The Bad Astronomy blog writes that science isn’t faith-based:
Science is not faith-based, and here’s why. The scientific method makes one assumption, and one assumption only: the Universe obeys a set of rules. That’s it. […] A simple example: we see objects going around the Sun. […] [From observation] we can apply mathematical equations to describe those motions, and then use that math to predict where a given object will be at some future date. Guess what? It works. It works so well that we can shoot probes at objects billions of kilometers away and still nail the target to phenomenal accuracy. This supports our conclusion that the math is correct. This in turn strongly implies that the Universe is following its own rules, and that we can figure them out.
Why do we make the assumption that the Universe follows a set of rules if we think we can deduce that from what we observe? Is the writer confused here or am I?
I’ve often wondered what is the real assumption behind rational thinking, but this isn’t it – which goes to show that sincere and serious people can get it totally wrong. Any suggestions?
