10.09.2020

The scientific method defined




What the Pandemic Has Taught Us About Science: The scientific method remains the best way to solve many problems, but bias, overconfidence and politics can sometimes lead scientists astray

Excerpt:

In a lecture at Cornell University in 1964, the physicist Richard Feynman defined the scientific method. First, you guess, he said, to a ripple of laughter. Then you compute the consequences of your guess. Then you compare those consequences with the evidence from observations or experiments. “If [your guess] disagrees with experiment, it’s wrong. In that simple statement is the key to science. It does not make a difference how beautiful the guess is, how smart you are, who made the guess or what his name is…it’s wrong.”