How many times have you heard someone say that "science tells us" - or that it shows, reveals, says, proves, or makes clear?
It's very common. But it's misleading.
Scientists never talk like this while they're doing science, which suggests that there's something wrong with it. Rather, we say: "Our experiment was inspired by the fact that X, which was shown last year by Y et al".
Y et al aren't just some bunch of famous smart guys who came up with an idea and told everyone, and everyone believed them, because scientists respect authority - which is what "Science Says" means.
No, Y et al is a paper, or other report, and when we say that it shows something, we mean it quite literally. Scientific data is like a photograph or, more accurately perhaps, a window, through which we can just see X.
'Science' is nothing special. It's just ...
