Afteruth,
Your answer was very general,
No it was very specific. Here are a few links that might help.
The Scientific Method.
http://home.xnet.com/~blatura/skep_1.html
http://teacher.nsrl.rochester.edu/phy_labs/AppendixE/AppendixE.html
http://phyun5.ucr.edu/~wudka/Physics7/Notes_www/node5.html
http://www.selu.edu/Academics/Education/EDF600/Mod3/
There are plenty more if you do a google search.
but maybe my question was phrased improperly. But if I have understood the implications of your answer correctly, then what you are saying is that you only believe in that which you can prove scientifically.
This is the recognized best method for the determination and discovery of knowledge and truth. Can you provide anything that is recognized as better?
Note that “science” means - the state of knowing.
In other words you refuse to believe in anything that you cannot personally prove scientifically.
No. But I can read and evaluate scientific articles that have undergone significant scrutiny and peer review by hundreds if not thousands of other scientists.
Since your assumption above was incorrect the rest of your post doesn’t really make sense but I’ll respond as best I can.
That the earth goes around the sun...
Is there a reason to doubt this?
The Big Bang origin of the universe...
I don’t believe this. Current theories indicate that our big bang is probably just one of an infinite number of big bangs.
The Challenger Deep is the deepest ocean bed...
Any reason to doubt the measurements?
For years I was told that the humaniods left Africa 250,000 years ago to populate the rest of the globe, but recent DNA tests say they did that just 60000 years ago.
Don’t become confused between facts and theories. Read the links I’ve posted so you will understand. If you’ve studied any science in school then you should have covered these basics.
Another case of scientific incompetance and/or motivation emerges from the on-going dispute between the WHO scientists and the US scientists on the effects of sugar on health.
Again read the links above so you will understand why your assessment is not correct.
I am in no way trying to belittle the value of science, but to expect that every thing must be proved scientifically, for one to accept as truth, is an unscientific expectation...
No again, you don’t understand the scientific method yet.
Of course if you choose to believe something that hasn’t been proved as true then you run the risk of believing something that is false. The rational approach is to withhold belief until proof is available. There is nothing forcing you to believe something before proof is available, in fact such an approach would be irrational.
You should also understand the difference between deductive and inductive logic and realize that most of science is inductive as are many decisions we make in real life.
It is my belief that over 90% of what we hold to be true are based on our faith on what others tell us.
Faith is never required. If you are unsure that something you are told is incorrect then you are free to check it out yourself. As for believing scientists and their articles then it is still your responsibility to evaluate the evidence that is always offered in responsible articles so you can make your own decision.
If you are used to believing others without verification then you run the real risk of being incredibly gullible.
Afterall most people have faith in their mothers when she says that the one they call father is their biological father. They don't demand a scientific evidence.
Why not? If you have reason to doubt what you are told or it is important for other reasons then a scientific check would always be possible.
But what you are really saying is that we generally trust those who have told us things that have turned out to be true in the past. This is not faith but inductive reasoning. We do this all the time. E.g. if your mother had had a string of boyfriends at the time you were born and you have discovered she has lied to you in other areas, then that raises the probability that perhaps you do not know your real father – a DNA check might be a good idea. I.e. you have statistically evaluated the probability of truth of what your mother has told you. Most people do this automatically, as I am sure you do.
Faith is the path of the gullible, the ignorant, and the lazy. But apart from religion most people rarely use blind faith in their everyday lives.
