QuoteProject
Science is best defined as a careful, disciplined, logical search for knowledge about any and all aspects of the universe, obtained by examination of the best available evidence and always subject to correction and improvement upon discovery of better evidence. What's left is magic. And it doesn't work.
James Randi
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Interpretation

What this quote means

Science involves a systematic and logical approach to understanding the universe through evidence and is always open to revision.

In this quote, James Randi defines science as an organized effort to acquire knowledge about the universe based on rigorous examination and evidence. He emphasizes that science is a dynamic process, constantly evolving as new evidence emerges, contrasting it with magic, which he claims lacks the foundational basis of logical inquiry and does not yield reliable results.

Themes

ScienceKnowledgeEvidenceLogicUniverseCorrection

In practice

Example use cases

In a scientific presentation, I might quote Randi to emphasize the importance of evidence-based conclusions.

More from James Randi

I don't expect that the million will ever be won, simply because there is no confirming evidence for any paranormal claims to date.
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[Psychics] use exactly the same gimmicks that we magicians do - the same physical methods, the same psychological methods - and they effectively and profoundly deceive millions of people around the earth, to their detriment.
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Escapology has one thing going for it that probably made Harry Houdini such a superstar in his day and a legend in the present. Everyone wants to escape from something. Taxes, contracts, illness, work, the multitude of burdens that we chafe under are shadows from which we want to escape.
James RandiRead
There is a distinct difference between having an open mind and having a hole in your head from which your brain leaks out.
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