Yet I have to tip my hat to the scientific community. This week scientists in Italy and Switzerland may have disproved the theory of relativity with measurements of neutrinos moving at a rate faster than the speed of light. The excitement of such a discovery and its ramifications for the foundation of human conceptions of reality (especially causaulity) is obvious throughout the various news sites carrying the story.
What is also obvious, is a healthy scepticism that these results are correct. I have read numerous interviews of scientists that all express both admiration for the experiment and disbelief that it is correct. Rather than shooting the idea down out of hand, these scientists insist that every single variable must be rigorously checked. These scientists are not heretics: their tentative conclusions and own disbelief creates a healthy system of checks and balances.
Surely the scientific community must be proud of this solid pillar of peer-review. These people dream and experiment yet do so knowing that they themselves are human and therefore make mistakes. Regardless of whether one believes in the power of scientific discourse, their scientific rigour must be admired.
It is a testament to some of the heights of contemporary thought.
-The English Student
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