All the sciences are fairly quarrelsome, and I think this plays into the public (mis)understanding of science.

Most people want a pat answer (like "how much is that doggie in the window" and an answer of $5.00 rather than "Well, it WAS $5, but that dog has been reclassified to a scentwork dog and now it's $18.50" or "new evidence showed up and that's not a dog, but a coyote." (and later iterations of the same))

Science is messy because we don't walk up to something and instantly have all the right answers about it.

-- Byrd
Moderator, Hall of Ma'at