98 Quotes About Scientific-method

The quest for absolute certainty is an immature, if not infantile, trait of thinking.

There are so many ways to account for negative outcomes that it is safer to doubt one’s methods before doubting one’s subjects.

A Three pronged test for any belief:Can it be verified by the sights and senses of common people?How is it to be applied?Will it benefit the greatest number?from Against Fate

لماذا وقف المصري دون العقبة لا يقتحمها فذلك لعلة أراها واضحة وهي أن "علماءنا" لا يريدون هم أنفسهم أن يصدقوا علومهم إلا وهم في معامل البحث العلمي لكنهم إذا ما فرغوا من ذلك تركوا "منهج" العلم في الأدراج وانطلقوا مع الجمهور العريض فيما هو فيه

... Weber insists that the value of science is always to be questioned and not simply presupposed... He is... critical of the presupposition which underlies Strauss' position, namely that scientific reason is necessarily of value.

Often people run out of gas before they write the summary and conclusions. This part of the paper, or talk, is what will remain uppermost in the reader's/listener's mind. I want to know where this work leaves us (i. e. the summary) and where does it leas us (i. e. what are the questions raised by this work, i. e. the conclusions).

[...] I believe in Natural Selection, not because I can prove in any single case that it has changed one species into another, but because it groups and explains well (as it seems to me) a host of facts in classification, embryology, morphology, rudimentary organs, geological succession and distribution.

Should philosophy guide experiments, or should experiments guide philosophy?

The theory of universal gravitation is not cast-iron. No theory is, and there is always room for improvement. Isn't that so? Science is constructed out of approximations that gradually approach the truth. . . Well, that means all theories are subject to constant testing and modification, doesn't it? And if it eventually turns out that they're not quite close enough to the truth, they need to be replaced by something that's closer. Right?