Three quotes about science from the delightful Reality Is Not What it Seems by theoretical physicist Carlo Rovelli:
Science is born from this act of humility: not trusting blindly in our past knowledge and our intuition. Not believing what everyone says. Not having faith in the accumulated knowledge of our fathers and grandfathers.
Science is not reliable because it provides certainty. It is reliable because it provides us with the best answers we have at present.
It is precisely its openness, the fact that it constantly calls current knowledge into question, which guarantees that the answers it offers are the best so far available: if you find better answers, these new answers become science.
Rovelli’s book on “The Journey to Quantum Gravity” includes a thoroughly enjoyable tour of physics from Democritus (pre-Socratic originator of the atomic theory of the universe) through today. As one might imagine, the implications of quantum loop gravity aren’t easy to grok. Nonetheless, he tackles the challenge admirably: eminently readable, highly recommended.