History Main / ScienceIsWrong

** Also, [[http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/1041/1041_01.asp evolution is a religion]].

* Played straight with the German Sterligov, russian millionare. He takes it UpToEleven, claiming that science is not only ''wrong'' but downright [[TechnologyIsEvil Evil]], and therefore should be purged from the Earth [[KnightTemplar along with all the scientists and teachers]]. He is promptly follows his own advices and moved with the family to house in the middle of nowhere, to live in his ideal lifestyle without all those damned technology, education and medical care. He is still preach his views. [[Hypocrite Through the Internet]].

* Played with by paranormalist author Charles Fort, who spent most of the 1920s and 1930s cataloging various accounts of "damned things," or phenomena which "science" categorically explains away as nothing of any significance. These included topics like PsychicPowers, spontaneous combustion, {{Teleportation}}, and many other similar matters. However, as Fort himself wrote, he didn't believe anything he wrote of, but merely felt that everything we take for granted (religion, politics, scientific positivism) should be questioned constantly to keep them vital and relevant (a position Creator/RobertAntonWilson would come to describe as "ideal skepticism"). ''Magazine/ForteanTimes'' keeps this perspective alive along with the philosophy of Fort.

* Played with by paranormalist author Charles Fort, who spent most of the 1920s and 1930s cataloging various accounts of "damned things," or phenomena which "science" categorically explains away as nothing of any significance. These included topics like PsychicPowers, spontaneous combustion, [[TransportersAndTeleporters teleportation]], and many other similar matters. However, as Fort himself wrote, he didn't believe anything he wrote of, but merely felt that everything we take for granted (religion, politics, scientific positivism) should be questioned constantly to keep them vital and relevant (a position Creator/RobertAntonWilson would come to describe as "ideal skepticism"). ''Magazine/ForteanTimes'' keeps this perspective alive along with the philosophy of Fort.

This can also contradict one of the most prevalent sub-tropes of ScienceIsBad, namely, TechnologyIsEvil. After all, evil technology presumably ''works'', which means that at least ''that'' science wasn't (empirically) wrong. One possible way to have both tropes is {{Aesoptinium}}; ''because'' science is wrong, the technology became evil in a way the scientists didn't intend, though we can still say Science Is Bad because the scientists [[GenreSavvy should have known better]] than to make something with PotentialApplications.

In this trope, science is simply wrong: it [[GravityIsOnlyATheory lacks objectivity]] and [[WindmillPolitical does not describe anything "real]]". There are a number of general forms in which the error of science is considered:

[[quoteright:320:[[Webcomic/{{xkcd}} http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/xkcd_289_tesla_coil_9838.jpg]]]]
[[caption-width-right:320:[[https://xkcd.com/298/ For scientists this can be the hardest thing about dreams.]] ]]

->''"Do not believe what the scientists tell you. The natural history we know is a lie, a falsehood sold to us by wicked old men who would make the world a dull gray prison and protect us from the dangers inherent to freedom. They would have you believe our planet to be a lonely starship, hurtling through the void of space, barren of magic and in need of a stern hand upon the rudder."''
-->-- ''TabletopGame/{{Exalted}}'' 1st edition rulebook

The extreme end and/or reason for ScienceIsBad. May overlap by also presenting scientists as bad ''and'' wrong. [[Film/KungPowEnterTheFist Science is badong.]]

In this trope, science is simply wrong: it [[GravityIsOnlyATheory lacks objectivity]] and [[WindmillPolitical does not describe anything "real]]". There are a number of general forms in which the error of science is considered:
* As culturally constructed rather than objective, and thereby does not describe any "facts."
* As a system of beliefs and processes crafted by '''D'''ead '''W'''hite '''E'''uropean '''M'''en (DWEM) and thus irrelevant and destructive to groups X, Y, Z...
* As simply ineffectual in providing an adequate understanding of the world. Science is missing important information.
* Much more rarely, the natural laws (or at least some of them) are such that attempts to analyze them scientifically are doomed to failure. Like quantum mechanics without probability models.

This is not the same kind of wrong as that in the ScaleOfScientificSins: there it's ''ethically'' wrong.

Strongly associated with the Romanticist side of RomanticismVersusEnlightenment, along with ScienceIsBad. See also MotherNatureFatherScience, {{Aesoptinum}}, ScienceMarchesOn. A common feature of TheMasquerade. When overlapping with ScienceIsBad, can be associated with DumbIsGood. If ScienceIsUseless, this may be because it's wrong. May be presented through a StrawVulcan.

This can be hard to reconcile with violations of MagicAIsMagicA. There really shouldn't be any reason a system of observation can't find a pattern with magic ''unless'' that magic is specifically changing its behavior upon being examined. Even when this is the case; it often seems the ''only'' time magic changes its rules is to invoke this trope.

This can also contradict one of the most prevalent sub-tropes of ScienceIsBad, namely, TechnologyIsEvil. After all, evil technology presumably ''works'', which means that at least ''that'' science wasn't (empirically) wrong. One possible way to have both tropes is {{Aesoptinium}}; ''because'' science is wrong, the technology became evil in a way the scientists didn't intend, though we can still say Science Is Bad because the scientists [[GenreSavvy should have known better]] than to make something with PotentialApplications.

Often any AgentScully questioning the magic isn't really using ''science'' but rather a belief in machines. A ''good'' scientist wouldn't only complain that something isn't possible upon discovering something that contradicts previous knowledge. They'd explore the implications, test why the result is happening, see if it can be replicated, and list the various causes and effects that can be observed related to the event -- although, admittedly, many would be quick to dismiss any claims of the supernatural out of hand, because the supernatural is kind of by definition stuff that ''shouldn't'' work. TL;DR: If Science is Wrong is proven, it becomes ''a scientific worldview''.

Obviously, good scientists are [[IdiotBall rare]] where this trope is invoked.

