Never Accept A Fact Until It Has

Observation And Theory Get On Best When They Are Mixed Together, Both Helping One Another In The Pursuit Of Truth. It Is A Good Rule Not To Put Overmuch Confidence In A Theory Until It Has Been Confirmed By Observation. I Hope I Shall Not Shock The Experimental Physicists Too Much If I Add That It Is Also A Good Rule Not To Put Overmuch Confidence In The Observational Results That Are Put Forward Until They Have Been Confirmed By Theory.

For The Truth Of The Conclusions Of Physical Science, Observation Is The Supreme Court Of Appeal.

Let Us Suppose That An Ichthyologist Is Exploring The Life Of The Ocean. He Casts A Net Into The Water And Brings Up A Fishy Assortment. Surveying His Catch, He Proceeds In The Usual Manner Of A Scientist To Systematise What It Reveals. He Arrives At Two Generalisations: No Sea-creature Is Less Than Two Inches Long. (2) All Sea-creatures Have Gills. These Are Both True Of His Catch, And He Assumes Tentatively That They Will Remain True However Often He Repeats It.

You Cannot Disturb The Tiniest Petal Of A Flower Without The Troubling Of A Distant Star.

Science Is One Thing, Wisdom Is Another. Science Is An Edged Tool, With Which Men Play Like Children, And Cut Their Own Fingers. If You Look At The Results Which Science Has Brought In Its Train, You Will Find Them To Consist Almost Wholly In Elements Of Mischief. See How Much Belongs To The Word "explosion" Alone, Of Which The Ancients Knew Nothing.