Heart of Darkness

Just when I was starting to think, once again, that all modern science is a sham, the United States Geological Survey has renewed my faith. I am about to begin a journey to the very center of the Earth, for reasons that need not be explained here, and I depart with the utmost confidence that my destination has been accurately charted. Years ago, before computers, before GPS, surveyors with the United States government, pasted a map of the U.S. on a piece of cardboard, cut out the outline, and balanced the result on a pencil. And thus was determined the geographic center of our country.
There are those skeptics who say that science does nothing more than whistle in the dark. There are those that liken scientists to Neolithic shamans, desperate to find a suitable explanation for every observable phenomenon, no matter how far fetched. The scientists cannot turn out the lights at night, it is said, without feeling as though they have a plausible explanation for every creak and chirp. They invent elaborate mythologies for the origins of thunder to allay their fear of the unknown.
Balderdash! Science plods forward with reason, driven by rational thought and sober acceptance of all known facts.
The Earth revolves around the sun. Maggots do not spontaneously generate from putrid flesh. And if you wanna find the middle of something, get out your paste and scissors.