Sixth in a series on the edges of science
The Universe is a messy place, and there is much about it we don’t understand. Philosopher Dr. Jordan Peterson characterizes it as chaos, with little bits of order. No matter how much order we create, the chaos is lurking at the edges to take over. In science, the same concept is called entropy.
Science is one of our primary tools to convert chaos into order.
We observe the world in its natural state and try to make sense of it. Where we can, we test and prove theories to align natural events into a predictable arrangement. As a result, in that small region, things operate the way we expect them to operate. For five hundred years, we’ve applied this method to region after region. Today, we perceive a great deal of order in the world. And we believe order is normal. We erect buildings that endure. Electricity, water, and other utilities flow into our houses for ready use. Vehicles of many sorts provide transportation. Computers and the Internet tie us together.
However, let us not fool ourselves into thinking this order is the natural state of affairs!
It takes constant effort to maintain that order, which of course creates great employment opportunities. Workmen repair failing structures in our buildings. Utilities companies engage huge cadres of people to fix power wires, water mains, and cables. Every town has a myriad of auto repair shops. And don’t even get me started on the arcane knowledge of computer repair people! All of these people use science to keep order.
Peterson offers an excellent analogy of a walled city we have built for ourselves. Inside the city is our treasured order, while outside the city chaos (entropy) prowls relentlessly, looking for the chinks in our wall. In many ways, science has built the wall.
Yet the wall is never perfect, there are always holes in it, and chaos bursts in to our safe place. A storm overloads our electrical distribution systems, and an entire region goes dark. During a major event, everyone seeks information all at once, and the Internet crashes. (How many of you remember how impossibly slow the Internet was on the morning of 9-11?) War breaks out, and in mere days a humanitarian crisis exists in Gaza.
Chaos is always there, ready to put the lie to the vaunted order science creates.
What do we do when chaos breaks through? Most people hide and tremble with fear inside the breached walls, hoping for order to arise again. Some few must ride out like crusading angels to fight the demons and tame chaos. Those who leave the safety of the city learn new knowledge, never observed before, and thereby extend the reach of science. They discover what was wrong with their electrical control theories, their Internet loading algorithms, their management of food and water reserves. Often, they create new scientific theories, or apply existing theories in new ways.
This is exactly what the scientific method does. It examines the holes in our current science, constantly looking for places where science doesn’t yet work. Through research, publication, and discussion (argument), some level of consensus creates new “accepted” theory.
“Believe the science”?
I would hope, if you’ve been reading this blog series, you may be ready to question this aphorism. Science is not truth. Science is simply a tool; a very good tool for bringing order out of chaos, but still just a tool. “Believe the science” is a nice slogan for activist purposes, but the entire purpose of science is always to question itself. Belief structures are the realm of religion, not science. Even the most established laws of science can be up for revision when new data appears.
Keep watching this space. I will continue to write about the edges of science, places where the demons still wait and chaos reaches its embracing arms to surprise us. Use the button below to follow the blog—or, if you wish, sign up for my newsletter to know how I’m applying these thoughts to creative science fiction.
Doc Honour
October 2023
Doc Honour Books 