Is Science Running Out of Things to Discover?

[Still Waters]

The latest evidence is a "Correspondence" published today in the journal Nature. A group of six researchers, led by Santo Fortunato, professor of complex systems at Aalto University in Finland, points out that it is taking longer and longer for scientists to receive Nobel Prizes for their work.

http://news.national...eory-inflation/

[StarMountainKid]

Maybe all the 'big' discoveries have already been made, and what's left may be beyond the reach of the human intellect.

[taniwha]

Even if we discovered God the question should persist, " What lies beyond that? "

[Skep B]

We dont even fully understand how gravity or light works yet.

Let's not get ahead of ourselves

[StarMountainKid]

We dont even fully understand how gravity or light works yet.

Let's not get ahead of ourselves

True. I think in the late 1800s there was talk of closing the U.S. Patent Office because there was nothing new to be discovered.

[Skep B]

Plus, I dont even have cybernetic implants that shoot lasers yet.

How can we say we're at the zenith of science without me being able to be a walking weapon of death?

[pallidin]

Yeah, as noted by those above, there is much yet to discovered, or perhaps even "understood"

From what I've heard, there is a great deal about the human brain that we still do not fully understand.

Research in the medicine or medicinal herbs and such to deal with human disease or mental disorders.

I hear that there is a robust series of studies going on regarding Nature's toxins for potential human benefit.

A considerable amount of plant and animal species are estimated to be still undiscovered, and with unknown properties.

In physics, wow, watch out. There is much we still do not know, especially regarding quantum events and how to properly manipulate this truly bizzare realm. Also, the "carrier force" of free-space magnetism is completely unknown to this day- the speculation is some type of virtual photon.

Virtual particles are highy mathematically suggested in some phenomenon, but have never been actually observed; only their "effects"

I could go on-and-on.

Edited April 13, 2014 by pallidin

[lightly]

Nah. It just doesn't seem possible to ... run out of things to discover ? And then, discovery is often a beginning? ..then gaining understanding of something, or everything, is an endless process as well ?

[taniwha]

True. I think in the late 1800s there was talk of closing the U.S. Patent Office because there was nothing new to be discovered.

The unbelievers have tried similar since the 'invention' of fire.

[Orcseeker]

I'd say we are just scraping the surface of what there is to discover. With each new breakthrough there opens a new medium for discovery. We just need another big breakthrough.

[Frank Merton]

Is science running out of things to discover? It doesn't seem that way, and scientists will always have work to do filling in the details, but maybe we are beginning to find the edges of what can be comprehended by the human mind in areas like cosmology (what might or might not exist outside our cosmos) and physics (the nature of space and time) and psychology (the nature of sentience and consciousness).

[toast]

There are still cancer/epidemics and other life-threatening illness, low effectiveness rates in energy recovery

and we do not have any tool to protect us from asteroids, for example. These are some of the research fields

that are common known, but who knows about something like in this fashion:

(...) Versatile convergent synthesis of a three peptide loop containing protein mimic of whooping cough pertactin

by successive Cu(I)-catalyzed azide alkyne cycloaddition on an orthogonal alkyne functionalized TAC-scaffold (...)

This does not sound such sexy as the invention of the wheel so it will not find its way into the extended public community but this kind of research represents the bigger part of the cake.

I think the fields to be researched are still boundless and the more is known, the more will be to be researched

on science disciplines cross-border effects.

As for the Nobel price issue, discovery time/time to recieve, I would say there are two reasons. Higgs did his

discovery in the early 60s by using his brain, paper and pens and the technology to proof his claim was just

available >50 years later. The other reason might be the kind of process of the decision making by the Nobel commission and maybe there are, based on the high advanced technology available for research that was

developed within the last 50y, always a hudge number of discoveries on a Nobel level what will cause the

time expanding for final decisions.

Edited April 13, 2014 by toast

[SecretAgentMathew]

The truth is scientists are getting lazier and lazier ...

[Border Collie]

True. I think in the late 1800s there was talk of closing the U.S. Patent Office because there was nothing new to be discovered.

Yes, exactly. And bearing in mind that we don't know what we don't know, this seems a very dubious theory. And after the discovering, comes the understanding.

Long way to go.

[Mikko-kun]

I can't yet mind-control any of you..

No, the flower powder doesn't count.

Edited April 26, 2014 by Mikko-kun