A Contemporary Poet Has Characterized This Sense

If I Had To Define Life In A Single Phrase, I Should Clearly Express My Thought Of Throwing Into Relief One Characteristic Which, In My Opinion, Sharply Differentiates Biological Science. I Should Say: Life Is Creation.

It Is Impossible To Devise An Experiment Without A Preconceived Idea; Devising An Experiment, We Said, Is Putting A Question; We Never Conceive A Question Without An Idea Which Invites An Answer. I Consider It, Therefore, An Absolute Principle That Experiments Must Always Be Devised In View Of A Preconceived Idea, No Matter If The Idea Be Not Very Clear Nor Very Well Defined.

Put Off Your Imagination, As You Put Off Your Overcoat, When You Enter The Laboratory. Put It On Again, As You Put On Your Overcoat, When You Leave.

When We Meet A Fact Which Contradicts A Prevailing Theory, We Must Accept The Fact And Abandon The Theory, Even When The Theory Is Supported By Great Names And Generally Accepted.

In The Philosophic Sense, Observation Shows And Experiment Teaches.