Absolutely we can. Science, by definition, is the seeking, discovery, and reporting of fact. Fact, not belief, or wish, or ‘should-be’. Although it is true that, over the course of scientific discovery and evolution of theory, it has been discovered that there were many scientific beliefs and theories that were less factual than those who’d known them would have liked. In the early days of science, it was difficult to define where the line between scientific knowledge and religious belief was. However, todays science is a pure thing; fact before faith.
One of the principle rules of modern science is that there must be tangible, measurable proof before a theory is raised to scientific law. Even then, there is the notion held by all scientists everywhere that if a theory, or even one of the principle laws of science, is found to be incorrect in even a single instance, it must be held as false. In such a case the process begins anew, needing new evidence and a reworking of the theory to account for this instance that showed its falsification.
Unfortunately, pure science has to be filtered through the human factor. Many scientists, even some of the brightest in the world, continue to hold to old beliefs like a security blanket; shoring up failed theories with self-contradictory logic and the use of quantum physics, making it so complex they can read it almost like a holy tome, getting the convoluted formulas to say whatever they wish. However, there are those who hold to the pure teachings of science: For an idea to be considered correct and factual, and therefore scientifically accurate, it must possess real and measurable qualities that can be proved, time and again, to hold true. If this fails to prove correct even once under fair and accurate practices (meaning the results not being maliciously falsified), it must be considered false. Even the strongest of ideologies cannot keep a ship from sinking without the holes being plugged, and likewise does ideology and faith fail to keep strong a supposed scientific truth in the face of contrary evidence.