----
!!Examples:

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:Comic Books]]
* Subtly played with in ''ComicBook/TheBooksOfMagic'', wherein it is explained that the magical explanation for a supernatural event is always correct... but so is the scientific explanation, depending on who is observing the supernatural. People who truly do not believe in magic will never, ever encounter it in the DCUniverse because of this effect.
* [[http://arassara.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/quino-fisica.jpg This strip]] by ''ComicStrip/{{Quino}}'' illustrates {{God}}'s opinion on the Laws of Physics.
* ''ComicBook/ChickTracts'':
** The tracts frequently carry this message, along with ScienceIsBad - belief in evolution makes people not just misguided, but [[HumansAreBastards evil]]!
** Also, [[http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/1041/1041_01.asp evolution is a religion]].
** Oh, and it doesn't stop at evolution either. Why do planets keep orbiting the sun? What, [[GravityIsOnlyATheory Gravity]]? You heathen! It's obviously because Jesus is so awesome.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Eastern Animation]]
* ''Animation/ThirtyEightParrots'' has a short where the protagonists want to cancel the law of gravity... because it's immoral to hit you on the head with a coconut.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Fan Fiction]]
* This comes up in the ''FanFic/HarryPotterAndTheMethodsOfRationality'' outtake dealing with ''Film/TheMatrix'', at the bottom of [[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5782108/64/Harry_Potter_and_the_Methods_of_Rationality this page]].
-->'''Morpheus''': The machines tell elegant lies.\\
''(Pause.)''\\
'''Neo''' ''(in a small voice)'': Could I please have a real physics textbook?\\
'''Morpheus''': There is no such thing, Neo. The universe doesn't run on math.
* In ''FanFic/ShinjiAndWarhammer40k'' Ritsuko becomes increasingly aggravated with the Evangelion pilots, Shinji especially, due to their wanton disregard for the laws of physics. She eventually decides to share the misery, publishing scientific papers on the latest proof-by-Evangelion that ScienceIsWrong. Reading the hate-mail from other scientists keeps her going.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Film]]
* At the beginning of Creator/MNightShyamalan's ''Film/TheHappening'', the lead says that we might never understand why bees seem to be dying off because anything science says is "just theory."
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Literature]]
* ''Literature/TheDiscoveryOfHeaven'' has, as its central plot, science being a trick by the Devil to lead man away from God by seeking truth elsewhere. As a result, mankind has failed and the angels are trying to get the Commandments back.
* Averted in the ''Literature/IncarnationsOfImmortality'' series. The series is set in a world in which both magic and science are useful. For example, magic carpet manufacturers compete with car manufacturers. Both have unique strengths and weaknesses.
* H.F., the narrator of Defoe's ''Literature/{{Journal of the Plague Year}}'', eventually concludes that all the proposed scientific explanations for plague are incorrect, including the microbial theory which we understand today as true
* In Milton's ''Literature/ParadiseLost'', Raphael tells Adam that God would laugh at astronomers who try to understand the motions of His heavens, implying that the universe was too enormous for a mortal mind to fathom.
* ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'':
** Early in the first book has Harry mentioning that Science as "the great religion of the 20th Century" has been treated as the source of all the answers and those answers don't include monsters or magic, which means people are left without a clue when they encounter the supernatural. One character (Butters) confrontation with this is something of a subplot in ''Dead Beat''.
** That said the series actually treats science with a fair amount of respect. Harry is often shown using(abusing really) various laws of physics, usually mass and/or momentum, to assist his spells in order to enhance their effects or impact. And [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome there was that thing with the dinosaur]]. Late in the series [[spoiler:Butters]] combines his scientific mind and training with Bob's exhaustive knowledge and is able to develop several new and powerful applications of magic.
** On balance while science is wrong this stems from important facts being missing from its models due to society having decided the supernatural does not exist not that any particular portion of it views are individually wrong.
* Creator/{{Aristophanes}} and Creator/JonathanSwift, both of whom portray scientists as busybodies with way too much time on their hands, coming up with complex solutions to simple problems or silly answers to things that don't need answering. Aristophanes' Creator/{{Socrates}} in ''Theatre/TheClouds'' explains that thunder is not caused by Zeus, but (as science has proven) clouds farting. Swift's Laputans attempt to replace language with a system of tapping sticks and visual signs, but "the masses rebelled, demanding to speak in the manner of their ancestors; such irrevocable enemies of science are the common people."
* ''Literature/GoodOmens'' fits this pretty nicely, since within the book the universe really is about 6000 years old (having been created in 4004 BC), Literature/TheBible is pretty literally correct, etc. Scientists aren't exactly portrayed as ''bad,'' just kind of pointless. ("The whole business with the fossilized dinosaur skeletons was a joke the palaeontologists haven't seen yet.") Let's not forget that by the end [[spoiler: it's been proven that even the immortal creatures who have existed more or less since the dawn of time (the angels and demons) don't really have any idea what's going on either; they're just better at pretending they do.]] As the book puts it,
-->"God does not play dice with the universe. He plays an ineffable game of His own devising, which might be compared, from the perspective of any of the other players [[note]]i.e., everybody[[/note]], to being involved in an obscure and complex version of poker in a pitch-dark room, with blank cards, for infinite stakes, with a Dealer who won't tell you the rules, and who ''smiles all the time''."
* In ''Literature/AmericanGods'' one character comments on the pity he feels for confused scientists when they find a skull or skeleton which doesn't quite fit the established patterns in the area. This is because the scientists are completely ignorant of the real reasons these objects are there: Egyptians landed in America thousands of years ago. He insinuates that they will always be incorrect because their scientific reasoning will not allow them to reach this conclusion.
* Aversion (and possibly deconstruction): ''Distress'' by Creator/GregEgan has [[StrawmanPolitical characters]] attempting all three originally mentioned attacks on science, and corresponding defenses of science. His repudiation of the notion of science "only being valid for white men in Europe" is given in a speech by a black South African physicist, who points out that what she and all her colleagues have discovered applies equally to every cubic Planck in the observable universe and that logic doesn't care what gonads you have.
* ScottAdams loves this trope in his written work. See his statements on the paranormal and evolution.
* In ''Black Easter'', a black magician sends a demon to drive a physicist mad by revealing to him that science is ultimately a meaningless concept.
* ''Literature/ArtemisFowl'':
