I guess I can't help but notice a wide range of opinions on this forum with regards to scientific method and theory. Some people feel that science is a hugely important tool in aiding human knowledge, others feel that it is narrow-minded and actually holding back future developments.

This argument seems to crop up in nearly every thread in the Philosophy and Extended Discussion boards, so I decided to start a thread for debate on the issue. I've been thinking a lot about it lately, but I'll leave my opinion until a little later.

So, what do you think? Is science good or bad for human development? Does it promote or supress new ideas? Do you agree with its concepts, or if not, what else would you propose?

Hopefully we get some useful debate out of this...