Science of the Gaps

The arrogant misapplication of scientific authority to claim that phenomena currently unexplained by science are therefore permanently unexplainable by it, or that science's current models are complete and final. It is the mirror image of the "God of the Gaps" fallacy. Instead of inserting deity into unknowns, it inserts a dogmatic, closed scientific materialism, claiming "science says it's impossible" as a way to shut down inquiry into the anomalous, paranormal, or merely not-yet-studied.

Example: When presented with well-documented but poorly understood phenomena like certain psychedelic experiences or rare consciousness events, a skeptic might state, "Consciousness is just brain chemistry. Anything else is woo. That's the Science of the Gaps—what we don't understand now, we never will, because it doesn't fit the model." This turns tentative scientific understanding into an unchallengeable orthodoxy.

Science of the Gaps by Dumuabzu February 3, 2026