** Surprisingly averted. Our current understanding of scientific concepts are wrong, yes, but that's only because we're basing it on our observations, and the Fairies go out of their way to keep us from noticing magic. There's nothing wrong with the scientific method in general.
** And Artemis mentions that the laws of physics make significantly more sense once you incorporate magic in as one of the fundamental forces, but being the boy genius he is doesn't go into details.
** Lots of the magic tends to have pseudo-scientific justifications as well. It's a weird example.
* In the ''Literature/LeftBehind'' books, science isn't in itself wrong, but it can be (mis)used by the Devil to make people believe that it isn't God behind any of the judgments that were being poured out on mankind during the Tribulation. In the book ''Apollyon'', when Chaim Rosenzweig is asked to appear on TV to give his opinion about the sun giving only one-third of its sunlight due to one of God's Trumpet Judgments (though he isn't convinced that it is the hand of God at work), he is given a script by the Global Community that has him parrot the party line about some scientific cosmic disturbance causing the phenomenon that even Chaim as a botanist can see through. To emphasize the PropagandaMachine misuse of science, one of the speakers in the so-called live roundtable "discussion" about the said phenomenon isn't ''even'' a scientist, but rather an entertainment celebrity. If anything in this series, science ultimately proves to be useless, particularly against the Bowl Judgments when medical science couldn't figure out how to deal with the outbreak of sores upon those who took the Mark of the Beast and worshiped his image.
* One RogueAngel has this as belief of a group of extreme {{Nature Lover}}s who feel even the most basic advances like farming are evil and wish to return humanity to it's hunter-gatherer roots.
* ''Wizardology'' of the Literature/OlogySeries has Merlin himself make this claim, saying that science has no objectivity or basis in fact--and even if it did follow actual laws of the world, the information it has is basically useless. Of course, living in the medieval era, you can't really expect much from the sciences of ''alchemy and astrology''.
* Discussed but ultimately (probably) averted in ''There Will Be Time'' by Creator/PoulAnderson. The protagonist has the power to travel through time, both backwards and forwards, and one of the first things he did once the novelty wore off was try to work out exactly how that was possible. According to everything the world's scientists thought they knew up until [[AfterTheEnd civilisation destroyed itself]], it wasn't; apparently there are some pretty big loopholes in the Law of Conservation of Energy that we don't fully understand, but which natural time-travellers can exploit somehow or other.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
* ''Series/ArrestedDevelopment'' has this wonderful scene
--> '''Gob:''' So, a young neighborhood tough by the name of Steve Holt's gonna be here any minute...
--> '''Michael:''' Your son.
--> '''Gob:''' According to him...
--> '''Michael:''' And a DNA test.
--> '''Gob:''' I heard the jury's still out on science.
* Krzysztof Kieślowski's ''Decalogue I'': professor father and genius son think everything can be understood in mathematics and solved through their computer. The computer is able to calculate what the mother is doing, but comes up blank when the son asks what she is dreaming of (a religious aunt is able to provide the answer: she is dreaming of her son of course). The son goes skating on a frozen lake, because the computer says the ice will hold three times his weight. The ice breaks and the son is frozen to death.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Stand-Up Comedy]]
* Deconstructed by Dara O'Briain in one of his live shows, where he discusses homeopathy and his irritation with it. He points out that the real-life accusation levelled at science that "it doesn't know everything" is inherently flawed because the whole point of science is that scientists are ''fully aware'' that they don't know everything, and if they did "it'd stop" -- there would be no point in continuing. [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDYba0m6ztE&feature=related Enjoy!]] Don't drink while he's talking.
* ''Music/TimMinchin'' really hates this trope and will often go on rants about homepathy but perhaps the best example of this would be his beat poem [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujUQn0HhGEk Storm]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
* ''TabletopGame/NewWorldOfDarkness'':
** In the sourcebook ''Second Sight'', science is presented not only as being wrong about PsychicPowers, but actively ''damaging'' to their activation - scientific scrutiny makes them harder to use. Which is, of course, why no use of psychic ability ever passed the Randi Challenge (aside from the fact that everyone who entered was a charlatan; actual psychics were too busy conning casinos or playing the stock market). To be even more specific, it's not science itself but ''skepticism'' which weakens psychic powers, it just unhappily coincides that scientists are the best equipped and inclined to be skeptical. As presented, psychic powers are strengthened in the presence of true believers, but a group of skeptics (or just one who has bought the Merit "Doubting Thomas") will alter probability to the point where the likelihood of success becomes equal to the likelihood of achieving a CriticalFailure.
** In ''TabletopGame/HunterTheVigil'', there ARE scientific approaches to fighting the supernatural that are highly effective. Task Force VALKYRIE and The Cheiron Group both rely on scientific understanding of the supernatural in order to produce high-tech weaponry or magical surgery. The Null Mysteriis have even invented FantasticScience.
** The compact Null Mysteriis consists of rationalists who apply the scientific method to supernatural phenomena. A small subgroup of Null Mysteriis is devoted to finding answers to supernatural phenomena that fit already established scientific law; they're presented as being horribly misguided and are often given disproportionate screen time. Other members of Null Mysteriis are really on-the-nose on some topics, comparatively speaking (such as [[SlasherMovie slashers]]): in ''Witch Finders'' a unified theory of magic is presented as something of a holy grail, while in ''Spirit Slayers'' they're excited to have proven that spirits and werewolves ''[[RealityIsOutToLunch violate conventional physics]].''
** ''TabletopGame/MageTheAwakening'' actually subverts it on some level; while science may be far from the ''whole'' Supernal truth, honest discovery and research into the laws of the Fallen World provides a good chance for the researcher to Awaken as a mage. The Seers of the Throne ''hate'' this, and thus try to make all institutions they infiltrate (not just science, but politics, religion, etc.) as stifling and dogmatic as possible to ensure none of the "wrong" people Awaken.
** More generally, where TabletopGame/MageTheAscension told us that science was a vicious lie by the man to keep the mages down, TabletopGame/MageTheAwakening tells us that science is a true but incomplete way of describing the universe, and that there are uncountable wonders it simply hasn't the tools to find yet-- basically what a real-life scientist will tell you. For bonus points, as mundane humans learn the secrets of the world, they can actually pass out of the purview of mages -- in the middle ages a master of forces could summon up atomic fire to eradicate cities, but since 1945 it's gone from being unwise but possible to being something only the archmages can do, if even they can do it. So science actually has a better record of breaking Seer power than the traditions themselves.
* In ''TabletopGame/GeniusTheTransgression'', Wonders are inherently non-repeatable phenomena, which causes a problem for anyone trying to scientifically test then verify with additional tests. This might be because mad science is inherently unexplainable but it could just as easily be because [[MadScientist Mad Scientists]] are explicitly not any good at proper science. On the other hand, ''sane'' scientists are assumed to be right but simply haven't come across mad science. However, it's just as explicitly mentioned that Wonders must at least be nominally possible and follow basic logic: for example a CoolCar still needs proper wheels and a proper engine, and they will work on principles similar to normal engines and wheels but they will be much more effective than they "should" be. On the other hand, stuff like telekinesis rays do not work on ''any'' real life principles. The proportion of real science to mad science also gets smaller as the Genius gains greater Inspiration, eventually culminating in wonders that will only appear scientific anymore at first glance and run mostly on Mania.
