Peter
( The audience would boo and throw tomatoes.)
There seems to be two paths to science.    One is like the tomato and potato.  For hundreds of years they were thought to be poisen and then enough people ate them that it became a staple of the diet that allowed the population of some continents all most double in population.

On the oposite side of the above, if you had congestion the doctors of old might tell you to smoke two ciggerrets to relieve it based on antidotal eveidence which later was studied to disprove the current two cigarrette Ideal.  An asperin for pain might not be known how it works but that it does work there is no doubt.  

The bees that reduce mite reproduction may not be understood how they are doing it but the measuring of it happenning can be done.

So in the end, it still comes down to knowing what you know at the time till more evidence proves more stuff.
Cheers
gww

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