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Hi all, I am new to this group. So, please be patient with me. I was wondering that can you please give me some constructive criticism on the following GRE essay and how I can improve it. Thank you in advance. "Scientific theories, which most people consider 'fact,' almost invariably prove to be inaccurate. Thus, one should look upon any information described as 'factual' with skepticism since it may well be proven false in the future." ================================================== Skeptics of scientific theories have long suggested that any theories and discoveries should be thoroughly tested and scrutinized before they are accepted as a universal fact, and I generally acquiesce with their thinking. One would not have to look too far back in the history to evaluate the negative impact caused by the people who instantly accepted the theories proposed by the intellectuals and aristocrats of the time e.g. the Earth was flat, Earth is the only planet, Sun is stationary in the Solar System etc. Even, theory that men and women can be strictly divided into two categories is now under danger. These kind of theories, which were going to be mocked and rejected, formed the basis of numerous "ground breaking" ideas. However, just accepting the ideas can be hardly described as feral. The major culprit in this whole saga is the legacy they had left and did not stress to their descendants that these are not facts and are likely to change. Hence, when centuries after, the theories of the past are being questioned, people had become so hardened to what their ancestors have taught them that they find it hard to believe or even "listen" to the new perspective. The most famous incident which instantly comes to mind is when the theory of evolution was first proposed. It was not only unanimously rejected, but it was portrayed as if one heinous crime has been committed against the humanity. Nonetheless, after many generations, more and more people are starting to believe that the theory of evolution may be true. The lead time would have been significantly shorter if our ancestors kept an open mind about science and did not create rigid boundaries around it. However, one has to give small credit to our ancestors for accepting baseless theories on their face value. This blind truth created uneasiness among the later generations and injected motivation to prove the theory write or wrong, whichever side of the coin one wants to look at. This enthusiasm led to invention of cameras, satellites, telephones, computers, hydrogen collider. In addition to the inventions, people started performing archaeological discoveries to find the evidence of their ancestors. All these factors culminated to form organisations like NASA and CERN. Finally, I would like to conclude by stressing the same thought I started with, that any new theories should be treated with caution unless concrete evidence is provided to support them. However, it is human nature to search for answers and quench their thirst for knowledge. Hence, it is unrealistic to think that scientists would magically stop providing theories which are really absurd, and one cant blame people for accepting the new ideas. But, the important thing is that one should keep an open mind about the new ideas. ================================================== Thank you in advance.