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THREAD: Dear 'I Don't Believe in Science' Folks:
Science is a process of discovery - by which you observe phenomena, hypothesize, then experiment to test your hypotheses. Believing in science is believing in the process, the results of which continually change.
Science is a process of discovery - by which you observe phenomena, hypothesize, then experiment to test your hypotheses. Believing in science is believing in the process, the results of which continually change.
2/To say you don't trust science because scientists' initial hypotheses were eventually proven false by testing is to misunderstand what science even is. Disproving some hypotheses is a NORMAL part of the process known as science.
3/Some say: 'Scientists keep changing their predictions! They can't get it right!'
Their predictions are changing because the variables upon which they base their predictions are changing. Scientific models are math equations: when variable values change, so does the outcome.
Their predictions are changing because the variables upon which they base their predictions are changing. Scientific models are math equations: when variable values change, so does the outcome.
4/Scientific model equations are pretty complex, so let's demonstrate this fact using the simplest of equations:
2x=y
If x=3, then the output (y) is 6. If x changes to 4, then y becomes 8.
If the input variable changes, the equation's output changes.
2x=y
If x=3, then the output (y) is 6. If x changes to 4, then y becomes 8.
If the input variable changes, the equation's output changes.
5/Predictive scientific models are like this: if the values of the input variables change, then the output (the predictions) changes also.
To say that models cannot be trusted because their predictions keep changing is to forget that input variables are ever-changing.
To say that models cannot be trusted because their predictions keep changing is to forget that input variables are ever-changing.
6/Some people really don't realize what they are revealing about themselves when they question the trustworthiness of science, scientists, or scientific models. Science is not a body of knowledge. It is a process. Model outputs are not set in stone: they are dynamic.
7/I worked as an engineer at a company that built scientific models and simulators.
It is PAST TIME for some people to stop deluding themselves that they know better than all the scientists, about COVID - when they don't even know what science IS or HOW IT WORKS.
It is PAST TIME for some people to stop deluding themselves that they know better than all the scientists, about COVID - when they don't even know what science IS or HOW IT WORKS.