* An ''TabletopGame/OldWorldOfDarkness'' example: ''TabletopGame/MageTheAscension'' (usually) posits that ''all'' Science is Wrong -- except when enough people believe that it's not. The Technocracy convinced humanity that science is right during the Enlightenment, though, so mundane reality works on observable principle as long as people believe it does. The whole point of the game is that Awakening allows the True Mage(tm) to flip mundane reality and the collected observers the bird and do things through "discredited" systems of magic/faith/pseudo-science. The mere presence of mundanes who believe in conventional science also tends to make True Magic go awry in non-repeatable and/or fatal ways, making it basically impossible to objectively observe magic.
* Ironically, while ''TabletopGame/{{Exalted}}'' exemplifies the trope in the page quote (which appears on the back cover of both the first and second edition core rulebooks), the setting itself generally subverts it through heavy use of MagiTek and FunctionalMagic. It's not that the setting is unscientific, it's just that it takes place in a world where the RuleOfCool is ''encoded into the laws of physics.'' Most of the setting's most powerful artificers, spellcasters, and thaumaturges are described as having approached their trades with a decidedly scientific mindset; powerful artificers are even called 'Sorcerer-Engineers'.
* Similarly, the ''TabletopGame/{{Planescape}}'' setting. Science can't really cope with stuff like a spire of infinite length with a city at the top. Since the entire setting runs on ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve and YourMindMakesItReal, well... The Guvners are trying to find the laws of the Planes, only there is an opposite faction that believes there aren't any. This complicates matters.
* In ''TabletopGame/UnknownArmies'', science and magic and reality have a very complicated relationship. For the most part, science is completely accurate until it butts up against magic, which is run by YourMindMakesItReal -- magic users are literally so obsessed with their worldview that they impose themselves upon reality. It's also implied that science is only accurate ''because'' of ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve. That is to say, as civilizations rose and people began thinking in more orderly terms, the world settled down into something that can be defined by science, and magic significantly weakened. Modern scientific positivism was basically the death knell for "easy" magic, meaning you now have to be quite insane to actually pull off magic of any real power anymore.
* Science ''was'' wrong in ''TabletopGame/CthulhuTech''; emphasis on the past tense, there. The discovery of [[{{Magitek}} arcanotechnology]] and the associated theory merely expanded what science knew, to include things like sorcery and the thermodynamics-breaking D-Engine. Of course, these new developments tend to drive researchers crazy, but that's a problem with the human mind, not science.
* The premise behind the occult RPG ''TabletopGame/{{Nephilim}}'' is "History is a lie. Science is a delusion"; pretty much everything you learned in school is a deliberate falsehood by a race of immortal supernatural beings to keep humans as passive prey. Scientists either intentionally falsify data, or are members of the Grand Conspiracy.
* ''TabletopGame/SeventhSea'' averts this: Until recently, the [[CrystalDragonJesus church]] was the biggest sponsor of scientific studies, believing that by understanding their deity's creation, they'd become closer to it. Then, the head of the church died and with no successor in sight, the [[UsefulNotes/TheSpanishInquisition inquisition]] [[KnightTemplar ran amok]], declaring the end of the world nigh and pressuring universities to close so that man could focus on preparing their souls for the next world instead of wasting time trying to understand the present one...
* ''TabletopGame/{{Nobilis}}'' justifies and subverts this-the world literally hides it's nature from {{Muggles}}, so science is wrong by virtue of the fact that it is based on a model where some critical information is always unknown-the SpiritWorld, for instance. The ''scientific method'' however, is a perfectly valid form of understanding reality, and there's nothing that prevents a non-Muggle ScienceHero from being right once he's been clued in to how the universe really works. On the other hand, if the Excrucians were to destroy the domain called "scientific method", it would, in fact, stop working. Creation would probably suffer pretty badly afterwards...
* In ''TabletopGame/{{Shadowrun}}'', this is both played straight and subverted. Science can be used to explain magic, sure. Scientists and Hermetic mages use complex formulae and theories as to how magic works the way it does. They're right, but the shaman who thinks magic comes from the Loa is just as right, as is the adept who believes magic works just because he wants it to. The nature of magic is such that everyone is right, and no one is sure how this is even possible. [[spoiler:There is True Magic, but that is magic super powered because it's how it's supposed to be used, explaining nothing about how it works.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Video Games]]
* ''VideoGame/CaptainBibleInDomeOfDarkness'' strongly implies this. It's a Christian game, and it involves finding bible quotes to combat evil HollywoodAtheist robots. But some of the lessons it teaches are rather anti-science or at least contrary to mainstream scientific opinion... Remember kids, rainbows are divine and not simply light reflecting off of water particles, and evolution is wrong and incompatible with Christianity!
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Webcomics]]
* One ''Webcomic/{{XKCD}}'' [[http://xkcd.com/298 "Tesla Coil"]]: The world doesn't actually make sense. Science doesn't work. No one told you because you're cute when you get into something. Still, neat toy. [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]] in the AltText though. "For scientists, this can be the hardest thing [[AllJustADream about dreams]]." The comic in general averts this trope. "[[CatchPhrase Science: It works, bitches.]]"
* ''Webcomic/GunnerkriggCourt'':
** Gillitie Wood holds to Ethereal Tenet, which seems to boil down to belief that magic and the universe can't (and shouldn't) be explained.
--->'''Tom Siddell:''' Etherial Tenet can be summarised as "It just does, okay?"
** The court itself is quite keen on "ethereal science" whether they can come up with a working theory of magic is yet to be seen.
** However, there are a few examples of FunctionalMagic being used by secularists. Combined with a supercomputer, no less.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Originals]]
* Played for laughs in ''WebVideo/{{lonelygirl15}}'', in which Bree's CatchPhrase is "Proving science wrong!" She creates a series of videos which purport to disprove scientific theories (but don't).
* The episodic erotic web-novel ''Literature/TalesOfMU'' has this as part of its premise. It essentially inverts the usual order of things, where the students are in college to study magic but a few of the loners and outsiders dabble in "science" and are made fun of for actually believing the rubbish. The protagonist delivers a ''long'' AuthorFilibuster on this topic... the very same protagonist who attends a college devoted to the study of magic, and expounds at great length in an earlier chapter on her interest in the MagiTek that their civilization runs on. Erin is many things, but "consistent" is not one of them.
* This trope is zigzagged all over the place in ''Literature/FunnyBusiness''. The main character, Jeanette, despite being completely human, is a nigh-omnipotent RealityWarper for whom the laws of physics have no meaning. However, she has nothing to do with the fact that [[GravityIsOnlyATheory atoms do not exist]] in-universe. That's because [[spoiler: the characters live in a simulation of the real world]], which is also the source of Jeanette's powers. There is nothing wrong with science regarding the [[spoiler:real]] world. In fact, [[MindScrew Jeanette can only defy science because science is valid]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* This is the basis of ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' episode "Lisa the Skeptic." When Lisa tries to prove that the angel skeleton isn't real using scientific means, much of the Springfieldian community decides to dismiss science altogether, epitomized by Moe's line of, "What has science ever done for us?" It turns out Lisa was [[spoiler:right. The angel skeleton was planted in the ground as a viral marketing ploy. The scientist's tests had been "inconclusive" because he was too lazy or cheap to run them.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Other]]
