21 JAN 2014 by ideonexus
Scientific Truth is Truth Without Fear
Remember, then, that scientific thought is the guide of action; that the truth at which it arrives is not that which we can ideally contemplate without error, but that which we may act upon without fear; and you cannot fail to see that scientific thought is not an accompaniment of human progress, but human progress itself. 1 
notes
notesIt is the best we have, not perfect, but progress.
04 JUN 2012 by ideonexus
Science Extends the Range of Phenomena
Science is in a literal sense constructive of new facts. It has no fixed body of facts passively awaiting explanation, for successful theories allow the construction of new instruments—electron microscopes and deep space probes—and the exploration of phenomena that were beyond description—the behavior of transistors, recombinant DNA, and elementary particles, for example. This is a key point in the progressive nature of science—not only are there more elegant or accurate analyses of p... 1 notes
notesThere is not a set number of facts, but science expands boundaries.
29 MAY 2012 by ideonexus
Why Every Fact is Interesting
It seems to me that every phenomenon, every fact, itself is the really interesting object. Whoever explains it, or connects it with other events, usually only amuses himself or makes sport of us, as, for instance, the naturalist or historian. But a single action or event is interesting, not because it is explainable, but because it is true. 1 notes
notesBecause it is true.
23 APR 2012 by ideonexus
Fact Can Impede the Progress of Science
It surely can be no offence to state, that the progress of science has led to new views, and that the consequences that can be deduced from the knowledge of a hundred facts may be very different from those deducible from five. It is also possible that the facts first known may be the exceptions to a rule and not the rule itself, and generalisations from these first-known facts, though useful at the time, may be highly mischievous, and impede the progress of the science if retained when it has... 1 notes
notesBecause they are the first-known, and taint the understanding of later facts discovered.
02 FEB 2012 by ideonexus
The Positive Mind
In the final, the positive, state, the mind has given over the vain search after absolute notions, the origin and destination of the universe, and the causes of phenomena, and applies itself to the study of their laws—that is, their invariable relations of succession and resemblance. Reasoning and observation, duly combined, are the means of this knowledge. What is now understood when we speak of an explanation of facts is simply the establishment of a connection between single phenomena an... 1 notes
notesDoesn't concern itself with absolute truth, but is focused on laws and how facts tie into them.
02 FEB 2012 by ideonexus
Facts Need Theory to Guide Them
All good intellects have repeated, since Bacon's time, that there can be no real knowledge but that which is based on observed facts. This is incontestable, in our present advanced stage; but, if we look back to the primitive stage of human knowledge, we shall see that it must have been otherwise then. If it is true that every theory must be based upon observed facts, it is equally true that facts cannot be observed without the guidance of some theory. Without such guidance, our facts would b... 1 notes
notesWithout theory, we have no framework within which to contain them.
24 JAN 2012 by ideonexus
Scientific Truth Must Come Out of Controversy
Scientific truth, like puristic truth, must come about by controversy. Personally this view is abhorrent to me. It seems to mean that scientific truth must transcend the individual, that the best hope of science lies in its greatest minds being often brilliantly and determinedly wrong, but in opposition, with some third, eclectically minded, middle-of-the-road nonentity seizing the prize while the great fight for it, running off with it, and sticking it into a textbook for sophomores written ... 1 notes
notesThere is the ideal of scientific facts taught without passion and the reality of impassioned conflict within scientific exploration.
04 JAN 2012 by ideonexus
The Worth of Opinions are Determined by the Facts of Thei...
I submit a body of facts which cannot be invalidated. My opinions may be doubted, denied, or approved, according as they conflict or agree with the opinions of each individual who may read them; but their worth will be best determined by the foundation on which they rest—the incontrovertible facts. 1 notes
notesFacts are incontrovertible, and the opinions that grow from them must be evaluated on the interpretation of those facts.
01 JUL 2011 by ideonexus
Two Examples of Leaping to Conclusions without the Facts
Let me give you two examples of leaping to conclusions without
the full facts. Back in the 1890’s, a certain California newspaper
was apprehensive about the harmful effects the railroads would
have on the environment. If the trains crossed the Mojave to get
to the Pacific, this newspaper editorialized, “the huge iron rails
will reverse the Earth’s magnetic field with catastrophic effects.”
Now that’s real science! One hundred forty years ago, the Royal
Society in England warned agai... 1 notes
notesPeople, even scientists, thought the train would come apart and asphyxiate its passengers at speeds of 35 MPH, and the rocket was disregarded by the military until the Germans adopted it.
