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"Well, science doesn't know everything!"

Psi Baba

Homo Skepticalis
Psi Baba
Joined
Aug 13, 2001
Messages
4,027
Most of us skeptics have heard this phrase at one time or another. It usually occurs during the part of the discussion with a believer when you run into what I call the "wall of ignorance." It's that point when the believer starts saying things that are difficult to counter due to the senslessness of the statement. Parents who have seen their children doing something bizarre and have asked, "What are you doing?" to which the child replies, "Nothing" know I'm talking about. As Bill Cosby said, "There's nowhere you can go from there. No more questions you can ask."

I would like to compile a list of suitable responses to "Science doesn't know everything." Serious responses and humorous zingers are welcome. I'll start with a few I've thought of recently (until then, I had no idea what to say to that):

"Science doesn't know everything!"

Yes, but it's the best tool we have to separate what's real from what isn't.

Yes, but the wonderful thing about it is that it doesn't claim to know everything, unlike religion, for example.

If "everything" was known by any person or institution, then science would be unneccessary.

Without science, we wouldn't even have progressed as far as the Stone Age yet.

If you really want to get the believer's goat, I think a good response would be, "Um, actually, it does, as a matter of fact." They won't know what to say. If they ask you a question you can't answer, just say, "Just because I don't know the answer, doesn't mean science doesn't know it."

Please feel free to add to the list of responses.


edited to ficks tipoze.
 
"No, but it knows more than you."

"Think about that next time you're in a car/boat/plane."

"Silence. I know where your Death Nerve is."
 
"Science doesn't know everything."

Yeah. Exactly. That's the whole point. To find out stuff that we don't know. It's the non-scientific approaches that always seem to have everything figured out.
 
"Science knows enough to say [such-and-such], so science not knowing everything is beside the point."
 
Psi Baba said:
Most of us skeptics have heard this phrase at one time or another. It usually occurs during the part of the discussion with a believer when you run into what I call the "wall of ignorance." It's that point when the believer starts saying things that are difficult to counter due to the senslessness of the statement. Parents who have seen their children doing something bizarre and have asked, "What are you doing?" to which the child replies, "Nothing" know I'm talking about. As Bill Cosby said, "There's nowhere you can go from there. No more questions you can ask."

I would like to compile a list of suitable responses to "Science doesn't know everything." Serious responses and humorous zingers are welcome. I'll start with a few I've thought of recently (until then, I had no idea what to say to that):

"Science doesn't know everything!"

Yes, but it's the best tool we have to separate what's real from what isn't.

Yes, but the wonderful thing about it is that it doesn't claim to know everything, unlike religion, for example.

If "everything" was known by any person or institution, then science would be unneccessary.

Without science, we wouldn't even have progressed as far as the Stone Age yet.

If you really want to get the believer's goat, I think a good response would be, "Um, actually, it does, as a matter of fact." They won't know what to say.
Click to expand...

I would just say you are in error. I would also say that anyone who has the remotest inkling of what science is and how it progresses, would say the same thing.
 
Re: Re: "Well, science doesn't know everything!"

Interesting Ian said:
I would just say you are in error. I would also say that anyone who has the remotest inkling of what science is and how it progresses, would say the same thing.
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Yeah, you’d say that, but as usual, you won't substantiate it.

Ian, when you have something meaningful to offer other than blanket “I disagree” statements backed up up by nothing, let us know. Otherwise, quit wasting our time.
 
Re: Re: "Well, science doesn't know everything!"

Interesting Ian said:
I would just say you are in error. I would also say that anyone who has the remotest inkling of what science is and how it progresses, would say the same thing.
Click to expand...

Why is he in error? Please explain it.
 
"Science doesn't know anything. Science is not a sentient being. Science is a method, probably the best one, by which we obtain and verify knowledge. To say that we have not obtained and verified all of the knowledge in the universe is aphoristic."
 
Science doesn't know all the answers, but unlike religion we don't make up the answers to questions we don't know.

(not quite original but I don't know the source of the original quote.)
 
Originally posted by Psi Baba
"Science doesn't know everything!"
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.... that's true but it doesn't mean [insert claim here] is any more justified.

.... yet nonsense knows no bounds.
 
Science reminds us how little we know. Every answer begets more questions. THat is a good thing in my book.
 
Re: Re: "Well, science doesn't know everything!"

Interesting Ian said:


I would just say you are in error. I would also say that anyone who has the remotest inkling of what science is and how it progresses, would say the same thing.
Click to expand...
I'm guessing based on the point at which you truncated the quote that you are referring to where I said, "Um, actually, it does, as a matter of fact" part. You do know that was a joke, right? The only purpose in saying that would be to p-off the believer or at least derail his thought process. So, okay, you would respond by saying I am in error. Good for you. But a person who says, "Science doesn't know everything" is not likely to have "the remotest inkling of what science is and how it progresses."
 
Re: Re: Re: "Well, science doesn't know everything!"

Psi Baba said:

I'm guessing based on the point at which you truncated the quote that you are referring to where I said, "Um, actually, it does, as a matter of fact" part
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Never assume that Ian is making a rational reply. Because he has a decent vocabulary, too many of us have fallen into the trap of thinking that he is capable of answering in a logical manner. This way lies madness (his).

I am quite sure he completely missed the humour in your final example.
 
It sounds to me like he's saying what he would say to someone who said science doesn't know everything, not as a rebuttal to Psi Bana
 
I never have much trouble with that argument. My response varies, but basically it's like this...

What science DOESN'T know is the explanation behind all the phenomena it can observe. The things you are attempting to support have no observable phenomena...thus believing in them is nonsensical and what science doesn't know has nothing to do with it.
 
Interesting Ian said:
Dear me! Go do a course on the history and philosophy of science.
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Another classic Ian evasion. So, you can't explain it. Gotcha.

Please just go away and quit wasting our time. You offer nothing to any conversation.
 
Re: Re: Re: "Well, science doesn't know everything!"

Psi Baba said:

I'm guessing based on the point at which you truncated the quote that you are referring to where I said, "Um, actually, it does, as a matter of fact" part. You do know that was a joke, right? The only purpose in saying that would be to p-off the believer or at least derail his thought process. So, okay, you would respond by saying I am in error. Good for you. But a person who says, "Science doesn't know everything" is not likely to have "the remotest inkling of what science is and how it progresses."
Click to expand...

I agree. And of course I would never say "science doesn't know everything". Not that it's not true of course, but there's infinitely better ways to respond to a skeptic.
 
Wiseman said:
It sounds to me like he's saying what he would say to someone who said science doesn't know everything, not as a rebuttal to Psi Bana
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No, I was responding to Psi Baba's comment that s/he would say that science does know everything.

Of course I realised that Psi Baba was not being serious.

BTW, I presume not the Wiseman?
 
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