SCIENCE: THE ILLUSION OF TRUTH

I like to believe I am a man of science. In so saying I mean I make rational conclusions from logically arranged premises as often as I can afford to. Nevertheless I believe there is so much we do not know. As such it behoves of all persons who claim allegiance to science to do so in all humility and with minds as broad as board. By how much exactly has science helped us?

Science has been brilliant. It has placed the 21st century man on the pedestal of the gods. How else can you explain the fact that my thoughts can reach you and subtly exert influence regardless of the distance between us? It has placed man in space. The possibilities thereof are endless. Presently it explores the possibility of life in space. It has outlined the human genome. Though still an ongoing project not too distant generations may benefit from being able to foretell diseases they will have in future and possibly intervene earlier. Simply marvellous!

A caveat. Science is not ominipotent. Indeed on serious scrutiny science is a formless shapeless amoeba open to movement in any given direction when so prodded. Meaning what is science today may be alchemy tomorrow with future generations wondering how stupid we were to believe what we now do. You can remember of course theories that were at a time standard science that have had to be adjusted or even discarded in the light of more recent “facts”. For instance at a point it was science to view the earth as flat and to use this “fact” to plan shipping routes with sailors avoiding certain waters for fear of sailing off the edge of the earth and dropping into the abyss!

Sinister still are black holes in science. Science cannot explain the origin of life. Science offers an explanation, a theory, no a hypothesis of how man came to be. It says apes were changed slowly into fully formed men. It cannot explain why there are still apes. It cannot explain why there are no ape-men. Science cannot explain the rising incidence of non communicable disease such as hypertension, diabetes or cancers. It can suggest that its our changing diet or environments or lifestyle but cannot say which does what so we can properly adjust making it only a little better than common sense. It cannot explain what causes hypertension for the most part. It can explain how diabetes occurs but cannot reliably predict who or at what age one may get it. It cannot explain the mental changes behind the waves of violence and dastardly acts which were hitherto unheard of but now assail our senses daily.

Worse still science threatens our collective existence. It provides the technology that can wipe us all out in one fell swoop. It calls it an atomic bomb. We hear we have enough of those to clean out 50 earths. On a smaller scale it fuels conflicts in various pockets of the world with its guns and bullets and grenades. We think, actually we are sure that in one secluded laboratory somewhere on this earth some scientists are working round the clock to create the perfect biological weapon, maybe recreating a more sublime Ebola virus with a longer incubation period and a higher kill rate. Yes she provides us energy to fuel our cars and machines but does so at the expense of our environment, warming us up slowly but surely till we become bacon.

But these are not even my issues with science. It has failed to answer the most important questions in life. Who we are, where we come from, why we get sick and die and how to prevent the death of our loved ones. There are also no answers to what happens beyond death. One would imagine that if scientists toil daily to kill us all, they would be interested in where they are sending us. But for these science provides no answers. It leaves us in the hands of its mortal enemy, religion. And this is where the true illusion begins.

intellectual property of Dr Nwanji Ify

The main relevances of science are:

1. to UNDERSTAND
2. to PREDICT OR INVENT.

science is an evolving field only under half a million years.

Within these years science has done the unimaginable. And like you rightly said it possibilities are endless.

So as regards unanswered questions proposed by you.Science is still grappling with some truth. And some of the unanswered questions proposed do not fall within the ambit of science.

The greatest limitation science has, is as Karl popper has put it, ITS PROBABILITY LEVEL.

On the othethand. Science exposes us to threats. True, like the curate egg, it also helps us. Science does not stop disease from affecting us. Take an example the worst of all pandemic diseases then, the bubonic plague, killed several of millions in Europe alone. Men of faith attributed it to spirits and whatsnot . science only sought diligent cure for it. This is to say disease will regardless of science or not. Science only made us conscious of what might be the probable cause.