18
R. Barrett and P. P. Delsanto
outright fraud are however rare. In the long run however, the replication of
experiments and observations in different laboratories by different researchers
usually sorts out what is correct from what is not, even if sometimes it may
take a rather long time. 6
1.6 The Limits of Science
In a now lost poem, a sequel to The Odyssey, by Greek poet, Homer (born
sometime between the 12th and 8th Centuries BCE), Ulysses managed to
convince his sailors to attempt what was then considered the ultimate quest,
i.e. to explore the uncharted waters of the Atlantic. This adventure involved
passing through the Strait of Gibraltar and past the columns set there by the
demigod Hercules, which were inscribed with the phrase: non plus ultra (no
more beyond), to warn seafarers not to venture beyond.
After countless days of navigation, the fearless men finally spotted land, but
their joy soon ended in despair when a sudden storm and whirlpool wrecked
their ship. The interpretation of this tragic outcome by Dante (and Christians) was that the land they arrived at was the mountain of Purgatory, which
was of necessity forbidden to all living men. Ulysses had perished in a quest
for forbidden knowledge.
Likewise many other limits to human knowledge have been assumed at
various times. In the Bible, Adam and Eve are punished with the loss of
the Earthly Paradise for having tasted the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge.
When the Babylonians displayed haughtiness by attempting to build a tower
extending to heaven, God thwarted their plans by confusing the language of
the builders so that they could no longer communicate with each other. As
a final example, cartographers in medieval times decorated their maps with
pictures of monsters, and warnings such as “Hic sunt leones” (Here be lions)
and “Hic sunt dracones” (Here be dragons), to dissuade incautious visitors.
An example is shown in Fig. 1.6. It would be a brave mariner indeed who
would use such a map to venture too far from shore.
In more recent times science has shaken many dearly held beliefs: the
Copernican system has replaced the revered Ptolemaic model of the solar
system, and Darwinism has dismantled faith in the immutability of animal
species and in the special place of humankind in the scheme of creation. As
a reaction, many followers of religion (often using tools and means provided
6 A classic example of this process is the discovery of gravitational waves in 2016 (see Chap. 7). A
whole field of science was built on attempting to verify an erroneous experiment by Joseph Weber
in 1972.
R. Barrett and P. P. Delsanto
outright fraud are however rare. In the long run however, the replication of
experiments and observations in different laboratories by different researchers
usually sorts out what is correct from what is not, even if sometimes it may
take a rather long time. 6
1.6 The Limits of Science
In a now lost poem, a sequel to The Odyssey, by Greek poet, Homer (born
sometime between the 12th and 8th Centuries BCE), Ulysses managed to
convince his sailors to attempt what was then considered the ultimate quest,
i.e. to explore the uncharted waters of the Atlantic. This adventure involved
passing through the Strait of Gibraltar and past the columns set there by the
demigod Hercules, which were inscribed with the phrase: non plus ultra (no
more beyond), to warn seafarers not to venture beyond.
After countless days of navigation, the fearless men finally spotted land, but
their joy soon ended in despair when a sudden storm and whirlpool wrecked
their ship. The interpretation of this tragic outcome by Dante (and Christians) was that the land they arrived at was the mountain of Purgatory, which
was of necessity forbidden to all living men. Ulysses had perished in a quest
for forbidden knowledge.
Likewise many other limits to human knowledge have been assumed at
various times. In the Bible, Adam and Eve are punished with the loss of
the Earthly Paradise for having tasted the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge.
When the Babylonians displayed haughtiness by attempting to build a tower
extending to heaven, God thwarted their plans by confusing the language of
the builders so that they could no longer communicate with each other. As
a final example, cartographers in medieval times decorated their maps with
pictures of monsters, and warnings such as “Hic sunt leones” (Here be lions)
and “Hic sunt dracones” (Here be dragons), to dissuade incautious visitors.
An example is shown in Fig. 1.6. It would be a brave mariner indeed who
would use such a map to venture too far from shore.
In more recent times science has shaken many dearly held beliefs: the
Copernican system has replaced the revered Ptolemaic model of the solar
system, and Darwinism has dismantled faith in the immutability of animal
species and in the special place of humankind in the scheme of creation. As
a reaction, many followers of religion (often using tools and means provided
6 A classic example of this process is the discovery of gravitational waves in 2016 (see Chap. 7). A
whole field of science was built on attempting to verify an erroneous experiment by Joseph Weber
in 1972.