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Wisdom

In the Face Book group:
 post about the person's philosophy including truth and proof - which is claimed to the bedrock of science. Several quotes were included, referenced below in ' '
My comment:

Wisdom is understanding but not necessarily truth. Truth implies an absolute. One can understand gravity but not know the subatomic behaviors underlying the force.
I suggest there are other interpretations of 'to understand nothing takes time.' and 'To know is to know that you know nothing' These are cryptic references to mistaken certainty.
There is little in life known with absolute certainty. Maybe 2+2=4 Proof is not necessarily the bedrock of modern science.

Science allows people to understand and interpret what they experience; that is not the same as truth. Mathematics provided a common understanding of numerical relationships.
Chemistry allowed a common understanding of nature, by its definition of the periodic table and electron shells;and then reactions of elements to make compounds. Newtonian physics allowed everyone to agree on basics  of physics like mass, velocity, acceleration, momentum, gravity. These concepts have been verified with experimentation and experience (I worked with large machines). There is little doubt at this point with an understanding with this foundation in science because it is all real world learning by actual experience. Society has collective knowledge, or wisdom. Truth is elusive because sometimes results of earlier experiments might have had an incorrect interpretation. A simple example of that is the rotation period of Mercury changed in the course of many observations. Modern science is much more about perception and interpretation than proof because it deals with concepts beyond hands on experience. Einstein attempted to describe what happens when an observer moves at or near the speed of light, though no one has done that.  Einstein abandoned the recognized force of gravity and tried to replace it with a space time curvature concept that is not as intuitive or as verifiable as Newtonian physics. There is still a debate about his space time concept. Cosmology is an attempt to interpret observations far beyond our experience, beyond our planet to the galaxies.
Space exploration in recent decades has provided much data about the solar system, to be the basis for describing objects in space beyond our reach, to support cosmology.
Modern science continues to seek interpretations and to develop an understanding of new discoveries, many beyond our direct senses. It is difficult if not impossible to establish truth without verification. To understand nothing is to grasp the uncertainty in the natural chaos of life.

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