This article about geological Martian temperature is a great example of how chaotic knowledge can be -- chaotic in the sense that very slight changes of interpretation and awareness can have drastic effects on the final conclusion.
A chemical study of Martian meteorites implies that the planet has always been cold and was rarely above freezing.Writing in Science, researchers have been able to determine the maximum temperature the rock experienced.
There is no evidence that it was ever warm, they say, as it records near surface conditions for four billion years. ...
This new line of research is a puzzle given the contrary evidence of running water on Mars. ...
The study is bound to be controversial showing a disparity between those scientists who look at pictures of Mars to discern its history and those who study the only pieces of the planet we can examine in detail in the laboratory.
The truth is that we may never know, and we may never even know if we're anywhere near correct. Just as this "argon dating" procedure led one group of scientists in a new direction, there are certainly a limitless number of other approaches that may never be thought of but that would yield different hypotheses. As much or more than God, history itself can be seen as the elephant explored by blind men, each of whom perceives a different aspect of the beast and none of whom can reach agreement as to its actual nature.
