Quotes About Inquiry

Science is an ongoing process. It never ends. There is no single ultimate truth to be achieved, after which all the scientists can retire. And because this is so, the world is far more interesting

There seem to be many people who simply wish to be told an answer, any answer, and thereby avoid the burden of keeping two mutually exclusive possibilities in their heads at the same time.

I try not to think with my gut. If I'm serious about understanding the world, thinking with anything besides my brain, as tempting as that might be, is likely to get me into trouble. Really, it's okay to reserve judgement until the evidence is in.

O método da ciência, por mais enfadonho e ranzinza que pareça, é muito mais importante do que as descobertas dela.

I do not want to believe. I want to know.

Bilimi (daha doÄŸrusu iÅŸleyiÅŸ ilkelerini) hiç duymad?ysan?z, sahte bilime kucak açt???n?z?n fark?nda bile olmayabilirsiniz.

Curiosity and the urge to solve problems are the emotional hallmarks of our species

It seems to me what is called for is an exquisite balance between two conflicting needs: the most skeptical scrutiny of all hypotheses that are served up to us and at the same time a great openness to new ideas...If you are only skeptical, then no new ideas make it through to you … On the other hand, if you are open to the point of gullibility and have not an ounce of skeptical sense in you, then you cannot distinguish the useful ideas from the worthless ones.

Being freed from superstition isn't enough for science to grow. One must also have the idea of interrogating Nature, of doing experiments.

Uno de los grandes mandamientos de la ciencia es: «Desconfía de los argumentos que proceden de la autoridad».

La búsqueda de configuraciones sin análisis crítico y la ostentación de un rígido escepticismo sin la búsqueda de configuraciones son las antípodas de una ciencia incompleta. La búsqueda efectiva del saber requiere la concurrencia de ambas funciones.

En la ciencia no hay preguntas prohibidas, no hay temas demasiado sensibles o delicados para ser explorados, no hay verdades sagradas.

la ciencia es más que un cuerpo de conocimiento, es una manera de pensar.

I try not to think with my gut. If I'm serious about understanding the world, thinking with anything besides my brain, as tempting as that might be, is likely to get me in trouble. Really, it's okay to reserve judgment until the evidence is in.

After all, it was like that for all living things—they could never know everything they wished to know. That would never change.

Might not too much investment in teaching Shelley mean falling behind our economic competitors? But there is no university without humane inquiry, which means that universities and advanced capitalism are fundamentally incompatible. And the political implications of that run far deeper than the question of student fees.

He wanted to know things, not reveal them.

What are you babbling about?" one of the other Sisters asked, not concerned with what they saw as a dusty aphorism.

No matter how much you know, there will always be more; no one knows everything.

So are you happy? he asks. I hate it when anyone asks me that. It's such a loaded fucking question. Are they talking aggregate years? Doesn't it depend on the day, the moment? Or are they referring to last year or last month?

But then science is nothing but a series of questions that lead to more questions.

If there's one thing that really annoys a god, it's not knowing something.

Not all questions are answered, commander, but fortunately some answers are questioned.

If the Creator had said, Let there be light in Ankh-Morpork, he'd have got no further because of all the people saying What colour?