* This trope often fails to take into account the attitude in modern science that Science is ''Incomplete'', hence scientists anticipate that many theories and principles will probably be proven "wrong" in light of new information. Science is limited to what we can observe and measure, so how "right" it is is only so in light of our current limited understanding (and given the vast size of and complexity of the universe, all information will be limited for a long, long time to come). As such, while being "wrong" may annoy a bit - and some diehards hell-bent on a pet theory will just not let go - most scientists will be ''excited'' when proven wrong. Just think of all the possibilities, the great new directions, and the applications! For example, [[http://www.harpers.org/archive/2011/12/0083720 this article in ''Harper's'']] describes a group of people who have come to the conclusion the entirety of physics may be, if not ''wrong'', at least correct only in a very limited circumstance, and that science itself [[TheseAreThingsManWasNotMeantToKnow may be unable ever to find, let alone explain]] the laws of physics. This group is called... um... "[[MindScrew physicists]]." This also leads to the common dismissal: "If we can't really definitely know everything, why bother/why trust it/why care?" Look at it this way: If you're lost, a map with a piece torn out of it is still useful compared to having no map at all. Incomplete it may be (and may possibly remain), but what we do know is useful, and the more bits we fill in the more information we have to make use of.
* Believers in the paranormal-- PsychicPowers, AlienAbduction, and other NewAge ideas-- often criticize science for being too closed-minded to accept their ideas. These people usually fail to give compelling evidence to wake the interests of more conventional scientists. Naturally, the latter group would be excited by new stuff; imagine dropping a ghost on the table of a scientist, they would be delighted to analyze it and help you out with more. Alas, since that hasn't happened yet, most of them remain sceptical.
* The jury is still out on whether [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Feyerabend Paul Feyerabend]] is an example of this trope. On one hand, he heavily criticizes the "scientific method", claiming that scientists give less attention to results that challenge their notions (and even siding with creationists for some time). However, in ''The Trouble With Physics'', Lee Smolin argues that Feyerabend's disdain actually stems from [[StealthMentor a devoted preoccupation with scientific inquiry]].
* Played with by paranormalist author Charles Fort, who spent most of the 1920s and 1930s cataloging various accounts of "damned things," or phenomena which "science" categorically explains away as nothing of any significance. These included topics like PsychicPowers, spontaneous combustion, [[TransportersAndTeleporters teleportation]], and many other similar matters. However, as Fort himself wrote, he didn't believe anything he wrote of, but merely felt that everything we take for granted (religion, politics, scientific positivism) should be questioned constantly to keep them vital and relevant (a position Creator/RobertAntonWilson would come to describe as "ideal skepticism"). ''Magazine/ForteanTimes'' keeps this perspective alive along with the philosophy of Fort.
* Played straight with the German Sterligov, russian millionare. He takes it UpToEleven, claiming that science is not only ''wrong'' but downright [[TechnologyIsEvil Evil]], and therefore should be purged from the Earth [[KnightTemplar along with all the scientists and teachers]]. He is promptly follows his own advices and moved with the family to house in the middle of nowhere, to live in his ideal lifestyle without all those damned technology, education and medical care. He is still preach his views. [[Hypocrite Through the Internet]].
* [[http://www.thewychefamily.com/beliefs/postmodern-science.html Post-modernism]] and post-structuralism are philosophical movements that reject any kind of firm, immutable truth. Science at its best is an incomplete description of an observation made using flawed tools, and at its worst, a dogmatic inquisition that locks up heretics guilty of blaspheming Reality under the designation "mental illness".
* There is a well-regarded journal article titled [[http://www.plosmedicine.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pmed.0020124 Why Most Published Research Findings Are False]], which posits that entire fields of contemporary science may be "null fields," i.e. completely bogus. Quite possibly including, ironically, [[http://biostats.bepress.com/jhubiostat/paper135/ that very article]].
* Raymond Moody, the man who first coined the phrase "NearDeathExperience", is sometimes accused of holding this viewpoint because he apparently holds the belief that science cannot investigate the claims of those who have the experiences. [[QuoteMine What he actually said]] is that the experiences are not ''yet'' a scientific question (because of the various ethical questions, current limitations in technology, and the fact that no one working in the field can really agree on the best ways to investigate these claims) but that, [[ScienceMarchesOn one day, they will be]].
* One common misunderstanding about what science is regards "procedural naturalism", a concept that actually goes back to the 12th century. The basic idea is that one must assume natural causes and only use natural causes in describing phenomena. There are two sides to this. First is that something like Intelligent Design is not, by definition, scientific. This is not to say that assuming intelligent design cannot lead to practical applications with repeatable results and such, but it doesn't follow the paradigm. To the extent that making non-natural assumptions leads to falsifiable predictions that are confirmed, science is wrong (or at least, incomplete). The second part is taking procedural naturalism (as an assumption) and making the leap to an assertion that only natural causes can describe phenomena. This is known as ontological or philosophical naturalism and is a metaphysical proposition. As such, it cannot be "proven" right or wrong, at least not by what is itself considered to be science. Whether it's Hume's Problem with Induction or Godel's Incompleteness Theorem, there is no way to be sure. Making the assertion is itself not scientific. This trope includes the opposite assertion which - not surprisingly - is just as unscientific, but alleged to be moreso because of this confusion.
* Scientific approaches to questions of morality can be criticized as not scientific because abstract concepts of right, wrong, good, evil and the like have no physical characteristics - in and of themselves - from which empirical observations can be made. Hume's Law laid out the Is-Ought Problem: normative prescriptions can not be deduced from empirical observation and description. To describe good or evil, one must define it, but that is the whole point: you must choose axioms for what is good or evil before you can test them. Noting the above entry, one can assume that morals are a product of evolutionary psychobiology but that is still just an assumption. It may even provide descriptive and predictive power but there is no way to show that someone "should" do something in some circumstance without falling back on your original assumption. You can't tell if it is correct, but it is bad science. This trope can assert that the things that are most important to human beings - love, beauty, justice - cannot be measured and therefore cannot be approached scientifically. While scientists can study one's brain's composition and activity to determine what triggers certain emotions and the effects of experiencing what one likes / dislikes, claiming that personal preferences are objectively "right or wrong" is a very flawed statement.
[[/folder]]

