Sunday, May 8, 2016

Science, What It Is


Richard Feynman's birthday comes up this Wednesday. For today's Sunday reflection I refer you to this wonderful passage from Feynman on 'what is science?':
http://cw.routledge.com/textbooks/9780415965286/studentresources_chapter1_researchmatters.asp

It begins thusly (but seriously, click over, and read the whole thing):
"I would like to say a word or two about words and definitions, because it is necessary to learn the words.  It is not science.  That doesn't mean just because it is not science that we don't have to teach the words.  We are not talking about what to teach; we are talking about what science is.  It is not science to know how to change Centigrade to Fahrenheit.  It's necessary, but it is not exactly science..."


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