• Question: Why are so many things hard to understand? is it becuase our rules and theorys and are wrong? Do somethings not seem to make sence because we have misunderstood things we see? If I'm right, does it mean our theorys are always changing?

    Asked by Herp Derp to Freya, James, Miranda, Usman on 24 Jun 2015.
    • Photo: Freya Wilson

      Freya Wilson answered on 24 Jun 2015:

      That’s a really interesting and pretty deep question!

      Some theories are just that- theories rather than fact. We have some evidence but not necessarily anything absolutely conclusive, whereas some theories have evolved into ‘known fact’.

      For example evolution- we’re pretty certain about this one. We have a huge mound of irrefutable, unmistakable, obvious evidence. Of course there is always a tiny chance we have misinterpreted everything but it is extremely unlikely.

      Whereas quantum theory- we still have a lot of the fine details to iron out and some very clever people still aren’t convinced about some parts of it.

      Our theories do change to meet the evidence. A good, current, example is the ‘Grand Unified Theory’ (sometimes also called the Theory Of Everything). This is the theory that essentially forms the basis of everything we see in the world- electromagnetic forces, the way atoms are held together, and maybe even gravity. The presence, or not, of the Higgs Boson (at CERN) is one of the things that will change future opinions on the theory until we have enough evidence to iron everything out and have a good solid fact. Until then it will always be changing.

      It could be that some of our theories are actually wrong. Some people think that quantum theory is so bizarre that there must be a better way to explain it and actually we are currently just misunderstanding something. Until someone comes up with a better idea the current model we have seems to work for most things pretty well, but there are still the corners and creases to iron out.

      You’re definitely right that theories are always changing. That’s why we still have scientists who keep looking at the theories!

      Hope this answers your question!

    • Photo: James Gilbert

      James Gilbert answered on 24 Jun 2015:

      Hey Herp,

      Science is always seeking simpler theories, but simple doesn’t mean easy to understand! Perhaps one day physicists will discover a “theory of everything”, but I imagine you’d still need to be very well educated to understand it.

      I guess this also raises the question, why *should* the universe be easily understandable to humans? If we are just an evolved species, then our intelligence has limits. ‘Hard to understand’ is just a human perception. We just do our best with the brains we have!

      But yes, theories are always changing. That’s how science is.. come up with a theory and see if it rings true. The best theories have stayed standing for a long time, but it doesn’t mean they’re absolutely right. In fact, many theories are only true in certain situations. Quantum mechanics tends to break everything, so for simplicity we say things like “this is true for large systems”. A theory of everything would, of course, work for all circumstances. Maybe someone will crack it.. I know Stephen Hawking would like to!

    • Photo: Usman Bashir

      Usman Bashir answered on 24 Jun 2015:

      Well theories have been around for millenia – back to ancient greeeks and egyptians. Pythagoras came up with his theorem around 500BC. Others like Euclid spent lifetimes looking at it and proving. Today, we are taught that whole stuff in a 3-day class in GCSE. Same goes for diverse theories like quantum theory, relativity, evolution – stuff people dedicated centuries perfecting and are now high-school / college subjects to be covered in a few weeks. So that should explain why its so HARD ! lol

      I use theories as tools to do what I do. For example, evolution works for me in explaining how we have some organs which are useless to us (and may have been useful in ancestors). But it fails if i try to explain how cancer cells survive the toxic treatment we give them. ‘Adaptive response’, explains this stuff better. So I use this theory instead, in certain cancer scenarios.

      For me theories are just like tools in my toolbox, I use them where they fit. And have no problem discarding a theory in favour of a better fit, because at the end they are just that – theories. So yes they do change, and no we have not misunderstood things in entirety, there are just too many crossroads to allow one way to take use everywhere!

    • Photo: Miranda Jackson

      Miranda Jackson answered on 24 Jun 2015:

      Scientists come up with theories based on what they can observe. Before we could measure the properties of individual particles, scientific theories described only the properties and behaviour of macroscopic objects, and the collective behaviour of multiple particle systems, such as gases and solids.

      Once we find a new way to measure what is going on in the universe, we sometimes have to adjust our theories so that they fit our new view on things. However, and this is very important to remember, any new theories must also match the previous knowledge. For example, the theory of relativity would never have been accepted if it could not correctly describe the motion of cars, trains, and planes, as well as all the particles travelling close to the speed of light, and quantum mechanics would have quickly fallen out of favour if it incorrectly determined the properties of an ordinary gas.

      Scientific theories are bound to continue changing as we learn more about the universe. There was a time in the late 19th or early 20th century when some scientists thought that we knew all that there is to know about science, and that there were no more theories to discover. Shortly after that, modern physics was born, starting with relativity and quantum mechanics. Now, with each discovery we make, we learn more and more about what we do not yet know.

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