An example of treating scientific knowledge as absolute truth:
"By collecting the observational material on the observed apparent motion of stars all over the sky, Oort was able to prove that the expected phenomenon of red and violet [blue] Doppler effect really exists, thus proving beyond any doubt the rotation of the Galaxy."
George Gamow (1961) One, Two, Three…Infinity. Facts and speculations of science, Revised Edition, Dover Publications, Inc., New York.
Strictly, scientific claims are seem as provisional in the sense that they are always open to being revisited in the light of new evidence or new ways of thinking about the evidence. Scientific observations usually rely on technical apparatus and so depend on instruments being well-calibrated and working according to the assumed theory. It is always possible to find alternative explanations for any data set (even if this sometimes stretches credibility). Rhetoric which refers to absolutely certain knowledge, or proof beyond doubt, is inconsistent with our understanding of the nature of science.
