Scientific Discovery

An alleged scientific discovery

An alleged scientific discovery has no merit unless it can be explained to a barmaid. Ernest Rutherford

There is probably nothing

There is probably nothing more sublime than discontent transmuted into a work of art, a scientific discovery, and so on. Eric Hoffer

There are two possible

There are two possible outcomes: if the result confirms the hypothesis, then you’ve made a measurement. If the result is contrary to the hypothesis, then you’ve made a discovery. Enrico Fermi

Today, nothing is unusual about a scientific discovery’s being followed soon after by a technical application: The discovery of electrons led to electronics; fission led to nuclear energy. But before the 1880’s, science played almost no role in the advances of technology. For example, James Watt developed the first efficient steam engine long before science … Read more

If there is one

If there is one ‘scientific’ discovery I am proud of, it is the discovery of the habit of writing without publication in mind. Edsger Dijkstra

In the attempt to

In the attempt to make scientific discoveries, every problem is an opportunity — and the more difficult the problem, the greater will be the importance of its solution. E. O. Wilson

If Watson and I

If Watson and I had not discovered the [DNA] structure, instead of being revealed with a flourish it would have trickled out and that its impact would have been far less. For this sort of reason Stent had argued that a scientific discovery is more akin to a work of art than is generally admitted. … Read more

They are ill discoverers

They are ill discoverers that think there is no land, when they can see nothing but sea. Francis Bacon

Yet, in holding scientific

Yet, in holding scientific research and discovery in respect, as we should, we must also be alert to the equal and opposite danger that public policy could itself become the captive of a scientific-technological elite. Dwight D. Eisenhower

We have known the

We have known the bitterness of defeat and the exultation of triumph, and from both we have learned there can be no turning back. We must go forward to preserve in peace what we won in war. A new era is upon us. Even the lesson of victory itself brings with it profound concern, both … Read more