Hi Georgia,

Thanks for the clarification; not surprisingly, we are now very much in agreement regarding modern-day scientists rigidity in seeing past what we can quantify today.  That has been one of my biggest frustrations working in the science field, which I have no doubt explains why - despite the rapid changes in technology - we're not seeing any dramatic developments/revelations.  In fact, I recall reading one prominent scientist actually stating that we shouldn't expect such because we've already figured out/discovered everything (!!).  Much like religion, I think this is more reflective of the practioner (scientist) than it is the discipline (science).

Ironically, if you read what some of the most prominent and established scientists have written, they admit that they faced such rigid dogma and the achievements we now celebrate of theirs happened in spite of, instead of because of, how the scientific community goes about trying to understand the nature of things (I've written about one such scientist, Nobel Laureate James Watson, and how his experiences fighting this resistance revealed some fundamental lessons on leadership we can all benefit from).

Of course, this varies by discipline.  From my own experience (this is anecdotal more than hard facts), I've found those that study astronomy and cosmology to be some of the more open-minded scientists, willing to accept that there are things we can't quantify or even ever measure, but that doesn't diminish their relevance in terms of understanding the nature of things.

And then there are the biologists, who seem to insist on what is almost verging their own form of a religious dogma about science.  For example, one of my biology professors in university when beset with a number of questions regarding discrepancies in the evolutionary model, threw his hands up in the air (literally) and shouted at the student 'You just have to believe in it, okay?'.  Needless to say, he lost all credibility in my eyes at that moment, as I'm sure he did with many of the others students in the auditorium.

Then again, I've also met people who when they learn of my science background profess how they live only a life based in science, to which I sometimes quip 'You mean you know someone whose managed to defy the laws of gravity?'

In any case, I do agree with you that most modern-day scientists need to appreciate the balance between what we can measure and what we can intuitively understand.  Thanks again for the clarification, Georgia.