The end of science

[inertia]

Can "we" continually discover new knowledge or is there a limit? Was the use of scientific methodology only a temporary phase in human history?

John Horgan poses a similar question:
"Will our theories of the cosmos seem as wrong to our descendants as Aristotle's theories seem to us?"

Jim Peebles (astrophysicist) believes that there is "no end, and no cause for concern about the end of research", and this sentiment ostensibly feels valid due to our requirements for ever higher precision measurements and refinements in establishing higher standards in accuracy. Reducing uncertainty is exceedingly important and this requirement isn't going away anytime soon. Mathematically ignoring details when modeling at large scales does make solutions easier to come by, yet room for improvement is a continuous a gap away from a better grasp at understanding.

Sabine explains further: ( timestamp 4:50 - 10:02 )

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[positive atheist]

Can "we" continually discover new knowledge or is there a limit? Was the use of scientific methodology only a temporary phase in human history?

John Horgan poses a similar question:
"Will our theories of the cosmos seem as wrong to our descendants as Aristotle's theories seem to us?"

Jim Peebles (astrophysicist) believes that there is "no end, and no cause for concern about the end of research", and this sentiment ostensibly feels valid due to our requirements for ever higher precision measurements and refinements in establishing higher standards in accuracy. Reducing uncertainty is exceedingly important and this requirement isn't going away anytime soon. Mathematically ignoring details when modeling at large scales does make solutions easier to come by, yet room for improvement is a continuous a gap away from a better grasp at understanding.

Sabine explains further: ( timestamp 4:50 - 10:02 )

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I have no idea whether human knowledge is finite. If reality is finite in every sense of the word then the truths about it are finite and we could theoretically reach the limit. If reality is infinite in some sense we may never reach a limit. Is there some part or kind of reality that is not understandable to humans. Maybe. When you consider how large the universe is and how little we know about it, and how large our earth is and how little we know about it, and on I could go, I am not the least bit concerned that we will be reaching the limit of knowledge any time soon. I disagree with the video claiming that there have been no recent scientific discoveries. Nobody expects big scientific discoveries. People were stunned when radio waves were discovered. If a new form of energy is discovered next year we will all be stunned.

The person in the video makes the same mistake so many people make, assuming science is some set of infallibly known facts. It isn't. It is a method for taking in new information and determining truth from falsehood and refining the truths we believe. If you look at the science of medicine it is littered with terribly wrong ideas, some which greatly hurt people. That fact is all those mistake helped get us to where we are today. And the mistake we are making today will get us to new advances and understanding tomorrow.