Science on Note TLDRLSS

Is Philosophy the End of Science? The Truth Behind Modern Science: When 'Transparent Rules' Replaced 'Faith in Authority' — From 'Divine Will' to 'I Think, Therefore I Am'! Exploring the Boundaries from Superstition and Religion to Modern Science

Wed, 06 May 2026 18:50:00 +0800

In daily life, we often hear things like “this place has good feng shui, that’s why it’s popular” or “this is the will of God.”

What exactly is superstition? And how can we confirm that we are clear-headed modern individuals?

In fact, what we take for granted today as science was not originally born to oppose religion, but rather emerged from a philosophical revolution about causality.

This was the most radical “brain system reinstall” in human history, teaching us how to distinguish what is real from what are fabricated claims amidst a chaotic world.

The Causal Showdown Between Superstition and Science: Are You Being “Lazy”?

People often associate superstition with religion, but at its cognitive core, superstition is essentially a blind and lazy attitude toward the “causality” of things.

Imagine someone claiming that their video views skyrocketed because they moved into a “feng shui hotspot” — this is a form of mysterious causality

Two things are forcibly linked together, with the process in between being vague and unverifiable.

In contrast, the transparent causality of science would attempt to analyze: a better environment improved the creator’s mood and energy, which in turn produced quality content and eye-catching thumbnails, ultimately leading to increased traffic.

Every step in between is intuitive and can be broken down.

Thinking Trait	Superstitious Thinking	Non-Superstitious (Scientific) Thinking
Causal Explanation	Mysterious, vague, inexplicable	Transparent, intuitive, rigorous
Verification Method	Based on belief, “better safe than sorry”	Experimental observation, controlled variable method
Attitude	Blind belief, establishing false connections	Systematic investigation, seeking direct causes

To break superstition’s closed logic of “everyone else is wrong, only I am right,” modern science introduced the controlled variable method.

It requires us to stop relying on intuition and instead find the most direct, most transparent connections through rigorous processes.

From “Divine Will” to “I Think, Therefore I Am”

Have you ever suspected that the world you perceive, including history and traditions, might all be an elaborate hoax that was fabricated?

This sounds like a plot from The Matrix or a science fiction movie, but over four hundred years ago, a philosopher named René Descartes seriously conducted this thought experiment that shook human history.

Before we dive into Descartes’ mind, let’s first look at how people thought at that time.

During the ancient Greek period, humanity’s questions about the world were actually very pure, driven by curiosity about nature.

But by the Middle Ages, the center of cognition underwent a massive shift

The starting point of everything was no longer “I,” but “God”.

Era	Cognitive Center	Way of Questioning
Ancient Greece	Nature and Self	What is this world? How can I understand it?
Middle Ages	God (the Almighty)	Why did God arrange things this way? What is God’s intention?

Within the medieval framework of thinking, if you wanted to understand the world, you first had to understand the source of the world — “God”.

Therefore, the Bible became the sole foundation for studying nature.

When all knowledge exploration was directed toward the invisible, intangible realm of souls and theology, the natural knowledge of the material world naturally fell into stagnation.

If people fell ill in those times, the explanation was often “possessed by demons” or “God’s punishment”, because there was not yet a set of “transparent” rules to explain how nature works.

Descartes’ “Systematic Doubt”: The Brain Reinstall Plan

Facing a knowledge system riddled with unexamined and even erroneous beliefs, Descartes realized that without thoroughly purging these “cognitive viruses,” it would be impossible to build a solid edifice of truth.

So he decided to conduct an extreme “brain system reinstall.”

He hypothesized: what if there were an extremely cunning, all-powerful demon creating a grand illusion to deceive humanity? In a state where even your body, even heaven and hell might be illusions, what could still be “absolutely real”?

After painful deliberation, he finally discovered the one reality that could not be altered

The very act of “I am thinking” cannot be fabricated.

Even if the demon could deceive his senses, it could not deceive a being that “is currently doubting whether it is being deceived”.

This is the origin of that famous saying we often hear:

“I think, therefore I am” (Cogito, ergo sum)

From “Religious Dogma” Back to “Independent Thinking”

This turning point was profoundly significant for human civilization, bringing about the following changes.

