In his landmark book The Mythology of Science, R.J. Rushdoony exposes the myth of the “objective scientist.” He offers numerous examples of the way in which so-called unbiased scientists are as driven by emotions and private agendas in their analysis and priorities as everyone else on the planet. Applying a basic thesis of his mentor Cornelious Van Til, Rushdoony explains that brute factuality does not exist. All facts must be interpreted. The ability of the scientist to interpret facts is conditioned by a host of unprovable pre-theoretical (and usually unspoken) assumptions about reality which he brings to the table. Ultimately these presuppositions are driven by religious assumptions about man, the universe, God and reality.
I was reminded of religious nature of scientists today when NASA presented its latest remarkable images from Saturn taken by the Cassini probe. The panel of “ring” scientists making the presentation were simply gushing in their description of their discoveries. One gal (the primary NASA spokesman) was not simply drooling over the images of Saturn, she seemed to describe it as a highlight of her life, and was so overflowing with superlatives that she appeared to be having a “religious experience.” To put it another way (and to borrow a line from South Pacific), she was simply “as corny as Kansas in Autumn.”
In fairness, however, the images are spectacular and worthy of high praise.
After becoming the first spacecraft to enter Saturn’s orbit, Cassini sent back this image of a portion of the planet’s rings. It shows the sunlit side of the rings
Nasa writes: “Saturn’s peaceful beauty invites the Cassini spacecraft for a closer look in this natural color view, taken during the spacecraft’s approach to the planet. By this point in the approach sequence, Saturn was large enough that two narrow angle camera images were required to capture an end-to-end view of the planet, its delicate rings and several of its icy moons. The composite is made entire from these two images.”
This is one of the first images taken by the Cassini spacecraft after it successfully entered Saturn’s orbit. It was taken by the spacecraft’s narrow angle camera.
This image shows a close-up view of a density wave in Saturn’s A ring. It was taken by the narrow angle camera on the Cassini spacecraft after successful entry into Saturn’s orbit. The view shows the dark, or unlit, side of the rings.
This image is of Saturn’s moon Pheobe.
Another angle on Phoebe
