That is such a good point. Since it is apparent we haven’t got a clue scientifically about static electricity and have been absolutely wrong about it, to date, then what make us think we really understand fundamental physics pertaining to human beings, the universe, etc.
“.... then what make us think we really understand fundamental physics pertaining to human beings, the universe, etc.”
Your point is excellent. It would be a big surprise if a century or two from now we didn’t look back at much of what is currently ‘dogma’ and think, ‘wow, it’s amazing what people used to believe’. There is no room for arrogance.
Also, whose to say that what we hold as physical ‘Laws’ are ‘universal’. What if there are other areas of the universe, or other parallel universes where they aren’t valid? We don’t even know fundamental things like why particles of like charge repel each other, or why mass attracts mass. What exactly is the ‘force of gravity’?
bttt
We’re not alone in our skepticism:
“I must admit, it astounds me how some scientists can be so sure of theories which involve events in the distant past that we cannot measure directly. Yet we measure the entire Earth every day with a variety of satellite instruments, and we are still trying to figure out from that abundance of data how today’s climate system works!”
Second article down, “Understanding James Hansen’s View of Our Climate Future,” about the ninth paragraph