Science 101

Some statements are verifiable, and some are not. Some are falsifiable, and some are not.

Consider the statement all swans are white. It is not verifiable, because in order to prove it is true we would have to observe all the swans on the planet. That is a practical impossibility, but even if we think we’ve done it, how can we prove we did it? How can we ever prove we didn’t miss a swan somewhere? We can’t. However, the statement is falsifiable, as all it takes to prove the statement is false is the discovery of one black swan.

Philosopher of science Karl Popper said that what is unfalsifiable is unscientific, and the practice of declaring an unfalsifiable theory to be scientifically true is pseudoscience.

Among today’s scientifically illiterate population, pseudoscience has found a convenient way to avoid categories such as verifiable and falsifiable. The scientifically illiterate avoid unpleasant truth by invoking dodgy explanations such as “fake science”, “hoax”, “conspiracy” and the like. Thus, a mountain of evidence pointing to an unmistakable conclusion that they find inconvenient is brushed away with a single unprovable excuse. And a total lack of evidence to support their pseudoscientific belief is also conveniently explained away as a “government cover-up”, a “vast conspiracy”, or a “whitewash”.

Science, one of the pillars of Western civilization that took us from the steam engine to the Moon rocket, is now declared unscientific. Many people today are rejecting science, sometimes to their chagrin. Many people can no longer discern the difference between the verifiable and the falsifiable, nor do they understand the significance of such distinctions. They refute the findings of science and give preference to what they want to believe. As a result, we have the global warming debate, the vaccination/autism hoax, space aliens helping ancient humans, astrology, homeopathy, intelligent design, and toxins everywhere, among other pseudoscience. Our society’s substantial and growing refusal to accept reality can only end in a bad way.