Science

Human beings take pride in being logical. It’s a nice story. The idea that reason, analysis, and methodical thinking are what led to our planetary dominance is repeated so often that it almost feels true. But if you dig even slightly below the surface, it becomes clear: logic is not our default state. It’s a learned skill. And a new one at that.

Most human decisions aren’t made from a place of reason. They’re steered by sensation. The impulse to move toward pleasure or away from pain usually comes long before any appearance of executive function. Rationality, when it shows up at all, often arrives after the fact to justify what the nervous system has already decided.

So, where does that leave science?

It leaves it as a structured attempt to get around the limitations of individual perception. The scientific method isn’t natural to us, but that’s the point. It creates an external structure we can lean on when internal clarity is lacking. It allows us to document our thinking, test assumptions, and make ideas portable across space and time. It doesn’t guarantee objectivity, but it reduces some of the noise.

Why this matters

We often mistake science for certainty. But science is a process, rather than a belief system. A fallible, repeatable, constantly evolving process. At its best, it’s a form of organized doubt. At its worst, it’s treated like a doctrine, weaponized to shut down nuance. Commonly referred to as “Scientism.”

We have to remember that science was created by emotional, tribal, biased, social animals who mimic each other’s beliefs just as easily as they mimic facial expressions. As much as we’d like to think we arrive at our perspectives through dispassionate reasoning, most of our views are shaped by heuristics, status dynamics, and environmental feedback.

That’s why scientific thinking requires discipline. It’s a skill that we need to train. Like a muscle that atrophies the moment it’s left unchallenged.