----

* The ''ComicBook/ChickTracts'' frequently carry this message, along with ScienceIsBad - belief in evolution makes people not just misguided, but [[HumansAreBastards evil]]!

* Early in the first book in ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'' has Harry mentioning that Science as "the great religion of the 20th Century" has been treated as the source of all the answers and those answers don't include monsters or magic, which means people are left without a clue when they encounter the supernatural. One character (Butters) confrontation with this is something of a subplot in ''Dead Beat''.

* ''Literature/GoodOmens'' fits this pretty nicely, since within the book the universe really is about 6000 years old (having been created in 4004 BC), Literature/TheBible is pretty literally correct, etc. Scientists aren't exactly portrayed as ''bad,'' just kind of pointless. ("The whole business with the fossilized dinosaur skeletons was a joke the palaeontologists haven't seen yet.")
** Let's not forget that by the end [[spoiler: it's been proven that even the immortal creatures who have existed more or less since the dawn of time (the angels and demons) don't really have any idea what's going on either; they're just better at pretending they do.]] As the book puts it,
--->"God does not play dice with the universe. He plays an ineffable game of His own devising, which might be compared, from the perspective of any of the other players [[note]]i.e., everybody[[/note]], to being involved in an obscure and complex version of poker in a pitch-dark room, with blank cards, for infinite stakes, with a Dealer who won't tell you the rules, and who ''smiles all the time''."

* Surprisingly averted in ''Literature/ArtemisFowl''. Our current understanding of scientific concepts are wrong, yes, but that's only because we're basing it on our observations, and the Fairies go out of their way to keep us from noticing magic. There's nothing wrong with the scientific method in general.

* In the ''Literature/LeftBehind'' books, science isn't in itself wrong, but it can be (mis)used by the Devil to make people believe that it isn't God behind any of the judgments that were being poured out on mankind during the Tribulation. In the book ''Apollyon'', when Chaim Rosenzweig is asked to appear on TV to give his opinion about the sun giving only one-third of its sunlight due to one of God's Trumpet Judgments (though he isn't convinced that it is the hand of God at work), he is given a script by the Global Community that has him parrot the party line about some scientific cosmic disturbance causing the phenomenon that even Chaim as a botanist can see through. To emphasize the PropagandaMachine misuse of science, one of the speakers in the so-called live roundtable "discussion" about the said phenomenon isn't ''even'' a scientist, but rather an entertainment celebrity.
** If anything in this series, science ultimately proves to be useless, particularly against the Bowl Judgments when medical science couldn't figure out how to deal with the outbreak of sores upon those who took the Mark of the Beast and worshiped his image.

* Deconstructed by Dara O'Briain in one of his live shows, where he discusses homeopathy and his irritation with it. He points out that the real-life accusation levelled at science that "it doesn't know everything" is inherently flawed because the whole point of science is that scientists are ''fully aware'' that they don't know everything, and if they did "it'd stop" -- there would be no point in continuing.
** [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDYba0m6ztE&feature=related Enjoy!]] Don't drink while he's talking.

* In the ''TabletopGame/NewWorldOfDarkness'' sourcebook ''Second Sight'', science is presented not only as being wrong about PsychicPowers, but actively ''damaging'' to their activation - scientific scrutiny makes them harder to use. Which is, of course, why no use of psychic ability ever passed the Randi Challenge (aside from the fact that everyone who entered was a charlatan; actual psychics were too busy conning casinos or playing the stock market). To be even more specific, it's not science itself but ''skepticism'' which weakens psychic powers, it just unhappily coincides that scientists are the best equipped and inclined to be skeptical. As presented, psychic powers are strengthened in the presence of true believers, but a group of skeptics (or just one who has bought the Merit "Doubting Thomas") will alter probability to the point where the likelihood of success becomes equal to the likelihood of achieving a CriticalFailure.

*** More generally, where TabletopGame/MageTheAscension told us that science was a vicious lie by the man to keep the mages down, TabletopGame/MageTheAwakening tells us that science is a true but incomplete way of describing the universe, and that there are uncountable wonders it simply hasn't the tools to find yet-- basically what a real-life scientist will tell you.
*** For bonus points, as mundane humans learn the secrets of the world, they can actually pass out of the purview of mages -- in the middle ages a master of forces could summon up atomic fire to eradicate cities, but since 1945 it's gone from being unwise but possible to being something only the archmages can do, if even they can do it. So science actually has a better record of breaking Seer power than the traditions themselves.
* In ''TabletopGame/GeniusTheTransgression'', Wonders are inherently non-repeatable phenomena, which causes a problem for anyone trying to scientifically test then verify with additional tests. This might be because mad science is inherently unexplainable but it could just as easily be because [[MadScientist Mad Scientists]] are explicitly not any good at proper science. On the other hand, ''sane'' scientists are assumed to be right but simply haven't come across mad science.
*** However, it's just as explicitly mentioned that Wonders must at least be nominally possible and follow basic logic: for example a CoolCar still needs proper wheels and a proper engine, and they will work on principles similar to normal engines and wheels but they will be much more effective than they "should" be. On the other hand, stuff like telekinesis rays do not work on ''any'' real life principles. The proportion of real science to mad science also gets smaller as the Genius gains greater Inspiration, eventually culminating in wonders that will only appear scientific anymore at first glance and run mostly on Mania.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Nobilis}}'' justifies and subverts this-the world literally hides it's nature from {{Muggles}}, so science is wrong by virtue of the fact that it is based on a model where some critical information is always unknown-the SpiritWorld, for instance. The ''scientific method'' however, is a perfectly valid form of understanding reality, and there's nothing that prevents a non-Muggle ScienceHero from being right once he's been clued in to how the universe really works.
** On the other hand, if the Excrucians were to destroy the domain called "scientific method", it would, in fact, stop working. Creation would probably suffer pretty badly afterwards...

