Should scientists be modest about their accomplishments?

Should scientists be modest about their accomplishments?

I would have answered this Q with an affirmative 'yes' before I encountered some people who took this unpretentious nature of scientists as their dumbness and started attacking science and scientists.

I will not say I have changed my mind now but would like to bring this to the notice of scientists.

We were discussing the topic  'How to deal with pseudo-skeptics of science?' on an online science communicators site a few days ago.

According to some educationists on the site, the skepticism about science arises because the scientists themselves accept that they know very less. Some scientists even say that they know more and more of less and less because of their super-specializations.
This, according to some people, means that scientists know less about science than men on the street and activists! That is why they fear about GM crops and nuclear energy and protest against science which is being done by 'not so qualified people'! What an erroneous conclusion!

Because scientists know how enormous this universe is, how strong and mysterious the Nature is and how extensive its working conditions are when compared to us - small human beings and how inadequate the equipment we now have to study all these gigantic things, they think it is difficult to unravel most of the mysteries of Nature and Universe right now. Yes, this is true. Climate change is one example because we are unable to produce good models of it that can always be correct. Earthquake prediction is another difficulty. Black holes, dark matter and energy, ....... there are several other things we don't know much about and are still at theoretical stages.

This is simply accepting our difficulties and not lack of our effort to tackle them. This is also identifying the complications - the first step to solve them. This is not, I repeat not, degrading science's achievements. This is also not saying that scientists have insufficient knowledge in their fields or unintelligent to handle the problems. This is just seeing things realistically - as they are.

If you prepare a list of people who can solve the problems of the world, I am sure, the scientists would top the list. In a science and technology dominated world, people would go to them for solutions and advices. They also look at the scientists as the only people you can really rely on ( this was found during various surveys ) at the time of adversities and natural calamities we face on our planet.

Without science and people who deal with it despite enormous difficulties they face, half of human race would have been wiped out because of diseases, hunger, calamities and several other things by now. We would have still lived in caves, hunting them and fighting with animals. We would have lived like the Neanderthals. Can you imagine living in such pathetic conditions now? If you cannot, thank science and people who deal with it for bringing you out of such a situation. Don't underestimate scientists' achievements just because they are modest enough to acknowledge their humbleness.

Being good is not being weak or dumb.