Some of mankind's most terrible misdeeds have been committed under the spell of certain magic words or phrases.
James Bryant ConantRead
I venture to define science as a series of interconnected concepts and conceptual schemes arising from experiment and observation and fruitful of further experiments and observations. The test of a scientific theory is, I suggest, its fruitfulness.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Science is defined by its ability to generate new ideas and insights through a cycle of experimentation and observation.
James Bryant Conant emphasizes that science should be viewed as an interconnected web of concepts that are developed through careful experimentation and observation. He suggests that the true measure of a scientific theory is its ability to inspire further inquiry and to lead to new experiments, highlighting the dynamic and evolving nature of scientific knowledge.
Themes
ScienceTheoryExperimentationObservationFruitfulness
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about the importance of scientific research, this quote can highlight the role of experimentation in developing theories.
More from James Bryant Conant
All quotes →A conceptual scheme is never discarded merely because of a few stubborn facts with which it cannot be reconciled; a conceptual scheme is either modified or replaced by a better one, never abandoned with nothing left to take its place.
James Bryant ConantRead
In every section of the entire area where the word science may properly be applied, the limiting factor is a human one. We shall have rapid or slow advance in this direction or in that depending on the number of really first-class men who are engaged in the work in question. ... So in the last analysis, the future of science in this country will be determined by our basic educational policy.
James Bryant ConantRead
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