* In ''Webcomic/GunnerkriggCourt'', Gillitie Wood holds to Ethereal Tenet, which seems to boil down to belief that magic and the universe can't (and shouldn't) be explained.
-->'''Tom Siddell:''' Etherial Tenet can be summarised as "It just does, okay?"

* This trope often fails to take into account the attitude in modern science that Science is ''Incomplete'', hence scientists anticipate that many theories and principles will probably be proven "wrong" in light of new information. Science is limited to what we can observe and measure, so how "right" it is is only so in light of our current limited understanding (and given the vast size of and complexity of the universe, all information will be limited for a long, long time to come). As such, while being "wrong" may annoy a bit - and some diehards hell-bent on a pet theory will just not let go - most scientists will be ''excited'' when proven wrong. Just think of all the possibilities, the great new directions, and the applications!
** For example, [[http://www.harpers.org/archive/2011/12/0083720 this article in ''Harper's'']] describes a group of people who have come to the conclusion the entirety of physics may be, if not ''wrong'', at least correct only in a very limited circumstance, and that science itself [[TheseAreThingsManWasNotMeantToKnow may be unable ever to find, let alone explain]] the laws of physics. This group is called... um... "[[MindScrew physicists]]."
** This also leads to the common dismissal: "If we can't really definitely know everything, why bother/why trust it/why care?" Look at it this way: If you're lost, a map with a piece torn out of it is still useful compared to having no map at all. Incomplete it may be (and may possibly remain), but what we do know is useful, and the more bits we fill in the more information we have to make use of.

* There is a well-regarded journal article titled [[http://www.plosmedicine.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pmed.0020124 Why Most Published Research Findings Are False]], which posits that entire fields of contemporary science may be "null fields," i.e. completely bogus.
** Quite possibly including, ironically, [[http://biostats.bepress.com/jhubiostat/paper135/ that very article]].

* Scientific approaches to questions of morality can be criticized as not scientific because abstract concepts of right, wrong, good, evil and the like have no physical characteristics - in and of themselves - from which empirical observations can be made. Hume's Law laid out the Is-Ought Problem: normative prescriptions can not be deduced from empirical observation and description. To describe good or evil, one must define it, but that is the whole point: you must choose axioms for what is good or evil before you can test them. Noting the above entry, one can assume that morals a product of evolutionary psychobiology but that is still just an assumption. It may even provide descriptive and predictive power but there is no way to show that someone "should" do something in some circumstance without falling back on your original assumption. You can't tell if it is correct, but it is bad science. This trope can assert that the things that are most important to human beings - love, beauty, justice - cannot be measured and therefore cannot be approached scientifically.

* [[http://arassara.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/quino-fisica.jpg This strip]] by {{Quino}} illustrates {{God}}'s opinion on the Laws of Physics.

* This comes up in the ''HarryPotterAndTheMethodsOfRationality'' outtake dealing with ''Film/TheMatrix'', at the bottom of [[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5782108/64/Harry_Potter_and_the_Methods_of_Rationality this page]].

* Early in the first book in ''TheDresdenFiles'' has Harry mentioning that Science as "the great religion of the 20th Century" has been treated as the source of all the answers and those answers don't include monsters or magic, which means people are left without a clue when they encounter the supernatural. One character (Butters) confrontation with this is something of a subplot in ''Dead Beat''.

* ''TimMinchin'' really hates this trope and will often go on rants about homepathy but perhaps the best example of this would be his beat poem [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujUQn0HhGEk Storm]]

* Similarly, the ''{{Planescape}}'' setting. Science can't really cope with stuff like a spire of infinite length with a city at the top. Since the entire setting runs on ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve and YourMindMakesItReal, well... The Guvners are trying to find the laws of the Planes, only there is an opposite faction that believes there aren't any. This complicates matters.

* ''TabletopGame/SeventhSea averts this: Until recently, the [[CrystalDragonJesus church]] was the biggest sponsor of scientific studies, believing that by understanding their deity's creation, they'd become closer to it. Then, the head of the church died and with no successor in sight, the [[UsefulNotes/TheSpanishInquisition inquisition]] [[KnightTemplar ran amok]], declaring the end of the world nigh and pressuring universities to close so that man could focus on preparing their souls for the next world instead of wasting time trying to understand the present one...

* In ''{{Shadowrun}}'', this is both played straight and subverted. Science can be used to explain magic, sure. Scientists and Hermetic mages use complex formulae and theories as to how magic works the way it does. They're right, but the shaman who thinks magic comes from the Loa is just as right, as is the adept who believes magic works just because he wants it to. The nature of magic is such that everyone is right, and no one is sure how this is even possible. [[spoiler:There is True Magic, but that is magic super powered because it's how it's supposed to be used, explaining nothing about how it works.]]

* Played for laughs in ''{{lonelygirl15}}'', in which Bree's CatchPhrase is "Proving science wrong!" She creates a series of videos which purport to disprove scientific theories (but don't).

* Played with by paranormalist author Charles Fort, who spent most of the 1920s and 1930s cataloging various accounts of "damned things," or phenomena which "science" categorically explains away as nothing of any significance. These included topics like PsychicPowers, spontaneous combustion, [[TransportersAndTeleporters teleportation]], and many other similar matters. However, as Fort himself wrote, he didn't believe anything he wrote of, but merely felt that everything we take for granted (religion, politics, scientific positivism) should be questioned constantly to keep them vital and relevant (a position Creator/RobertAntonWilson would come to describe as "ideal skepticism").

* Subtly played with in ''ComicBook/TheBooksOfMagic," wherein it is explained that the magical explanation for a supernatural event is always correct... but so is the scientific explanation, depending on who is observing the supernatural. People who truly do not believe in magic will never, ever encounter it in the DCUniverse because of this effect.

* Animation/ThirtyEightParrots has a short where the protagonists want to cancel the law of gravity... because it's immoral to hit you on the head with a coconut.

