Insight Axis explores connections between practical philosophy, technology, books, and more. I’m Zan - follow me on Substack.
Over the last few years, people have obscured, adulterated and manipulated science to fit their agendas.
This has been going on for too long.
It's time to remind yourself what science really is, so that you can wield its true power.
But first, you must cleanse yourself from what science is not.
Science is no master, has no master. The science doesn't tell you to do anything - only people do. When you mistake science to be an authority, you give others the chance to abuse it for power and politics. When you claim authority by monopolising the science, you deny the substance it thrives on: constructive argument, experiment, and refinement. Science can never tell you what to do or why to do it - those decisions are squarely your own.
Science is not a subject. It doesn't care for the boundaries of biology, chemistry and physics. Science is something to be applied to questions in these subjects - they are just mere vessels. When you divide science into subjects, you deny the power of diversity which leads to better theories and explanations.
Science is not about finding facts. School tricks you into thinking that science is about hoarding facts. Mitochondria evolved from bacteria. There are 3 Newtonian Laws in physics. Light is an electromagnetic wave. The mundane list goes on. The fundamental scientific explanations we learn in school are usually taken to be facts - but science is not about finding facts, it’s about finding theories. By mistaking science to be a fact-finding mission, you deny its ability to self-correct when it contradicts the previous "facts" it apparently found.
Science is not a process. Many think of science as a multi-step process: hypothesis, aim, methods, results, conclusion. They mistake this process as science. It contains the core of what science is, but this process itself is not science. Science is purer than that. It does not need such rigidity all the time. Procedure should not be a barrier to doing good science.
Science is not even a way of thinking. It is not an armchair activity. Thinking is part of science, but thinking alone will not make you a scientist. That will just make you a thinker. Science requires a certain vigour, a will to test your theories, and act in line with them.
So what is science?
"Science does not know its debt to imagination" - Albert Einstein
First and foremost, science is creative action.
It's about coming up with imaginative and powerful explanations about the world around us.
It's about having the conviction to go out and test your explanation, and let others scrutinise it too.
It's about having the humility to reject your explanation if your experiments don't support it.
And finally, it's about embracing that eventually, a better, more creative theory will certainly replace yours.
So get out there, be bold, and do science.
Recommended reading from Substack:
- writes about the drama of OpenAI, exploring power, money and human nature.
- and explore emotions in knowledge work.
- thinks we need more bureaucrats, not less.
- kicks off essay club, starting with Orwell.
Recommended reading beyond Substack:
In a nutshell the scientific method is: Fuck around, find out.
Science is also never settled.