Why Physicists Make Up Stories in the Dark

30 Mar Why Physicists Make Up Stories in the Dark

“Before science had the means to explore [the unseen], we had to make do with stories that became enshrined in myth and folklore. Those stories aren’t banished as science advances; they are simply reinvented. Scientists working at the forefront of the invisible will always be confronted with gaps in knowledge, understanding, and experimental capability. In the face of those limits, they draw unconsciously on the imagery of the old stories. This is a necessary part of science, and these stories can sometimes suggest genuinely productive scientific ideas. But the danger is that we will start to believe them at face value, mistaking them for theories.”

I learned a lot from reading this article, “Why Physicists Make Up Stories in the Dark,” And I discovered Nautilus, the online magazine it appears in.