Science overcomes the many failures of human intuition, allowing us a more accurate view of the universe.
Consider the following scenario. Whenever you press a button, you receive an apple from a vending machine. It doesn't matter how many times you push the button; you always receive an apple.
Logically, you make a mental model of the situation: pressing the button causes an apple to be dispensed by the machine. But what if machine suddenly fails to dispense an apple? Of course, you would change your model.
This example embodies two important principles in science: empiricism and falsifiability. Empiricism is the idea that knowledge comes only from the senses, and falsifiability is the idea that good models of the world should be able to be proven false.
Why does this matter? Say someone told you that the machine was actually cursed, and one day it would fail to dispense apples. When the machine finally failed, you might be inclined to think that the machine was really cursed, but this isn't so!
While it might seem like the machine is cursed, you have to be careful with trusting your intuition. Modern science has shown us that the universe is stranger than we had ever imagined. Take quantum tunneling, for example.
In quantum tunneling, it's possible for electrons to move through a wall if the wall is thin enough! Hardly an intuitive idea, and this goes to show that we should not make hasty conclusions.
Check out these similar articles!
Both the scientific method and its fruits have made substantial contributions to our society.
Despite being foundational to our society, science did not really begin until about three centuries ago.