Maps & Models Are All We Know
Scientism
By Radix
By Radix
The New Religion of Modern Mythology
Any honest physicist will tell you that they only have maps & models for 4% of the known universe! That means that the other 96% is Unknown ??! And we only perceive 1% of the Electromagnetic Spectrum ( Light / Sound, Tactile.. ). So we ONLY experience 1% of the 4% that is known, the other 96% is an invisible mystery?? So it would stand to reason that the 96% is where the action really is! ?
Existing solely in the 1% of 4% is like someone having a 6 bedroom house, living in the bathroom and staying only in the shower! Also that 4% knowledge base gets upgraded or revised, so for science to claim an absolute certitude in truth is Scientism! Our science system can be just as dogmatic in it's certitude as religion & in the western world science has taken the place of religion as the high priests of reality.
Existing solely in the 1% of 4% is like someone having a 6 bedroom house, living in the bathroom and staying only in the shower! Also that 4% knowledge base gets upgraded or revised, so for science to claim an absolute certitude in truth is Scientism! Our science system can be just as dogmatic in it's certitude as religion & in the western world science has taken the place of religion as the high priests of reality.
Maps & Models
What science does well is make workable descriptions i.e. "maps & models"of what is thought to be understood. Science is a system to describe how the universe appears to be working from the perspective of a human being in different time periods. We can never fully understand reality or the universe because we have limitations due to our 5 senses, instruments of measurement & our intellect. As Alfred Korzybski stated:
"The map is not the territory, nor is the menu the meal".
We have to always remember we live in a world of appearances. The world only "appears" the way it does to us humans because of our sensory filters, our brains & cultural conditioning. Keep in mind not long ago science fought against meteors from space, air-travel / airplanes & space travel. Yet all that is now passe' in our life & laughable. Can you imagine trying to describe an X-Box, television or virtual reality to a scientist in 1742 ?
The maps & models of science do not define an "Absolute" anything,
it simply provides us rational tools to better understand & communicate what we human beings perceive life to be. Our maps & models are not the fundamental nature of reality or the universe they are just good workable descriptions of what we think may be happening, even though they have their limitations they are all we can know.
We humans as thinking, experiential, conceptual beings have limits to our capacity to understand & comprehend our world & universe that we occupy. There is "The Known", "The Unknown" ( which can be learned & known eventually ) & "The Unknowable" ( which can NEVER be Comprehended by humans ). The Unknowable is like a fish in a lake trying to understand the surface world of humans, our sciences, cultures, technologies, languages, etc... Could a fish ever hope to understand how to build a 747, play music, drive a car or read a book?
So in the same way we can NEVER KNOW the absolute nature of everything or reality in it's entirety.
All we can do is make maps & models that explain our current understanding of how we think things operate & function at certain levels. Because of this our maps & models are constantly being redefined, they are in state of constant flux.
The only absolute is change!
~
"The model itself may closely resemble the reality it describes or merely describes it's inputs & outputs. In either case, do not confuse the model of reality with reality itself."
~ Thomas Campbell
"The map is not the territory, nor is the menu the meal".
We have to always remember we live in a world of appearances. The world only "appears" the way it does to us humans because of our sensory filters, our brains & cultural conditioning. Keep in mind not long ago science fought against meteors from space, air-travel / airplanes & space travel. Yet all that is now passe' in our life & laughable. Can you imagine trying to describe an X-Box, television or virtual reality to a scientist in 1742 ?
The maps & models of science do not define an "Absolute" anything,
it simply provides us rational tools to better understand & communicate what we human beings perceive life to be. Our maps & models are not the fundamental nature of reality or the universe they are just good workable descriptions of what we think may be happening, even though they have their limitations they are all we can know.
We humans as thinking, experiential, conceptual beings have limits to our capacity to understand & comprehend our world & universe that we occupy. There is "The Known", "The Unknown" ( which can be learned & known eventually ) & "The Unknowable" ( which can NEVER be Comprehended by humans ). The Unknowable is like a fish in a lake trying to understand the surface world of humans, our sciences, cultures, technologies, languages, etc... Could a fish ever hope to understand how to build a 747, play music, drive a car or read a book?
So in the same way we can NEVER KNOW the absolute nature of everything or reality in it's entirety.
All we can do is make maps & models that explain our current understanding of how we think things operate & function at certain levels. Because of this our maps & models are constantly being redefined, they are in state of constant flux.
The only absolute is change!
~
"The model itself may closely resemble the reality it describes or merely describes it's inputs & outputs. In either case, do not confuse the model of reality with reality itself."
~ Thomas Campbell
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