Bronowski, Jacob -- The Ascent of Man ch. 4 (1973)
That is the essence of science: ask an impertinent question, and you are on the way to a pertinent answer. Jacob Bronowski (1908-1974) Polish-English humanist and mathematicianThe Ascent of Man ch. 4...
View ArticleHuxley, T. H. -- “On the Advisableness of Improving Natural Knowledge” (1870)
The man of science has learned to believe in justification, not by faith, but by verification. T. H. Huxley (1825-1895) English biologist [Thomas Henry Huxley]“On the Advisableness of Improving Natural...
View ArticleHuxley, T. H. -- “Science and Religion,” lecture (Dec 1858)
The great and peculiar benefit which a fair course of scientific study confers, even on those who do not follow it as a profession, is that it compels such a firm and entire faith in our mental...
View ArticleNovella, Seven -- The Skeptics’ Guide to the Universe Podcast, #292 (16 Feb...
What do you think science is? There is nothing magical about science. It is simply a systematic way for carefully and thoroughly observing nature and using consistent logic to evaluate results. So...
View ArticleVerne, Jules -- Journey to the Center of the Earth [Voyage au centre de la...
Science, my lad, has been built upon many errors; but they are errors which is was good to fall into, for they led to the truth. Jules Verne (1828-1905) French novelist, poet, playwright Journey to the...
View ArticleBernard, Claude -- An Introduction to the Study of Experimental Medicine...
Theories are only verified hypotheses, verified by more or less numerous facts. Those verified by the most facts are the best, but even then they are never final, never to be absolutely believed....
View ArticleBernard, Claude -- An Introduction to the Study of Experimental Medicine...
Indeed, proof that a given condition always precedes or accompanies a phenomenon does not warrant concluding with certainty that a given condition is the immediate cause of that phenomenon. It must...
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Verne, Jules -- Journey to the Center of the Earth, ch. 31 (1864) [tr....
Science, my lad, has been built upon many errors; but they are errors which it was good to fall into, for they led to the truth. [La science, mon garçon, est faite d’erreurs, mais d’erreurs qu’il est...
View ArticleAsimov, Isaac -- The Roving Mind (1983)
Don’t you believe in flying saucers, they ask me? Don’t you believe in telepathy? — in ancient astronauts? — in the Bermuda triangle? — in life after death? No, I reply. No, no, no, no, and again no....
View ArticleFeynman, Richard -- The Character of Physical Law, ch 7 “Seeking New Laws”...
The inexperienced, and crackpots, and people like that, make guesses that are simple, but you can immediately see that they are wrong, so that does not count. Others, the inexperienced students, make...
View ArticleFeynman, Richard -- “Cargo Cult Science,” commencement address, California...
But there is one feature I notice that is generally missing in Cargo Cult Science. That is the idea that we all hope you have learned in studying science in school — we never explicitly say what this...
View ArticleFeynman, Richard -- “Cargo Cult Science,” commencement address, California...
Details that could throw doubt on your interpretation must be given, if you know them. You must do the best you can — if you know anything at all wrong, or possibly wrong — to explain it. If you make a...
View ArticleStorr, Anthony -- Feet of Clay: Saints, Sinners and Madmen, ch. 10 (1996)
There should be no articles of faith in science, unless it be the faith that no discovery, no law, is so absolute that it cannot be superseded. Anthony Storr (1920-2001) English psychiatrist and...
View ArticleTeller, Edward -- Conversations on the Dark Secrets of Physics, ch. 5 (1991)...
A fact is a simple statement that everyone believes. It is innocent, unless found guilty. A hypothesis is a novel suggestion that no one wants to believe. It is guilty, until found effective. Edward...
View ArticleAsimov, Isaac -- “The Role of the Heretic,” Foreword to Donald W. Goldsmith...
Science is in far greater danger from the absence of challenge than from the coming of any number of even absurd challenges. Isaac Asimov (1920-1992) Russian-American author, polymath, biochemist“The...
View ArticleHuxley, T. H. -- “The Coming of Age of The Origin of Species,” lecture, Royal...
History warns us, however, that it is the customary fate of new truths to begin as heresies and to end as superstitions; and, as matters now stand, it is hardly rash to anticipate that, in another...
View ArticleFeynman, Richard -- The Character of Physical Law, ch 7 “Seeking New Laws”...
The inexperienced, and crackpots, and people like that, make guesses that are simple, but you can immediately see that they are wrong, so that does not count. Others, the inexperienced students, make...
View ArticleHuxley, T. H. -- “The Coming of Age of The Origin of Species,” lecture, Royal...
History warns us, however, that it is the customary fate of new truths to begin as heresies and to end as superstitions; and, as matters now stand, it is hardly rash to anticipate that, in another...
View ArticleFeynman, Richard -- The Character of Physical Law, ch 7 “Seeking New Laws”...
The inexperienced, and crackpots, and people like that, make guesses that are simple, but you can immediately see that they are wrong, so that does not count. Others, the inexperienced students, make...
View ArticleHuxley, T. H. -- “The Coming of Age of The Origin of Species,” lecture, Royal...
History warns us, however, that it is the customary fate of new truths to begin as heresies and to end as superstitions; and, as matters now stand, it is hardly rash to anticipate that, in another...
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