26 APR 2012 by ideonexus

 Sir Eddington Doesn't Believe in Neutrinos

Just now nuclear physicists are writing a great deal about hypothetical particles called neutrinos supposed to account for certain peculiar facts observed in ß-ray disintegration. We can perhaps best describe the neutrinos as little bits of spin-energy that have got detached. I am not much impressed by the neutrino theory. In an ordinary way I might say that I do not believe in neutrinos... But I have to reflect that a physicist may be an artist, and you never know where you are with artists...
Folksonomies: science art creativity
Folksonomies: science art creativity
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But he's not willing to bet against their existence, because a physicist might invent them through reason and experimentation. A fascinating thought that this summary cannot do justice.

20 MAY 2011 by ideonexus

 What Makes a Person Predisposed To Science

One thing seems clear. Scientists are people, not rational automatons. They differ from other people in terms of what they do, in the things that give them satisfaction, more than in terms of completely special capacities. There is nothing you can say about them as persons that you cannot also say about some people who are not scientists. And there is almost nothing you can say about a man in some particular field of science that you cannot also say about someone in another field of science. ...
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A love of knowledge for its own sake appears to be the most important factor.