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hurryon
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Well, it is confusing the meaning of the quote, "If the facts don't fit the theory, change the facts" by Albert Einstein.
Anyone knows the exact meaning of it?
Anyone knows the exact meaning of it?
hurryon said:I just saw the quote in a textbook. Well, do you mean that the quote is not by Albert?
Pengwuino said:Yah it's probably a joke quote. Makes sense coming from the man who so profoundly changed our understanding of physics theoretically.
Thank you cyrus.
When the facts change, I change my mind. What do you do, sir?
- John Maynard Keynes
Could you tell us the name of the textbook and give some context to the quote?hurryon said:I just saw the quote in a textbook. Well, do you mean that the quote is not by Albert?
“If facts conflict with a theory, either the theory must be changed or the facts.”
I learned to distrust all physical concepts as the basis for a theory. Instead one should put one's trust in a mathematical scheme, even if the scheme does not appear at first sight to be connected with physics. One should concentrate on getting interesting mathematics.
This result is too beautiful to be false; it is more important to have beauty in one's equations than to have them fit experiment.
Alfi said:Re: If the facts don't fit the theory, change the facts
lol
my first thought was Bush and the Iraq war.
Also Einstein has never been identified as the author of If the facts don't fit the theory, change the facts, here, too, due to the inherent assertion, one cannot help having severe doubts. Therefore a quotation as inconsistent with Einstein’s real attitude as the one under discussion, should not be treated as an authentic statement
I wish she had discussed this one as it is apparently controversial.Evo said:This article examines 13 of some of the most popular quotes assigned to Einstein"
George Gamow, My World Line, 1970George Gamow said:Much later, when I was discussing cosmological problems with Einstein, he remarked that the introduction of the cosmological term was the biggest blunder of his life.
Uhm, she did, it was one she debunked. I showed her quotes. ? Did you not read it?jimmysnyder said:I wish she had discussed this one as it is apparently controversial.
russ_watters said:Could you tell us the name of the textbook and give some context to the quote?
Evo said:Uhm, she did, it was one she debunked. I showed her quotes. ? Did you not read it?
Hurkyl said:Just for fun, I would like to point out there is a valid interpretation of the quote.
Many (most? all?) facts about the physical world are synthetic -- raw sensory data gets processed1 by the nervous system, and then reprocessed by our understanding of the physical world. For example, take the rather innocuous statement "the sun rose last morning" takes for granted things like the existence of the 'sun' as an object, a duration of 'time' called 'morning', a quality of 'motion' that can be called 'rising', the reliability of our methods for making that observation...
Sometimes, when synthesizing a fact, we presume too much...
1: And, of course, even this statement makes a lot of presumptions
Hurkyl said:Just for fun, I would like to point out there is a valid interpretation of the quote.
Many (most? all?) facts about the physical world are synthetic -- raw sensory data gets processed1 by the nervous system, and then reprocessed by our understanding of the physical world. For example, take the rather innocuous statement "the sun rose last morning" takes for granted things like the existence of the 'sun' as an object, a duration of 'time' called 'morning', a quality of 'motion' that can be called 'rising', the reliability of our methods for making that observation...
Sometimes, when synthesizing a fact, we presume too much...
1: And, of course, even this statement makes a lot of presumptions
The quote means that if the evidence or data does not support a particular theory or hypothesis, some people may try to manipulate or alter the facts to fit their preconceived ideas or beliefs.
No, it is not ethical for scientists to change the facts to fit their theories. Science is based on the principle of objectivity and relies on accurate and unbiased data to form conclusions. Manipulating facts goes against this principle and can lead to false or misleading conclusions.
The scientific method is a systematic approach to conducting experiments and gathering data. It involves formulating a hypothesis, designing experiments to test the hypothesis, and analyzing the data objectively. This process helps to prevent the manipulation of facts as it relies on empirical evidence and peer review to validate the results.
Yes, theories can be changed without manipulating facts. In fact, the process of science involves constantly revising and refining theories based on new evidence and data. This is a natural and necessary part of the scientific process and is not the same as changing facts to fit a theory.
To ensure that facts are not changed to fit theories in scientific research, it is important to have a rigorous peer review process in place. This involves having other experts in the field review and critique the research before it is published. Additionally, scientists should strive to remain objective and avoid confirmation bias, which is the tendency to interpret data in a way that confirms one's preexisting beliefs.