Change	Significance
Shift of the Cognitive Foundation	The starting point of cognition shifted from the external “religious dogma” back to the individual’s “independent thinking”.
Rejection of Blind Obedience	No longer unconditionally accepting any unverified authoritative indoctrination — all knowledge must start from scratch, derived through rational reasoning.
Awakening of Free Thinkers	This revolution inspired countless `Free Thinkers` in later generations, empowering humanity to dare to question established authority.

It was as if we could originally only see the world through the Church’s filter, and now Descartes told us:

You can remove the filter and use your own mind to analyze data and observe phenomena.

The Transfer of Authority: When “Transparent Rules” Replaced “Priests”

In the Middle Ages, the right to interpret knowledge was monopolized by the Vatican. People deduced the workings of the world through parsing the textual logic of the Bible (such as the concept of “purgatory”).

Newton and others cleverly avoided grand ultimate questions like “why does the world exist,” and instead tackled small, visible problems like “how rainbows form”.

When Newton used a prism to prove that rainbows originate from the refraction of light rather than a mysterious divine covenant, he demonstrated an extremely compelling form of transparent causality.

This methodology immediately produced a transfer of power:

Whether knowledge can be disseminated is no longer decided by the will of the Church, but by the “rules of science” (methodology) themselves.

As long as conclusions are reached through the proper process, anyone can become a publisher of knowledge.

Is Philosophy the End of Science?

Have you ever heard the saying: “The end of science is theology”?

This phrase is often used to describe how top scientists (such as Newton or Einstein) seemed to turn toward religion or philosophy after exploring to the extreme.

This confuses many people: Isn’t science supposed to eliminate superstition? Why does it seem to circle back at the end?

In reality, this is not a form of “regression,” but rather a profound exploration of cognitive boundaries.

To understand this, we must first clarify three concepts that are often conflated: superstition, religion, and science.

Superstition, Religion, and Science: Can You Really Tell Them Apart?

In many people’s eyes, these three seem to be at opposite ends of a spectrum — science on one end, religion and superstition on the other.

But if we return to the origins of science, we find that their relationship is far more interesting than imagined.

First, let’s set the record straight for “religion”:

Religion is not the same as superstition.

Type	Core Characteristic	Attitude
Superstition	Blindly establishing false causal connections	Lazy, closed-minded, refusing examination
Religion	Providing a grand worldview and value system	Pursuing ultimate meaning and spiritual sustenance
Science	Seeking transparent, verifiable causal rules	Rigorous, open-minded, welcoming falsification

The essence of superstition is a “lazy view of causality”.

For example, you may have heard “business boomed because we moved to this office.” This kind of claim forcibly links two unrelated things, with the process in between being vague and unverifiable.

The early pioneers of science, such as Newton and Descartes, were themselves devout believers.

Their original intention was not to oppose God, but to oppose the lazy attitude of “mystifying” natural phenomena.

They believed that the world created by God has rules, and humanity’s mission is to discover these transparent rules.

Why Is a Scientist’s Highest Degree Still Called “Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)”?

To this day, the highest degree in science and engineering is still Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), which is not merely a historical relic but a tribute to science’s lineage.

In ancient Greece, “philosophy” originally meant the love of wisdom, encompassing all of humanity’s questions about the world.

Early science was classified as natural philosophy. It was not until the 19th century, as knowledge in various fields (physics, chemistry, biology) became vast, that Science formally became independent from its philosophical parent. Modern science is the fruit that this philosophical revolution bore in the material realm.

Once people reclaimed the autonomy of “independent thinking,” scientists began to focus their attention on visible, tangible, specific problems.

They used reason and empirical evidence to replace the previously mysterious, vague explanations.

This is also why, to this day, the highest degree in science and engineering is still called Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Doctor of Philosophy).

This is a tribute to science’s lineage: the source of all science remains that philosophical spirit of daring to question without preconceptions.

