It was only a decade or two ago that all college courses taught that the earliest Western Hemisphere humans were the Clovis Culture at approximate 13k years ago. It was the equivalent of the infamous phrase ‘settled science’!
Another item of recent scientific reconsideration, the planets of our Solar System have been in stable orbits since shortly after planetary consolidation. The THEORY of the Jupiter Grand Tack has its origins in the numerous ‘Hot Jupiters’ found in the exo-planet searches of recent years.
This is why I DESPISE the term ‘settled science’ as an utterly vapid argument in any field. History is full of consensus theories that have been overthrown by later research. As the late Arthur C Clarke states in his first law; “When a distinguished but elderly scientist states that something is possible, he is almost certainly right. When he states that something is impossible, he is very probably wrong.”
Oh I know, I have had the fortune to speak with several of these very prominent and “distinguished but elderly scientists” over the years.
But especially in SCIENCE. "THE" sole determining characteristic of science is that it is NEVER, EVER "settled".
Anyone who purports to be part of the science profession who uses the term is automatically "not a scientist", and should have any credentials he, she (or "it" these days) might have revoked.
This is why I DESPISE the term ‘settled science’ as an utterly vapid argument in any field. History is full of consensus theories that have been overthrown by later research. As the late Arthur C Clarke states in his first law; “When a distinguished but elderly scientist states that something is possible, he is almost certainly right. When he states that something is impossible, he is very probably wrong.”
I think that “generally accepted science” is probably a better term than “settled science”. You can always add to generally accepted ideas, but settling seems rather permanent.
You brought it up.