In this blog post, we will examine the background behind our belief in science as absolute truth and its limitations through the history of science and examples of quantum mechanics.
Humankind has long strived to explain the phenomena around us. Before modern times, we mainly relied on God, but since the modern scientific revolution, we have begun to explain things based on the laws of nature that we have discovered. In modern times, science has become deified. When we encounter something we don’t know or understand, it has become common to ask scientists. This is similar to how people in pre-modern times asked God about everything or asked priests who could communicate with God. That is why some people call scientists the priests of the 21st century. However, this is not actually the case. In this article, we will examine the development of quantum mechanics to eliminate prejudices against science and understand what science is.
Quantum mechanics began in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. At that time, with the completion of Maxwell’s electromagnetic theory, scientists were so satisfied with their achievements that they said there was nothing left to study in the field of physics. This was because it became possible to explain electrical and magnetic phenomena in an integrated manner. However, before long, phenomena that could not be explained by existing theories were observed, and scientists made various efforts to solve them. One of the most representative examples is the blackbody radiation phenomenon. A black body refers to an object that does not reflect light at all, but all objects emit light depending on their temperature. The higher the temperature, the more energy is emitted, and the lower the temperature, the less energy is emitted. At the time, scientists were unable to explain this phenomenon mathematically.
The person who solved this problem was Max Planck. He realized that there was no problem with electromagnetism, but that there was a problem with conventional wisdom. Planck hypothesized that energy does not flow continuously, but is broken into specific units. In physics, this is called quantization. Although this was a counterintuitive assumption, it is now accepted as the established theory. The reason we cannot easily perceive this in our daily lives is because the quantized units are so small. With Planck’s quantum hypothesis as a starting point, quantum mechanics began to develop in earnest.
Although quantization is the origin of quantum mechanics, it is not the most important concept in quantum mechanics. What makes quantum mechanics unique is the principle of uncertainty. The principle of uncertainty states that it is impossible to accurately measure the position and velocity of an object at the same time. This cannot be detected in the macroscopic world, but in the microscopic world, it is impossible to know both the absolute position and velocity of an object due to uncertainty. In quantum mechanics, the position of an object is expressed as a probability, and it is explained that multiple states coexist before observation. This concept, famous for Schrödinger’s cat, is difficult to accept as common sense.
Many scientists did not accept the probabilistic interpretation of quantum mechanics, but it is now accepted as the standard theory. This can be understood when considering the fundamental purpose of science. Many people think that the purpose of science is to fully understand the laws of nature, but the essential purpose of science is to explain natural phenomena. Scientists focus on explaining natural phenomena, but they cannot explain why such laws exist. Newton’s laws of motion are merely conclusions obtained through numerous experiments, and no one knows why they are valid. The same is true for quantum mechanics.
Science is a discipline that creates a framework for explaining nature. When phenomena that deviate from that framework are discovered, a new framework is created. Scientists are different from priests. Priests explain the causes of all phenomena, but scientists are sometimes unable to identify the causes. There are phenomena that even scientists do not understand, and when explaining such phenomena, they sometimes include their personal speculations. Therefore, it is not right to believe everything scientists say unconditionally. It is important to make judgments based on the opinions of multiple scientists. I hope you will read interviews and columns by scientists while recognizing the purpose and limitations of science.