Stage	Characteristic	Impact
Philosophical Parent	Daring to question, free of preconceptions	Providing the driving force for doubt and thought
Scientific Independence	Focusing on objective laws, empirical evidence	Establishing global consensus in the material world

Retaining the title of PhD serves as a reminder to every researcher: despite the subdivision of disciplines, the source of all science remains that

philosophical spirit of daring to question without preconceptions.

The Hegemony of the Material World: How Did Science Build Global Consensus?

The reason science has achieved absolute authority in modern society is that it made a very clever decision:

Temporarily abandon the exploration of “ultimate meaning” and instead solve “specific mechanisms”.

Before Newton, people might have explained rainbows as “God’s covenant” or some supernatural omen. These explanations were beautiful, but they offered no practical help in understanding how rainbows actually form.

Newton used a prism to prove that white light can be decomposed into the seven colors of the spectrum — this is a form of transparent causality. This methodology brought about tremendous changes:

Change	Explanation
Demystification	Any phenomenon can be broken down through experiments and logic, no longer accepting unverified mysterious explanations.
Falsifiability	Any claim must be questionable and testable.
Democratization of Knowledge	As long as scientific rules are followed, people from different backgrounds can reach consensus in the material world.

As long as you follow this protocol, regardless of your background, status, or beliefs, everyone can participate in the production and oversight of knowledge.

No matter where you are or what religion you believe in, the logic governing your phone’s chip operates the same way.

Science has successfully liberated humanity from the fear of the unknown, illuminating the natural world with transparent logic.

The Limits of Science: When We Begin to Ask About “Meaning”

However, this powerful tool is not omnipotent. Science is a system for handling the material laws of “the visible and tangible”, requiring everything to be falsifiable.

This leads to an interesting phenomenon:

Science is unmatched in solving “How” questions, but appears powerless when answering “Why” questions.

Imagine — science can precisely tell you:

Which chemical substances the brain secretes when generating the feeling of “love” (dopamine, oxytocin).
What the frequency of brain waves is when consciousness emerges.

But science cannot tell you:

What is the meaning of this love?
Why you, and not someone else?
What is the essence of consciousness?

When questions involve abstract domains such as consciousness, the soul, and the meaning of life, scientific methods often find it difficult to intervene. This is the boundary of science.

Returning to the Philosophical Parent: Why Do Top Scientists End Up Contemplating Philosophy?

This is why the highest degree in science and engineering is still called Doctor of Philosophy (PhD).

This is not merely a historical relic, but a reminder to every researcher:

Science was always a fruit that branched off from the great tree of philosophy.

When scientists explore the limits of the material world and find that existing experimental tools can no longer push forward, they inevitably return to the embrace of philosophy.

This is not because they have become superstitious, but because they have arrived at the edge of knowledge. There, they must re-examine the starting point of cognition:

How can we be certain that what we observe is the truth?
Is there some kind of preset logic behind the order of the universe?

Just as Descartes once reclaimed the independently thinking “self” through “systematic doubt,” modern people in today’s materially abundant world need this kind of philosophical reflection even more.

Conclusion: A Weapon for Staying Clear-Headed in Chaotic Times

Modern science is not merely a pile of cold data — it is a survival weapon that protects us from being “trapped” by unexamined causal claims.

In a modern society filled with chaotic claims and algorithm-driven feeds, maintaining the scientific spirit of pursuing transparent logic is the true mark of being clear-headed.

The birth of modern science was essentially a cognitive revolution of “reclaiming the self.” It reminds us:

Do not easily surrender your right to think, and do not let your mind be trapped by unexamined causal claims.

In this age of information explosion and rampant rumors, maintaining Descartes-style questioning spirit is the most powerful survival weapon.

Only by maintaining the ability to independently question and challenge can we be truly clear-headed individuals in this chaotic world.

Science has cleared the fog of the material world for us, sparing us from the suffering of superstition, but for the ultimate meaning of spirit and life, we still need to explore on our own with the wisdom of philosophy.

Do not easily let your mind be “trapped” by unexamined causal claims, nor should you forget your curiosity about the meaning of life while pursuing material laws.