* TheDiscoveryOfHeaven has, as its central plot, science being a trick by the Devil to lead man away from God by seeking truth elsewhere. As a result, mankind has failed and the angels are trying to get the Commandments back.
* Averted in the IncarnationsOfImmortality series. The series is set in a world in which both magic and science are useful. For example, magic carpet manufacturers compete with car manufacturers. Both have unique strengths and weaknesses.
* H.F., the narrator of Defoe's ''Journal of the Plague Year'', eventually concludes that all the proposed scientific explanations for plague are incorrect, including the microbial theory which we understand today as true
* In Milton's ''ParadiseLost'', Raphael tells Adam that God would laugh at astronomers who try to understand the motions of His heavens, implying that the universe was too enormous for a mortal mind to fathom.

* In the Literature/LeftBehind books, science isn't in itself wrong, but it can be (mis)used by the Devil to make people believe that it isn't God behind any of the judgments that were being poured out on mankind during the Tribulation. In the book ''Apollyon'', when Chaim Rosenzweig is asked to appear on TV to give his opinion about the sun giving only one-third of its sunlight due to one of God's Trumpet Judgments (though he isn't convinced that it is the hand of God at work), he is given a script by the Global Community that has him parrot the party line about some scientific cosmic disturbance causing the phenomenon that even Chaim as a botanist can see through. To emphasize the PropagandaMachine misuse of science, one of the speakers in the so-called live roundtable "discussion" about the said phenomenon isn't ''even'' a scientist, but rather an entertainment celebrity.

* SeventhSea averts this: Until recently, the [[CrystalDragonJesus church]] was the biggest sponsor of scientific studies, believing that by understanding their deity's creation, they'd become closer to it. Then, the head of the church died and with no successor in sight, the [[UsefulNotes/TheSpanishInquisition inquisition]] [[KnightTemplar ran amok]], declaring the end of the world nigh and pressuring universities to close so that man could focus on preparing their souls for the next world instead of wasting time trying to understand the present one...

* Played with by paranormalist author Charles Fort, who spent most of the 1920s and 1930s cataloging various accounts of "damned things," or phenomena which "science" categorically explains away as nothing of any significance. These included topics like PsychicPowers, spontaneous combustion, [[TransportersAndTeleporters teleportation]], and many other similar matters. However, as Fort himself wrote, he didn't believe anything he wrote of, but merely felt that everything we take for granted (religion, politics, scientific positivism) should be questioned constantly to keep them vital and relevant (a position RobertAntonWilson would come to describe as "ideal skepticism").

[[quoteright:320:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/xkcd_289_tesla_coil_9838.jpg]]

* In ''TabletopGame/Shadowrun'', this is both played straight and subverted. Science can be used to explain magic, sure. Scientists and Hermetic mages use complex formulae and theories as to how magic works the way it does. They're right, but the shaman who thinks magic comes from the Loa is just as right, as is the adept who believes magic works just because he wants it to. The nature of magic is such that everyone is right, and no one is sure how this is even possible. [[spoiler:There is True Magic, but that is magic super powered because it's how it's supposed to be used, explaining nothing about how it works.]]

* ''VideoGame/CaptainBibleInDomeOfDarkness'' strongly implies this. It's a Christian game, and it involves finding bible quotes to combat evil HollywoodAtheist robots. But some of the lessons it teaches are rather anti-science... Remember kids, rainbows are divine and not simply light reflecting off of water particles, and evolution is wrong and incompatible with Christianity!

[[quoteright:309:[[Webcomic/{{xkcd}} http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/xkcd-tesla_coil-sciencewrong.png]]]]
[[caption-width-right:309:For scientists this can be the hardest thing about dreams.]]

* Believers in the paranormal-- PsychicPowers, AlienAbduction, and other NewAge ideas-- often criticize science for being too closed-minded to accept their ideas.

* As simply ineffectual in providing an adequate understanding of the world.
* Much more rarely, in a fictional verse, the natural laws (or at least some of them) are such that attempts to analyze them scientifically are doomed to failure. In such a case, it's normally made clear that they're not commenting on science in the real world.

* The first book in ''TheDresdenFiles'' has Harry mentioning that Science has been treated as the source of all the answers in the 21st century, which means people are left without a clue when they encounter the supernatural. The attitude tones down soon after that.
** May also fall under the clause of 'scientific analysis is doomed to failure' version as well. Its mentioned that the rules of magic can shift and alter. This is a reason Harry keeps Bob around, to track such changes with more accuracy than any mortal could manage since Bob is himself a being of pure magic.
*** Of course, this leads to the question of whether ''how'' the rules of magic will shift can be predicted...
** The series actually treats science with a fair amount of respect. Harry is often shown using various laws of physics, usually mass and/or momentum, to assist his spells in order to enhance their effects or impact. [[spoiler: Late in the series Butters combines his scientific mind and training with Bob's exhaustive knowledge and is able to develop several new and powerful applications of magic.]]
*** Not to mention a certain series-defining incident involving paleontology...

* One RogueAngel has this as belief of a group of extreme NatureLovers who feel even the most basic advances like farming are evil and wish to return humanity to it's hunter-gatherer roots.

[[folder:Film]]
* At the beginning of Creator/MNightShyamalan's ''TheHappening'', the lead says that we might never understand why bees seem to be dying off because anything science says is "just theory."
[[/folder]]

* Science ''was'' wrong in ''CthulhuTech''; emphasis on the past tense, there. The discovery of [[{{Magitek}} arcanotechnology]] and the associated theory merely expanded what science knew, to include things like sorcery and the thermodynamics-breaking D-Engine. Of course, these new developments tend to drive researchers crazy, but that's a problem with the human mind, not science.
* The premise behind the occult RPG TabletopGame/{{Nephilim}} is "History is a lie. Science is a delusion"; pretty much everything you learned in school is a deliberate falsehood by a race of immortal supernatural beings to keep humans as passive prey. Scientists either intentionally falsify data, or are members of the Grand Conspiracy.

* One common misunderstanding about what science is regards "procedural naturalism", a concept that actually goes back to the 12th century. The basic idea is that one must assume natural causes and only use natural causes in describing phenomena. There are two sides to this. First is that something like Intelligent Design is not, by definition, scientific. This is not to say that assuming intelligent design cannot lead to practical applications with repeatable results and such, but it doesn't follow the paradigm. To the extent that making non-natural assumptions leads to falsifiable predictions that are confirmed, science is wrong (or at least, incomplete). The second part is taking procedural naturalism (as an assumption) and making the leap to an assertion that only natural causes can describe phenomena. This is known as ontological or philosophical naturalism and is a metaphysical proposition. As such, it cannot be "proven" right or wrong, at least not by what is itself considered to be science. Whether it's Humes Problem with Induction or Godel's Incompleteness Theorem, there is no way to be sure.