Question: What happens to science and scientists when they "know" everything (just like they want)?

Alexandra Kamins answered on 16 Jun 2010:

I would argue that scientists don’t want to know everything–it’s just not possible. Now, I will grant you that unfortunately some scientists, especially in the public eye, are arrogant cads who feel better when they act like they know everything, or are just about too. And there are also members of the media who misunderstand science and its activities, and quote scientists as knowing things as hard facts when they are in fact new questions or odd observations that we don’t understand yet, or theories that we are curious about and thus investigating. Can you give me an example of when you’ve seen a scientist act like they want to know everything or that they do?

We like to know answers to specific questions, which practically ALWAYS lead to more questions! You can even think about this question you just asked me. I’ve answered it with, “Scientists don’t want to know everything.” So you might then think, “But everyone always tells me that they do” or that “on TV, that’s how they always act” or even “But I had a science teacher who totally thought he knew everything.” Those thoughts would lead you to more questions about why I would have the nerve to tell you that we DON’T want to know everything, and can’t! Consider too, that I study vet medicine, looking at a particular set of diseases that jump from animals to humans. Just those diseases. I don’t explore space science like Jess, I don’t ask transgenic questions like Sian, I don’t ponder about atoms like Dean. Just within science there is a MASSIVE amount of stuff I don’t know!!! And I have to be quite comfortable knowing that I don’t know any of that. Even within my work, when I started looking at whether tribal identity was related to higher bat consumption in Ghana (and thus more contact with bats) I quickly realized I knew nothing about the Ghanaian tribes and how that might influence food choices. So I went looking for someone else who might. The fact that there is so much a scientist can’t know is what leads to the collaborative nature of science.

Now, your original question may have been more along the lines of “Why do scientists as a collective seem obsessed with knowing everything?!” And again, I’d have to ask you a question. What group DOESN’T continually explore? Business men want to know all the possible places and people to makes sales, what their competition is up to, ways they can offer a better service or product for higher profit. Musicians constantly explore new ways to combine notes, new ways to make sounds, new lyrics to say something fantastic. English majors want to know what their favourite author meant by this phase, why he wrote this book, what drove him to choose this word. What are things YOU’VE always wondered about? In what way are scientists any different? (I ask this seriously–please feel free to write back again so we can continue this discussion!)