Is science overrated?

[Swami]

I am often told that science is the greatest tool for knowledge. Then I notice that scientists admit not having a consensus when it comes to the origin of the Universe, origin of life, origin of consciousness, and if there is life after death.

Why can't scientists answer these questions?

Please feel free to provide any book references that provide clarity on these topics. Thank you. Cheers

[Clownboat]

Science is great. Just slow, prone to errors, and not bulletproof.
Anyone old enough to remember the great egg debate? Took decades to figure out whether eggs were good for you or not.
One week the were the dietary equivalent of eating a hang grenade, next week health food.
Emotional rollercoaster over eggs and what the science says about them.
What a yolk!

Just curious. Can you name a different method, other than the scientific method that is better at arriving at truthful claims?

I can't speak for kc, but that depends on what "truthful claims" you are talking about. When it comes to claims regarding morality and values, I think the test of time is better. For example, I am convinced that it is true that National Communism leads to totalitarianism, not because it has been tested in a controlled environment, but because that has always been the result historically. If something has occurred repeatedly in the past, it is likely it will occur in the same way in the future. Many things in life, like national economies, can not be tested scientifically, but must be tested in the laboratory of life.

Test of Time method. I have never heard of this one. You didn't really explain how it works and I could find nothing about it online. It's as if you made this method up.

Made up or not, your claim about National Communism leading to totalitarianism. How many examples are in this sample size? If I flip a coin 2 or 3 times and it happens to land on heads each time, this Test of Time method would have me conclude that flipping a coin results in heads. This method would therefore lead to an incorrect conclusion.

You also claim that Test of Time method will better explain morality and values. I would like to see this method do such a thing. Keep in mind my flipping of a coin example.

Can you name a different method, other than the scientific method that is better at arriving at truthful claims? Basically, what method do you argue is better than the scientific method?

[kcplusdc@yahoo.com]

I guess I will just assume that science has not laid it's last bit of proof about the trivial egg, nor do imagine it will it do much better with more complicate, possibly unanswerable questions it's working on.
I love science though.
Keep looking till the universe screams uncle or I don't know or thats not my department or.....


Crap!
Okay, science is overrated by someone..

[Aetixintro]

[Replying to post 1 by Razorsedge]

Truly, science can't be overrated because it is constrained by the scientific method (HDM) and we are happy to enjoy the effects like less diseased lives, etc.

However, note on Nazi-German, Dachau science (against the Jews in concentration camps) and Tuskegee syphilis experiment (against Afro-Americans), etc. Corrupt scientists are alive, surely, and doing "mayhem". Thus, science can be seen as "overrated" in this regard.

[kcplusdc@yahoo.com]

Science is often controlled by funding. I would argue this is a weakness.

Is the scientific method anything more than common sense? Does science get to commandeer common sence as a method and tout it as different.

Is talcum powder gonna kill me or what?