Science is and always will be imperfect. For thousands of years, scientists and physicians often stood by and followed theories that were later discarded for a more accurate theory. Now I want you to take note of the word "theory." If you were to Google the definition of theory it would read "a supposition or a system of ideas intended to explain something, especially one based on general principles independent of the thing to be explained." While this is a correct definition it does not stand up to what a scientific theory, which is "a scientific truth that has substantial evidence." Keep that in mind as you read the word "essay." Now without further ado, allow me to list the times science was wrong.
One such theory was that of the Geocentric universe, the idea that the Earth is the center of our solar system. This theory was widely accepted by scientists until Nicholas Copernicus disproved the theory in 1543 with this book "De revolutionibus orbium coelestium."
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Another one is the Miasmatic theory of disease. During the Middle Ages, it was believed that diseases were caused by being exposed to miasma (or "bad air"). This theory was received until the 1800s, when germ theory began to take its place.
The static universe theory was also a theory that was popular with scientists at the time. Scientists firmly believed that our universe was static and never changed. This idea was challenged when Edward Hubble in the 1920s found that distant objects were moving away faster than nearby ones. In fact less than 20 years ago, we found out that the rate of speed these objects are moving away from each other has been increasing for some time now!
Now based off this small sampling of examples, you may start thinking to yourself "Should we still trust science? I mean if modern science may be proven wrong in the later future, should we continue to trust it?"
The answer is abso-fucking-lutely.
Science is adaptable to change. If a theory is proven wrong, it will eventually be discarded in favor of the new one. It won't peddle false information or anything like that. Essentially science adapts to new information. That is why you should still trust it.
