Contra:
[T]he history of science suggests—and my own 32 years of experience reporting confirms—that even the most accomplished scientists at the most prestigious institutions often make claims that turn out to be erroneous or exaggerated.As a patent lawyer, over 25 years now (!) I have often had scientific experts as witnesses, pro and con, on many issues. (My own background, aside from my doctorate in law, includes three undergraduate degrees, two in the sciences, with graduate courses in science (molecular biology) as well. I have developed a skeptical view of scientific knowledge as a result...and to say something like man made climate change, to take but one example, is any kind if science is silly -- no testable hypothesis exists, which is the first step in the quest for scientific proof.
To say the science is settled in any area reminds me of a book, The Experts Speak : The Definitive Compendium of Authoritative Misinformation, Cerf, et. al. which collects many quotes by the experts, including scientists, such as:
Worthless. (Sir George Bidell Airy, K.C.B., M.A., LL.D., D.C.L., F.R.S., F.R.A.S., Astronomer Royal of Great Britain, estimating for the Chancellor of the Exchequer the potential value of the "analytical engine" invented by Charles Babbage, September 15, 1842. This resulted in the British government discontinuing its funding for Babbage. Today, however, Babbage is hailed as the inventor of the computer.)
It is quite impossible that the noble organs of human speech could be replaced by ignoble, senseless metal. Jean Bouillaud, member of the French Academy of Sciences, referring to Thomas Edison's phonograph.Lord Kelvin's "Heavier than air ships won't fly"
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