At the intersection of the material and spiritual, maintaining both reverence and clarity is perhaps the most elegant posture for us as “modern people.”

Reference

How Was Modern Science Born? Is the End of Everything Not Mysticism, but Philosophy? - YouTube

How Was Modern Science Born? Is the End of Everything Not Mysticism, but Philosophy? - YouTube

Unveiling the Mysteries of Quantum Mechanics: From Newton's Optical Experiments to Einstein's Light Quantum Revolution! How Quantum Mechanics Reshapes Our Understanding of 'Reality'? Superposition, the Observer Effect, and Schrödinger's Cat — Rethinking How Objective Reality Is 'Created' by Observation. Can You Meet Another Version of Yourself?

Wed, 06 May 2026 18:30:00 +0800

Imagine walking under the sunshine, gazing at the rainbow hanging in the sky after a rain shower — everything feels so natural, so taken for granted.

In Newton’s era, people finally understood that light could be broken down into a spectrum of vibrant colors, and scientists confidently believed that the universe was like a precisely operating clock — as long as you mastered the laws, everything could be predicted.

But just as the grand edifice of physics seemed complete, the microscopic world played an enormous joke on humanity.

Let’s see how this “quantum revolution” unfolded.

The Collapse of Classical Physics: Two Dark Clouds over a Perfect Sky

At the end of the nineteenth century, physicists were living quite comfortably. Maxwell’s electromagnetic field theory perfectly explained the wave nature of light, and everyone felt that physics had reached its endpoint.

But the towering figure of the physics community at the time, Lord Kelvin, pointed out that two “dark clouds” still floated over the clear sky of physics.

One of the most fatal dark clouds was called the ultraviolet catastrophe.

Scientists at the time discovered that when using classical physics formulas to calculate the energy of thermal radiation from objects, they arrived at an absurd conclusion:

As frequency increases, the energy tends toward infinity.

This meant that the heater in your home should be blasting out destructive ultraviolet rays or even gamma rays.

Clearly, experimental data brutally debunked classical theory.

The Birth of Quantum: Energy Is Not a Continuous River

Just when everyone was at a loss, Planck stepped forward. He proposed a hypothesis that seemed extremely bizarre at the time:

Energy is not continuous like flowing water, but comes in discrete, individual “packets.” He called this smallest unit a quantum.

It’s as if we originally thought energy was a smooth ramp, but Planck told us it’s actually a staircase.

Subsequently, Einstein borrowed this concept and successfully explained the photoelectric effect.

He confirmed that light is not merely a wave — it also has particle properties (photons).

This quantum revolution had officially begun.

The Double-Slit Experiment: The Chameleon of the Microscopic World

If energy being discontinuous was strange enough, then the double-slit experiment will completely shatter your worldview.

Scientists discovered that when we send electrons through two narrow slits, they produce “interference patterns” on the screen — a characteristic unique to waves.

This means that when no one is watching, electrons pass through both slits “simultaneously” like waves.

This is the famous wave-particle duality

Microscopic particles are both waves and particles.

The Observer’s Gaze: Can Reality Actually “Collapse”?

The most eerie thing happened. When scientists tried to see exactly which slit the electron passed through by placing a detector next to the slits, the interference pattern disappeared!

The electrons obediently reverted to particles, passing through only one slit.

This tells us a shocking fact: The act of observation itself affects reality.

The Survival Law of All Things: The Magical “Superposition”

Imagine you have a coin. In the macroscopic world, when a coin lands on a table, it’s either heads or tails — it’s absolutely impossible to be “both heads and tails at once.” But in the microscopic quantum world, the rules completely change.

Before microscopic particles (such as electrons) are observed, they don’t occupy a definite position — instead, they simultaneously exist in a superposition of multiple possibilities.

Physicists gave this state a cool name — “superposition”.

Once observed, it instantly “collapses” into a definite state.

Why Is This So Astonishing?

According to quantum mechanics, electrons in motion don’t travel in straight lines like tiny balls, but spread out like a diffusing “wave”.

They’re not “possibly here” or “possibly there” — they are “simultaneously here and there”.

In that invisible microscopic foundation, everything actually exists in a hazy, undefined probability cloud.

