How "scientists" protect themselves
The word "scientist," like the word "engineer," has depreciated a lot, like currencies in third-world countries. "Cognitive scientists," "Neuro scientists," "Social scientists" and more. Most of these new scientists deal with conjectures, theories, speculation, guesses... but they protect themselves. Two examples: Steven Pinker, Harvard University, says, in his "How the Mind Works", at the very start of the book: "... we don´t know how the mind works..." and then he proceeds to write 660 pages. Suck on that! Paul Bloom , from MIT, tenders, in the final chapter of his "How Children Learn the Meaning of Words," a revealing confession: "Nobody knows how children learn the meaning of words." Do not forget to add a caveat like the two above, when writing a "scientific" paper, just in case.