I am thinking about signs and signals. I came across a sign in someone’s yard that read “science is real.” And, I am cautiously confident that the sign owner is signalling their public health policy positions. This post is not about that person or their views. Instead, it’s about the paradox of science.
I am fascinated by UAP (formerly known as UFOs) phenomenon and other space-related topics. My fascination led me to learn more about science and scientific thinking. With reasonably certainty, I believe that science deals with real things but the assertion that those real things are what they appear to be is and must be treated with skepticism — scientific theories are falsifiable.
Oversimplified. Let’s say I have a theory —y. For it to be a scientific theory, I must be able to test if x could make theory y not true. If my attempts to disprove myself fail, my theory y strengthens. We approach the world of theory y becomes fact if an overwhelming amount of evidence amasses that theory y is true. And even then, long held scientific beliefs have gotten over turned through new discoveries. In a sense, science is not real, it’s skeptically evolving. I believe that’s a testable theory.
To question the notion that “science is real”, for some, is to signal that I do not believe in science or perhaps the sign-owner’s worldview of science. I discovered that firsthand. And what’s odd to me is that the act of questioning the claim is inherently scientific. It is to hold a view that can’t be tested that is considered, by many, pseudoscience. Richard Feynman, a famous physicist, calls this “Cargo Cult Science”.
What if the sign, “science is real”, is not about the method of scientific inquiry but about effect of accumulated scientific knowledge? Maybe the owner asserts a belief that: of what we have learned now, we believe that which we have learned to be real. That makes sense; however, we must accept that which we know now is subject to change and cross-examination — it’s typically helpful to hold a gradient of speculation towards claims of any kind.
My (highly un-original) theory, open to examination, is that the sign signals membership to a group. It’s an indicator of “this is how we are”. In fact, the text at the top of the sign reads: “in this house, we believe…”. And that signal helps others place that household in a type of mental social stratification — are they “in” my group or “out”?
And, unfortunately for me, I am rarely “in” with most groups. I am usually “out.” Not for my views on anything, but mostly for not being willing to accept group (family, social, you name it) beliefs or norms out right. To hold a belief that science is real but not be open to an examination of that belief seems ironically anti-scientific.
The experience of the yard sign reminds me of other symbols people use to signal their group beliefs — like a crucifix, tight jeans, or “ARMY”.
All of that said, I’m open to my beliefs being challenged. I welcome it. I care so much more about finding some kind of objective truth about us and our nature than fooling myself and others.
“The first principle is that you must not fool yourself—and you are the easiest person to fool. So you have to be very careful about that. After you’ve not fooled yourself, it’s easy not to fool others….” — Richard Feynman with an edit by me.