The Observer’s Gaze: Do You “Create” Reality?

If everything is in superposition, why do objects we see in everyday life have definite positions?

This leads to the most eerie yet fascinating discovery in quantum mechanics: the observer effect.

In the famous “electron double-slit experiment,” scientists discovered:

State	Description
When no one is watching	`Electrons` exhibit wave-like properties, passing through both slits simultaneously, producing interference patterns.
When a detector is placed to “watch”	`Electrons` seem to “sense” the observer’s gaze, the interference pattern instantly disappears, and `electrons` obediently become individual particles, passing through only one slit.

This phenomenon is called “quantum collapse”.

In other words, at the very moment of measurement, the chaotic probability wave instantly “collapses” into definite reality.

What does this mean?

This implies a profound philosophical shock: Reality is not an existence independent of us, but a result co-created by our “gaze”.

Schrödinger’s Cat That Is “Both Dead and Alive”

To satirize the absurdity of “observation creates reality,” physicist Schrödinger (Erwin Schrödinger) proposed a famous thought experiment — the well-known “Schrödinger’s Cat”.

He imagined locking a cat in a box with a poison gas device, where whether the poison is released depends on the decay of a microscopic particle (a random quantum event).

State	Description
According to quantum theory	Before opening the box to observe, the `microscopic particle` is in a superposition of “decayed” and “not decayed”.
Deduced result	Through a chain reaction, the `cat` inside the box should also be in a superposition of “both dead and alive”.

The core of this experiment lies in probability.

In the quantum world, the cat simultaneously exists in a superposition of “alive” and “dead”

State	Description
Before observation	The cat and the atom are in an “entangled” state — the cat is also “both dead and alive.”
After opening the box	The act of observation causes the state to immediately collapse into a single reality.

Schrödinger originally intended to prove the absurdity of applying quantum theory to the macroscopic world, but unexpectedly, this cat became the perfect mascot of quantum mechanics.

It forces us to think: Where is the boundary of observation? What is the line between the macroscopic and microscopic?

From a Single Reality to Infinite Possibilities

If reality is composed of a series of “collapses”, then isn’t our life also full of such wondrous turning points?

Some believe that each quantum event’s choice doesn’t cause reality to collapse, but rather causes the universe to “split”

This is the so-called “many-worlds interpretation” (parallel universes).

In one universe, the cat is alive; in another universe, the cat is dead.

Although we currently cannot prove the existence of parallel universes, quantum mechanics tells us an undeniable fact:

The world is not a clock running with mechanical precision, but rather an ocean filled with probability and choice.

Understanding Parallel Universes Through “Schrödinger’s Cat”

Have you ever fantasized that at some crossroads of fate, if you had made a different choice, what would your life look like now?

In the 2013 film “Coherence”, the characters fall into countless intertwined realities because of a tiny choice — picking up a “blue” or “red” glow stick.

From the Marvel Universe’s Multiverse to “Ant-Man”’s Quantum Realm, “quantum mechanics” and “parallel universes” have become every sci-fi fan’s favorite go-to trump card of “when in doubt, quantum mechanics.”

Decoherence: Why Can’t We See Parallel Universes?

If you think “both dead and alive” is too outrageous, physicist Hugh Everett proposed an even crazier explanation in 1957:

Reality never collapses. This is the famous Many-Worlds Interpretation.

He believed that when you open the box, the universe actually “splits” into two. In one universe, you see the cat alive; in another universe, another you sees the cat dead. These two realities coexist simultaneously, but are completely independent of each other.

So why don’t we normally feel this splitting? This is what’s known as decoherence.

Concept	Description
Superposition	Microscopic particles, before being observed, can simultaneously possess multiple states
Decoherence	Macroscopic objects (such as people, cats), due to their enormous mass, have extremely short wavelengths, and rapidly lose quantum properties upon contact with the environment
Quantum entanglement	Two particles, even if separated by light-years, can instantaneously sense each other’s states

Imagine that our reality is actually a smooth river, but the quantum world is “pixelated.”

