Mastodawn

But it happens further quite naturally that men who believe too firmly in their theories, do not believe enough in the theories of others. So the dominant idea of these despisers of their fellows is to find others’ theories faulty and to try to contradict them. […] They make experiments only to destroy a theory, instead of to seek the truth. At the same time, they make poor observations, because they choose among the results of their experiments only what suits their object, neglecting whatever is unrelated to it, and carefully setting aside everything which might tend toward they idea they wish to combat.

[Mais il arrive encore tout naturellement que ceux qui croient trop à leurs théories ne croient pas assez à celles des autres. Alors l’idée dominante de ces contempteurs d’autrui est de trouver les théories des autres en défaut et de chercher à les contredire. […] Ils ne font des expériences que pour détruire une théorie, au lieu de les faire pour chercher la vérité. Ils font également de mauvaises observations, parce qu’ils ne prennent dans les résultats de leurs expériences que ce qui convient à leur but, en négligeant ce qui ne s’y rapporte pas, et en écartant bien soigneusement tout ce qui pourrait aller dans le sens de l’idée qu’ils veulent combattre.]

Claude Bernard (1813-1878) French physiologist, scientist
An Introduction to the Study of Experimental Medicine [Introduction à l’Étude de la Médecine Expérimentale], ch. 3 (1865) [tr. Greene (1957)]

More info about (and translations of) this quote: wist.info/bernard-claude/81484…

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #claudebernard #bias #confirmationbias #disproof #experimentation #hypothesis #proof #science #scientificmethod #theory

Bernard, Claude - An Introduction to the Study of Experimental Medicine [Introduction à l’Étude de la Médecine Expérimentale], ch. 3 (1865) [tr. Greene (1957)] | WIST Quotations

WIST Quotations

Wayne Radinsky Dec 31

AI transforms scientific discovery: From AlphaFold to Google's AI Co-Scientist.

https://techlife.blog/posts/ai-transforms-scientific-discovery-alphafold-ai-co-scientist/

#solidstatelife #ai #genai #llms #diffusionmodels #alphafold #science #scientificmethod #scienceai

AI Transforms Scientific Discovery: How AlphaFold and AI Co-Scientist Are Reshaping Research

From solving the 50-year protein folding problem to generating research hypotheses in hours, AI tools like AlphaFold and Google's AI Co-Scientist are compressing discovery timelines from years to days

TechLife

broVbro 🇺🇲Dec 25

There is no certainty in science. Today's 'fact' is tomorrow's flat earth.

#CriticalThinking
#science
#ScientificMethod
#logic
#facts

Flipboard Science Desk Nov 27

What is the scientific process, from investigation to publication? Mark Louie Ramos, an expert in health policy and administration, explains for @TheConversationUS.

https://flip.it/VjbC2y

#Science #ScientificMethod #Research

Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence – and that affects what scientific journals choose to publish

Researchers design studies that might disprove what’s called their null hypothesis – the opposite of the claim they’re interested in exploring.

The Conversation

WIST Quotations Has Moved!Nov 16

A quotation from Isaac Asimov

Science doesn’t purvey absolute truth. Science is a mechanism. It’s a way of trying to improve your knowledge of nature. It’s a system for testing your thoughts against the universe and seeing whether they match. And this works, not just for the ordinary aspects of science, but for all of life. I should think people would want to know that what they know is truly what the universe is like, or at least as close as they can get to it.

Isaac Asimov (1920-1992) Russian-American author, polymath, biochemist
Interview (1988) by Bill Moyers, A World of Ideas, PBS TV (1988-10-22)

More info about this quote: wist.info/asimov-isaac/34218/

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #isaacasimov #knowledge #life #process #science #scientificmethod #technique #test #truth #philosophy

broVbro 🇺🇲Oct 29

I deny nothing but doubt everything. - Lord Byron

#CriticalThinking
#science
#ScientificMethod

Raurquiz Oct 29

#otd #startrek #voyager #ScientificMethod #janeway #chakotay #tuvok #kim #paris #belannatorres #7of9 #emh #neelix #alzen #takar #startrek59 @trekcore

mahadevank Oct 2

RE: https://mastodon.social/@safest_integer/115303726020952780

One of the best papers I've just read on AI not being AGI

Three clear conclusions from the paper

1. Humans must remain at the creative steering wheel
2. AI can mimic humans but cannot explain like humans or create explanations
3. Current forms of AI cannot match human intelligence

#ai #research #philosophy #science #scientificmethod

Douglas E. Welch Oct 1

Cutting Down Ockham's Razor via OpenMind Magazine [Shared]

We hear all the time that the simplest explanations are usually the right ones. This truth-testing idea—known as Ockham’s razor, after the English medieval philosopher William of Ockham—has been embraced by no less authorities than Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein. Today scientists invoke Ockham’s razor on topics ranging from Covid’s origins to cosmic dark matter, while folks debating a subject on social media regularly invoke it as their final arbiter. After all, why complicate something more than you need to? Isn’t it better to shave ideas down to their essential truths?

https://welchwrite.com/blog/2025/10/01/cutting-down-ockhams-razor-via-openmind-magazine-shared/

#ockham #ockhamsrazor #simple #complex #ideas #explanations #science #scientific #scientificmethod #shared