Thread: When Will Science End?

Here's a thought experiment I hope you will find enjoyable. The question is...

When will science end?

As example, how long will it be until the leading scientists hold a joint press conference to announce that their work is completed, and that there's nothing left for them to do?

Originally Posted by Typist

Here's a thought experiment I hope you will find enjoyable. The question is...

When will science end?

As example, how long will it be until the leading scientists hold a joint press conference to announce that their work is completed, and that there's nothing left for them to do?

I don't know but if it ever happens I suspect it will be a long way into the future.
I do know that, in the early 1870's , the Munich physics Professor Philipp von Jolly advised Max Planck against going into physics, saying, "in this field almost everything is already discovered, and all that remains is to fill in a few holes".
What a stupid statement from a highly intelligent man!

When the Science Forum has only one sub-forum of observation and experiment left, The Scientific Study of Religion.

Thank you for your replies. If anyone would like to make a guess in terms of years, please feel free.

For the purposes of this thread, I guess we need to assume that we don't use science to blow ourselves up, and do use science to avoid other extinction events. So, let's just guess that we are still here at the point when science is concluded, should that happen.

Originally Posted by Typist

Thank you for your replies. If anyone would like to make a guess in terms of years, please feel free.

For the purposes of this thread, I guess we need to assume that we don't use science to blow ourselves up, and do use science to avoid other extinction events. So, let's just guess that we are still here at the point when science is concluded, should that happen.

If that would be the case, I would guess that scientific study would end at the same point in time that the universe would end! [can that be calculated?]

Originally Posted by Kalopin

If that would be the case, I would guess that scientific study would end at the same point in time that the universe would end! [can that be calculated?]

So, science goes on forever? I would agree it's hard to picture an end.

If that is true, what does that mean for what we know now?

If knowledge development continues for the next 50,000 years, perhaps at an ever accelerating rate, it seems that what we know now might fairly be labeled almost nothing?

Originally Posted by Typist

Originally Posted by Kalopin

If that would be the case, I would guess that scientific study would end at the same point in time that the universe would end! [can that be calculated?]

So, science goes on forever? I would agree it's hard to picture an end.

If that is true, what does that mean for what we know now?

If knowledge development continues for the next 50,000 years, perhaps at an ever accelerating rate, it seems that what we know now might fairly be labeled almost nothing?

I agree, yes, humankind is still very, very primitive! We have just gotten started [on this planet, anyway!].

But I am afraid you are also correct in assuming our knowledge being our demise. It is actually my belief that this has already occurred, and several times in our past, maybe not from our own device in every instance, but existance and especially intelligent thought is very fragile. If mankind is to make it that far into the future, we better do better than this!

As long as there is intelligent life to appreciate, science will prevail.

Originally Posted by Typist

When will science end?

When people no longer walk the Earth and have a desire to learn about itself and the world around us. There will always be illness so there will always be scientists fighting it. If it weren't for science then I would have died of Leukemia 12 years ago. Yay for science!

A nice question. But i do think there is an "end".

Though design will always be in order, and development, tweaking of materials/methods. But besides that, i need to define science.

Science is a study to the "yet" unknown.

So science ends, when we can no longer comprehend anything beyond what we know. Or that we have found all there is to know.

I would guess it would be the first assumption. We will have a limit in our head, where we can not yet rise above. Then science will no longer be done. It will be trial/error simulations by artificially created intelligence. That would be the end of science, if mankind is to maintain the "science" computers.

Simply, science ends, when the technology of computers furthers beyond our understanding, and into self programming. My guess is this could possibly happen, the fastest, in 30 years. Or it could happen never. Who knows.

With the end of the universe..Never before that,at least I hope.

Originally Posted by nishrao

With the end of the universe..Never before that,at least I hope.

Maybe not even then: Computer that could outlive the universe a step closer - 11 July 2012 - New Scientist

Originally Posted by Typist

... If anyone would like to make a guess in terms of years, please feel free. ... .

Science and religion will both end simultaneously in exactly 723 thoushand 428 years, 6 hours, 28 minutes and 6 seconds from 3 minutes and 47 seconds ago.
They will both end when the last curious fellow has lost the interest in asking "WHY?".

they will ask Why is there nothing to ask anymore...

It is a never ending cycle..

Originally Posted by Typist

Here's a thought experiment I hope you will find enjoyable. The question is...

When will science end?

As example, how long will it be until the leading scientists hold a joint press conference to announce that their work is completed, and that there's nothing left for them to do?

When we would know why we are here !!!

I wonder what happens then

What will we do

I'll telll you the exact time when science will end, it is when science ends.

Well, as a man of layman science , I’d say we’ll be close to our limit if we ever discover and understand what triggered the Big Bang. Could be the last piece of the jigsaw for cosmology? Id hazard a guess of 30 years to figure that one out. Actually, Let’s make it 50 years!

But then I suppose understanding the universe is one thing, innovating the technology to harvest that knowledge will take far longer. For example, if possible, creating a time machine, wrap drives etc. That could be 1000 years? Ah sure let’s make it 2000 years just to cover myself again!