Weather is a literary specialty, and no untrained hand can turn out a good article on it
Mark TwainRead
That is the way of the scientist. He will spend thirty years in building up a mountain range of facts with the intent to prove a certain theory; then he is so happy with his achievement that as a rule he overlooks the main chief fact of all-that all his accumulation proves an entirely different thing.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Scientists often focus on building evidence to support theories, sometimes missing the bigger picture revealed by their findings.
In this quote, Mark Twain highlights the tendency of scientists to become so entrenched in their quest to gather data supporting a hypothesis that they may overlook the broader implications of their discoveries. This reflects a common pitfall in scientific inquiry, where the pursuit of validation can blind researchers to alternative interpretations of their work, emphasizing the importance of remaining open-minded about the outcomes of their research.
Themes
ScienceTheoryFactsDiscoveryPerspective
In practice
Example use cases
During a science presentation, I could use this quote to emphasize the importance of considering all evidence rather than only that which supports a hypothesis.
More from Mark Twain
All quotes →The easy part of being an artist is figuring out the message that everyone else is ready to hear. The hard part is waiting for the proper lull to make the announcement.
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In Paris they just simply opened their eyes and stared when we spoke to them in French! We never did succeed in making those idiots understand their own language.
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