I agree. Excessive romanticization of science in the mass media is one of the greatest problems facing science today.
Perhaps people are so used to religion that they think science works just like religion, expecting it to offer answers to questions like "what is the meaning of life?" and whatnot.
The ouroboros diagram at the end of the article is an accurate description of not only science but pretty much every human endeavor. We cannot reach "pure unadulterated reality", only a reflection of our beliefs and biases, on the basis of which we form other beliefs and biases.
Fortunately, reflections depend not only on what is reflected but also on the reflector's own properties. Nature is our reflector, so we can indeed make progress over long time scales. To think that science will help us overcome our very human weaknesses, however, is not only arrogant but dangerous. After all, the only way to realize this flawed ideal of pure science would be to eliminate all traces of our humanity. What good is a "light in the darkness", as you said, if the light is so bright it blinds the person who wanted to see?
Perhaps people are so used to religion that they think science works just like religion, expecting it to offer answers to questions like "what is the meaning of life?" and whatnot.
The ouroboros diagram at the end of the article is an accurate description of not only science but pretty much every human endeavor. We cannot reach "pure unadulterated reality", only a reflection of our beliefs and biases, on the basis of which we form other beliefs and biases.
Fortunately, reflections depend not only on what is reflected but also on the reflector's own properties. Nature is our reflector, so we can indeed make progress over long time scales. To think that science will help us overcome our very human weaknesses, however, is not only arrogant but dangerous. After all, the only way to realize this flawed ideal of pure science would be to eliminate all traces of our humanity. What good is a "light in the darkness", as you said, if the light is so bright it blinds the person who wanted to see?