The Principle of Doubt in Science
- Hypotheses can be rejected
but never completely confirmed.
- At best, a theory can be considered adequate
for describing a specific, finite set of phenomena.
- Do not trust theory - verify through experiment.
- Simple theories are preferable to complicated ones
(Occam's Razor)
- Elegance and understanding trump age and authority.
- If a theory has its predictions come true, we are obliged to
acknowledge its efficacy, even if it means rejecting something we
formerly believed.
The Practice of Faith in Science
- Theories which have withstood many tests over a long period of time
take on an air of [unquestionable] fact.
- Practically, a "long time" is one human generation.
- Scientific fields develop paradigms - a set of theoretical constructs
which encapsulate the state of knowledge in that field.
- The paradigm currently accepted by the majority of practitioners of
a particular field is the default "correct" picture.
- A standard paradigm is true until proven false
[very thoroughly].
- It is better to modify a small part of an existing framework to
incorporate new experimental data than reject the entire paradigm, even
if this makes the theory more complicated.