I guess I am a pretty pathetic creature don't you think?
I don't know - do you ever have moments of self-doubt where you wonder if perhaps your critics have a point? Acknowledgement of one's own human fallibility can be a helpful touchstone.
After all, the truth has always been determined by the majority hasn't it? Of course it has.
I think most scientists would acknowledge that science attempts to describe the universe, but that while attaining "truth" is the goal, it is an ideal we can never reach. For this reason all scientific theories must remain tentative. This makes the development of accepted scientific theories a consensus activity of those competent to render judgment. So while "truth" isn't determined by a majority vote, which theories are accepted certainly is.
Do you feel you've arrived at a truth or a theory?
--Percy