24 DEC 2016 by ideonexus
Number Scrabble: Numerical Tic-Tac-Toe
In psychological research on problem-solving, sometimes the game of Tic-Tac-Toe is employed, which, though very simple to learn and play, still offers sufficient problems to the investigator in that it is not at all clear what heuristics are used by the subjects, except avoiding the winning move of the opponent. The same is apparently true for the isomorphic game of Number Scrabble, which is based on the fact that there exists a 3 X 3 magic square, of which rows, columns, and main diagonals a... 1 
notes
notes| 4 | 3 | 8 |
| 9 | 5 | 1 |
| 2 | 7 | 6 |
30 JUL 2013 by ideonexus
Scientists Read the Book of Nature
IN IMAGINATION there exists the perfect mystery story.
Such a story presents all the essential clues, and com-
pels us to form our own theory of the case. If we
follow the plot carefully, we arrive at the complete
solution for ourselves just before the author's disclosure
at the end of the book. The solution itself, contrary to
those of inferior mysteries, does not disappoint us; more-
over, it appears at the very moment we expect it.
Can we liken the reader of such a book to the sci...
1 But unlike a detective novel, they can't flip to the last page and they may not even find an answer.
11 JUN 2012 by ideonexus
Scientists Work Near the Tower of Science
Whereas the man of action binds his life to reason and its concepts so that he will not be swept away and lost, the scientific investigator builds his hut right next to the tower of science so that he will be able to work on it and to find shelter for himself beneath those bulwarks which presently exist. Folksonomies: science shoulders of giants
Folksonomies: science shoulders of giants
Taking shelter under the ideas that previously exist.
04 JUN 2012 by ideonexus
Science Teaches Humility
Science even more than the Gospel teaches us humility. She cannot look down on anything, she does not know what superiority means, she despises nothing, never lies for the sake of a pose, and conceals nothing out of coquetry. She stops before the facts as an investigator, sometimes as a physician, never as an executioner, and still less with hostility and irony. 1 notes
notesEven more so than the gospel.
30 JAN 2012 by ideonexus
The Method of Multiple Working Hypotheses
It will be observed that the distinction [between hypothesis and theory] is not such as to prevent a working hypothesis from gliding with the utmost ease into a ruling theory. Affection may as easily cling about a beloved intellectual child when named as a hypothesis as if named a theory, and its establishment in the one guise may become a ruling passion very much as in the other. The historical antecedents and the moral atmosphere associated with the working hypothesis lend some good influen...Folksonomies: hypothesis confirmation bias
Folksonomies: hypothesis confirmation bias
1 notes
notesBy maintaining many hypotheses, the scientist does not fall in love with one over the others and fall into the trap of confirmation bias.
30 JAN 2012 by ideonexus
Discovery is the Greatest Possible Reward in Life
The indescribable pleasure—which pales the rest of life's joys—is abundant compensation for the investigator who endures the painful and persevering analytical work that precedes the appearance of the new truth, like the pain of childbirth. It is true to say that nothing for the scientific scholar is comparable to the things that he has discovered. Indeed, it would be difficult to find an investigator willing to exchange the paternity of a scientific conquest for all the gold on earth. An... 1 notes
notesAny scientist who would trade it for all the gold in the world is working in the wrong profession.
23 JAN 2012 by ideonexus
Technical Terminology Raises the Bar to Entry into a Subject
The increasing technicality of the terminology employed is also a serious difficulty. It has become necessary to learn an extensive vocabulary before a book in even a limited department of science can be consulted with much profit. This change, of course, has its advantages for the initiated, in securing precision and concisement of statement; but it tends to narrow the field in which an investigator can labour, and it cannot fail to become, in the future, a serious impediment to wide inducti...Folksonomies: terminology lexicon
Folksonomies: terminology lexicon
1 notes
notesBut the advantage is that it makes it easier for those working in the subject to be more precises.
13 JAN 2012 by ideonexus
Hypothesis is a Tool for Finding New Facts
Hypothesis is the most important mental technique of the investigator, and its main function is to suggest new experiments or new observations. Indeed, most experiments and many observations are carried out with the deliberate object of testing an hypothesis. Another function is to help one see the significance of an object or event that otherwise would mean nothing. For instance, a mind prepared by the hypothesis of evolution would make many more significant observations on a field excursion... 1 notes
notesIt is used to think up new experiments, things to try. Armed with the hypothesis of Evolution, the naturalist has insights into what to look for in fossils and nature.
04 JAN 2012 by ideonexus
Give Up Untenable Positions
But at the same time, there must never be the least hesitation in giving up a position the moment it is shown to be untenable. It is not going too far to say that the greatness of a scientific investigator does not rest on the fact of his having never made a mistake, but rather on his readiness to admit that he has done so, whenever the contrary evidence is cogent enough. 1 notes
notesThe greatness of the scientific investigator is in the ability to admit mistakes.