Although everything has wave-like properties, the greater an object’s mass, the shorter its wavelength — so short that in the macroscopic world it becomes completely unobservable.

Because we are too large, too “heavy”, these tiny quantum effects are canceled out at macroscopic scales, allowing us to see only a single path.

For our vast macroscopic world, quantum effects are disrupted by countless molecules in the environment and quickly disappear.

Where Sci-Fi Meets Science: From Ant-Man to Future Technology

In the movie “Ant-Man”, after the protagonist shrinks to smaller than an atom, he enters the ever-changing Quantum Realm. While the film exaggerates many details, its core concept — “when you shrink, the rules of the world change” — is an absolutely true scientific fact.

The scientific community is currently striving to build bridges between the macroscopic and microscopic worlds. Although we cannot traverse universes like sci-fi protagonists, quantum mechanics has already tangibly transformed our lives.

From the smartphone chips in your hand, medical scanners, to future quantum computers — all of them harness these uncanny physical properties.

Conclusion: A Cognitive Upgrade from Continuous to Pixelated

The development of quantum mechanics has taken humanity from the clockwork-precise “mechanical universe” of Newton’s era into an unpredictable “probabilistic universe”.

Although we may never be able to jump to another universe to see “the version of ourselves that never gave up on our dreams,” the many-worlds interpretation offers us a romantic insight:

Every tiny choice may, in some branch of spacetime, bloom into an entirely different flower.

The “only” reality you are experiencing now was illuminated in that very instant by your will and gaze.

It tells us that we are not insignificant bystanders in the universe. Every gaze, every choice is a dialogue with the fundamental laws of the universe, illuminating this very moment among infinite possibilities.

Although the perfect bridge connecting microscopic quantum physics and macroscopic classical physics is still under construction, it is precisely this fearless pursuit of truth that brings us ever closer to the essence of the universe.

Since parallel universes grant every choice infinite possibilities, then in the here and now of this spacetime, make sure to live your best life.

Science on Note TLDRLSS

Is Philosophy the End of Science? The Truth Behind Modern Science: When 'Transparent Rules' Replaced 'Faith in Authority' — From 'Divine Will' to 'I Think, Therefore I Am'! Exploring the Boundaries from Superstition and Religion to Modern Science

The Causal Showdown Between Superstition and Science: Are You Being “Lazy”?

From “Divine Will” to “I Think, Therefore I Am”

Descartes’ “Systematic Doubt”: The Brain Reinstall Plan

From “Religious Dogma” Back to “Independent Thinking”

The Transfer of Authority: When “Transparent Rules” Replaced “Priests”

Is Philosophy the End of Science?

Superstition, Religion, and Science: Can You Really Tell Them Apart?

Why Is a Scientist’s Highest Degree Still Called “Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)”?

The Hegemony of the Material World: How Did Science Build Global Consensus?

The Limits of Science: When We Begin to Ask About “Meaning”

Returning to the Philosophical Parent: Why Do Top Scientists End Up Contemplating Philosophy?

Conclusion: A Weapon for Staying Clear-Headed in Chaotic Times

Reference

How Was Modern Science Born? Is the End of Everything Not Mysticism, but Philosophy? - YouTube

The Collapse of Classical Physics: Two Dark Clouds over a Perfect Sky

The Birth of Quantum: Energy Is Not a Continuous River

The Double-Slit Experiment: The Chameleon of the Microscopic World

The Observer’s Gaze: Can Reality Actually “Collapse”?

The Survival Law of All Things: The Magical “Superposition”

Why Is This So Astonishing?

The Observer’s Gaze: Do You “Create” Reality?

Schrödinger’s Cat That Is “Both Dead and Alive”

From a Single Reality to Infinite Possibilities

Understanding Parallel Universes Through “Schrödinger’s Cat”

Decoherence: Why Can’t We See Parallel Universes?

Where Sci-Fi Meets Science: From Ant-Man to Future Technology

Conclusion: A Cognitive Upgrade from Continuous to Pixelated

Reference

史上最入門的方式講解：到底什麽是量子？量子從何而來？| 超基礎、新人友好 - YouTube