The Wired post was a bit over-reaching, sure... but that's Wired for you.
The bigger point is that science is about testability, not story-telling. There may soon come a day when our analysis can prove that something is true without our being able to explain why it is true.
We are already there in many respects, but will be much further along when the current crop of Bayesian diagnostics hits the market. Combine those with the flood of information that personal genomics companies hope to make available and you might see an explosion of insight into diagnosing disease states.
Does that mean we're all done with lab science? Of course not. But our research may come to focus more on understanding what our diagnostics have already proven, rather than on charting new frontiers of knowledge.
Call it what you will, that's a pretty big change in how people organize and gather knowledge.
It already works this way in the US, mostly. Laws are debated and passed in legislative bodies where procedures are often opaque. But laws are mostly symbolism. The real action is in regulations.
US regulations are, by and large, subject to a proposal and review cycle so that those who seek to understand what is going on have an opportunity to present input and feedback before rules are finalized and take effect.
Slashdot Mirror
The Wired post was a bit over-reaching, sure... but that's Wired for you.
The bigger point is that science is about testability, not story-telling. There may soon come a day when our analysis can prove that something is true without our being able to explain why it is true.
We are already there in many respects, but will be much further along when the current crop of Bayesian diagnostics hits the market. Combine those with the flood of information that personal genomics companies hope to make available and you might see an explosion of insight into diagnosing disease states.
Does that mean we're all done with lab science? Of course not. But our research may come to focus more on understanding what our diagnostics have already proven, rather than on charting new frontiers of knowledge.
Call it what you will, that's a pretty big change in how people organize and gather knowledge.
It already works this way in the US, mostly. Laws are debated and passed in legislative bodies where procedures are often opaque. But laws are mostly symbolism. The real action is in regulations.
US regulations are, by and large, subject to a proposal and review cycle so that those who seek to understand what is going on have an opportunity to present input and feedback before rules are finalized and take effect.
That link wasn't responding when I tried it... here's one that works.