[bryanlarsen]

Science relies quite heavily on the concept of "settled science". The word used in science is "assumption". No scientist has the ability to prove everything from first principles in their work, they rely on a base of assumptions. If any of their assumptions get overturned, their own work gets overturned as well, so they choose their assumptions carefully. Sometimes that stack of assumptions can get pretty high and shaky, but science cannot operate without it.

[Opie_taylor]

And we all know what assume does.