Scientific theories have never aimed to be completely true. Modern theories such as quantum physics and general relativity only aim to be useful enough for human beings. For this reason, approximations like sin(θ) = θ are often used for convenience. These approximations are examples of things that are not “true” but are useful enough. A theory is only “false” when a prediction fails and work must be done to revise it, until the theory works once again.

In fact, we can never know whether a scientific theory is truly “true,” because from the human perspective our view of the world is far too narrow. Philosophically speaking, I think we can never reach the truth, and even if we did, we might not be able to recognize it. However, a scientific theory always plays a role in a particular period. During that period, people believe it can roughly explain many phenomena and can withstand testing, so we use it for the time being. For example, Newtonian mechanics was regarded as “truth” for a long time, until Einstein pointed out its limitations in microscopic and high-speed systems.

The goal of science is to keep getting closer to a more accurate description of how nature works. Every theory is a model used to make predictions, so when new evidence conflicts with the model, we revise it. People trust today’s theories because they have survived strict tests that earlier theories failed. They also need to be supported by a huge amount of independent evidence from different fields.

I think what matters most is whether a theory works in practice. If it works in experiments or real-world applications, we can treat it as “true” for now—but that does not mean it will never change. Once new evidence makes the theory no longer fit, we update or replace it. In science, “truth” depends on usefulness and practical testing, not on being an eternal, absolute truth.

As science has evolved, the biggest goal of a scientific theory today is no longer simply to make people “believe” it—most of us rarely even encounter the most cutting-edge theories. The goal is rather to explore the unknown from a broader perspective.

Today’s scientific theories may not be the final truth, but strong evidence and successful predictions make them reasonable to trust. We should remain open to better explanations.

Personally, I think the current scientific system can account for most observations so far, and it may be the better one for humans, but not the best for the universe. We have seen many cases where scientists modify their theories and add variables to their formulas to make them self-consistent. If we jump out of the box, we can see that every theory and system is based on time and space, the basic units that humans can sense. We laid the ground, but we never know whether they can explain everything from our human bodies to the universe. In other words, we have no choice but to move forward. With the help of this scientific system, we have made so much progress, but as the species that devised this solution, we are not eligible to judge whether ours are true. In conclusion, current science is useful, but it can never be the best.