Scientists believe in dark matter because their calculations tell them there should be more mass/gravity than what is observed based on how galaxies move, how stars/nebula/whatever inside galaxies move. This is an example of trying to change reality to fit with one’s theories, rather than changing one’s theories to fit with reality – in other words, anti-science, if we define science as the scientific method.
How did this anti-science get so popular? Dark matter is a common idea, physicists accept it as completely certain even though they begrudgingly admit there is yet no observable evidence for it. And most people have heard of it, the idea has the catchy name dark matter which is at once mysterious and evocative of something powerful, tantalizing, and makes you think the scientists must really be “getting to the bottom” of this whole understanding reality thing, if they are doing work on such mesmerizing things as dark matter!
Why didn’t science take another look at how it calculates gravitational effects over the largest distances rather than jump right into an insane kind of religious frenzy of faith? Are there any physicists who are working on the real issue of fitting our theories to reality, rather than abandoning rationality to play with egotistical and hopeful thinking?