Let's do science!
Ashley Montague
quoted here
"Every piece of scientific knowledge is part of a story that has been, or can be, shown to be likely to be true; or at least more likely than any other story making the rounds at the time. "
"Newton invented a scientific method which was truly universal in its scope. Newton presented his methodology as a set of fourrules for scientific reasoning. These rules were stated in the Principia and proposed that (1) we are to admit no more causesof natural things such as are both true and sufficient to explain their appearances, (2) the same natural effects must be assignedto the same causes, (3) qualities of bodies are to be esteemed as universal, and (4) propositions deduced from observation ofphenomena should be viewed as accurate until other phenomena contradict them."
"...I took a seminar (using GI bill funds) from the famous Viennese philosopher of science Rudolf Carnap. It was the most exciting course I ever took. Years later I persuaded Carnap to have the course tape-recorded by his wife and to let me shape the recording into a book. Basic Books issued it under the title Philosophical Foundations of Physics. The title was later changed to Introduction to the Philosophy of Science. All the ideas in the book are Carnap's, all the wording mine. Dover recently reprinted it in paperback with an afterword about how the book came about and my memories of Carnap."
from A Mind at Play : An Interview with Martin Gardner
by Kendrick Frazier
"Pseudo-science for Popper included any system of beliefs that relies on pre-determined 'laws' of human behavior. To qualify as science, propositional content must be testable and must be capable of being proven incorrect. This notion was in sharp distinction to the view of most scientists of the day: that science discovers immutable laws by observing nature, developing hypotheses and verifying them through experiment. Instead, Popper described science as trial and error, or conjecture and refutation. Science represents a Darwinian natural selection of the survival of the best tested ideas, which appear to have truth content because they have not yet been proven wrong. Science is and must be forever different from dogmatic forms of thought because its assertions are always tentative."-- A page on this site on / Karl Popper /
...anti-rationalists, with very few exceptions, are not irrational. They are either: (1) people who want to ratify the worth of other ways of knowing than science but feel they have to denigrate the latter to succeed, (2) people rightly troubled about current affairs and justifiably hostile to scientists and other authority figures who lack, however, a viable alternative and therefore desperately welcome whatever seems to be on their side, (3) academics with confused illusions of philosophical grandeur, or (4) ideologues who have found a new way to silence whomever they disagree with.
In all four cases, the only response to anti-rationalism is to steadfastly employ whatever experience, reason, andevidence we can muster to explain the true origins of the ills we face and to offer a real alternative vision and strategythat might better fulfill people's hopes and desires."
"... I find it ironic that, whenever I lecture publicly, there always seems to be someone whocomes forward and says, "Of course, your science is just a religion like ours. Fundamentally, science justcomes down to faith, doesn't it?"
Well, science is not religion and it doesn't just come down to faith. Although it has many of religion's virtues,it has none of its vices. Science is based upon verifiable evidence."
"... about 9 out of every 10 U.S. adults report being very or moderately interested in new scientific discoveries and the use of new inventions and technologies."
"About three-quarters of Americans lack a clear understanding of the nature of scientific inquiry. Although more than one-half have some understanding of probability, only one-third were familiar with how an experiment is conducted and less than one-quarter could adequately explain what it means to study something scientifically."
"The science community and the news media are missing opportunities to communicate with each other and the public. A recent study identified several problems including (1) scientists’ distrust of the media, (2) a perceived lack of public interest in science, (3) communication barriers, and (4) the need for a better informed and educated public. Both scientists and the media could do a better job of communicating with the public so that taxpayers gain a better understanding of what they are getting from their investment in research and development (R&D)."
"Belief in paranormal phenomena, including astrology, extrasensory perception, and alien abductions, is fairly widespread. Such beliefs may reflect a lack of scientific literacy or indicate a dearth of critical thinking skills needed not only to understand what is going on in the world, but also to make well-informed choices at the ballot box and in other day-to-day living activities. Depictions of paranormal activities in the entertainment media probably exacerbate the problem."
from The National Science Board (NSB) report on Science and Engineering Indicators for the year 2000
My emphasis -- ed.
"Smart people believe weird things because they are skilled at defending beliefs they arrived at for nonsmart reasons. ...
The key here is teaching how science works, not just what science has discovered."