earth being a mear 4 billion,”

This is accepted and taught as perfect truth. Why? How do you prove such a thing? Carbon dating? I don’t think so, not to that extreme. But we accept as truth anything they say. The ozone is thinning, the climate is changing, and God never existed. Man came from slime and algae. This is accepted and taught without question. You may ask why would they lie, what would they gain? Well if you had millions of $$ invested in research, would you not want to see results? I’m not saying they are lying, or that they are completely wrong. I am just asking why when a “scientist” say anything, it has to be fact. Is there anything they could come out with that you would question? Do you know a “they” are you a “they”?

Answer 1

It is a fact that current cosmology and much of quantum physics is based on speculation and conjecture just as questionable as any religion or superstition. I have seen claims of the existence of particles that exist so briefly that they supposed to be impossible to measure, which means they cannot be proven. Conjectures about multiple dimensions and multiverses are unobservable and therefore fall beyond the dictates of science.

There is a lot of science that is being promulgated that should make people suspicious.

Answer 2

Many things that scientists have said in the past have later been proven not to be true, so no, I don't just believe them without question. That is simply their best guess at the present time with the knowledge they have now. That said, let me also say that science has neither proved nor disproved the existence of God and probably never will. To prove or disprove anything you have to have evidence. There is plenty of evidence for the existence of God. Even if the earth evolved over many thousands of centuries and finally one day a one celled organism came to life capable of reproducing itself, how impossible would such an occurrence be without an intelligence behind it? Look at a tiny leaf, a flower petal, a blade of grass...every cell in that organism has its job to do, each working in symphony for the good of the entire organism. Look at the body of an animal, any animal. You will find the same thing, every single tiny cell in the organism works in symphony with all the others to keep the body fed, hydrated, healthy. It is obvious an intelligence had to have created such an intricate and perfectly functioning organism, not chance. If scientists can ignore this, they are ignoring an awful lot of pertinent information. If you stumbled upon a watch and had never seen such a thing before, seeing how the gears work together to move the hands and keep the watch functioning you would assume there was an intelligent watchmaker who made it, true? The same goes for the universe. I truly do believe in evolution. We can actually see that things have evolved, horses, for instance. There is much evidence that the horse evolved from a very different animal to what it is today. That is not to say that we evolved from apes. But it is probable that all life living on the earth today came from the same first source. God, however, had to have been there orchestrating and overseeing the perfectly synchronized changes and development in each and every organism from the beginning. Obvious, isn't it? You may ask, "What about the Bible which tells us that the world was created in seven days?" I am Catholic. We take that to mean that God created the world, perhaps in seven periods of time. But many books of the Old Testament are not historical accounts and are not meant to be. Genesis is not a history book. It is a book which tells, in an illustrious way, certain truths to the people of God. In this case, the truth is that God created the heavens and the earth and pronounced his creations 'good.'

Answer 3

Actually, I've had the privilege of meeting and knowing, if briefly, a research scientist--one Dr. Howard Berenbaum, if you want the name--and I think I can answer your question here.

For the most part, research scientists are highly trained people who have studied their field of expertise for *years* if not decades. "They" also have the advantage of a heuristic--the scientific method--that has been absolutely effective so far. Do you use the internet? Thank the scientific method, for both the computer you use and the *electricity* it runs on. How about cell phones? Thank the scientific method for the electricity, the telephone, *and also* the antenna/satellite networks that make large-scale wireless communication networks possible. Do you drive a car? Again, thank James Watt (a scientist) for inventing the steam engine, thank Dr. Otto for making it over into the four-cycle internal combustion engine, thank Galvanni for inventing *galvanic* chemical batteries so the engine can *start*...

And I can do this all day. And night. And into the next day.

Much of what you call "civilization" was made *POSSIBLE* courtesy of the scientific method. The fact that you *can* get online and spout your rant against "they" at all is a testament that "they" have a *really damn good* track record.

Consider for a moment, one of "them": Albert Einstein.

Search that name "Albert Einstein" and the phrase "became a violinist" at the site below:

http://www.sciam.com/

You *should* find the online version of a highly amusing print article, detailing an *alternative history* of what the modern world would have been like if Einstein had *quit physics* altogether and stuck with the violin instead of relativity.

Here's a hint: Without Einstein *alone*, there'd be no light-emitting diodes, no microwaves, no smoke detectors, _Star Wars_ would not have had lightsabers, and, oh yeah, no real shot at nuclear devices of *any kind* either. And the stock market would have become a total crapshoot, with no real science behind its behavior at all.

Oh, and did I mention that the scientific method isn't the *only* heuristic, or rule of thumb, "they" have? That they also use two others quite successfully--double-blind research and peer review? Or that the old saying, "nothing succeeds like success" holds extra true here, that everything Einstein did he did thanks to Isaac Newton, that everything Stephen Hawking did, he did thanks to Einstein, and on and on? That every success in the field makes the next one easier because of the prior database of information, and because of innovations *like* carbon dating and spectrography?

Of course, "easier" is a relative term. -_- Your Thomas Edisons likely wouldn't get *anywhere* in todays field. These days the training really does go on for decades and is a lifelong endeavor as the maths and statistical inferences get more and more involved and obtuse.

But still....the point is, "they" are listened to because "they" have a very high percentage chance of being right. Historical precedent, evidence, the works.

And I notice in your intro/details that you omitted any religious references, from your "Do you believe..." rantlet. ^_^

Do I smell sour grapes? Do I spot someone being jealous?

Come on, out with it, you're a bible-thumper, aren't you?

Gotcha. ^_^ Thanks for your time!

Answer 4

i believe what this question comes down to is faith... people may believe on thing or another. it comes to what is in your heart. if you believe that the world is billions of years old, then that is your choice, whether others think that you are wrong and they are right, most things will come down to opinion. and most people will subjectively agree with scientists on the basis that they are extremely well educated, and have done their research. which brings up another question, which is how do they come to results such as 14 billion years, that's complete non-sense. but then again, that's my opinion. i believe certain things becasue i am a Christian. i believe that the world was created by God, who is in supreme control of everthing and everyone. many people will disagree with me on the basis that the "scientists" say otherwise, and that they do not share the faith that i have, and i have come to accept that. peace

Answer 5

people believe historians for the same dumb reasons. I worked in medical science and most of it is time tested but when it comes to theoretical science theres no way to tell. A lot of theoretical physics (like m-theory) sound like a lot of b.s.

Answer 6

Shhhhhh!!!! Quiet down you are asking too many questions. Sooner or later you might stumble on the truth, no one really cares, and the goverment might start watching you to prevent you from discovering THE ULTIMATE TRUTH!!!

Answer 7

They are a self-organizing network of trained, gifted experts, relying on each other's work and judgment to arrive at conclusions which are subsequently scrutinized and tested repeatedly, always subject to revision or refutation, who regardless of your incredulity continue to remake our world and make our understanding of it a little better every day. It's not up to us to decide whether they are right, lest we become one of "them"... it is up to us not to abuse the power they give us.

Answer 8

The same can be said for religion... just because a priest says it, is it "the" truth or "his" truth.

You have to believe in somethings on faith. ME? I believe I will go have a nice cold beer!

Answer 9

Well I certainly put more stock in their research than in your inane and mis-spelled ramblings...