The Most Important Scientific Concept To Understand

zoobyshoe

A pole of scientists gives a surprising variety of opinions:

Address:http://www.spiked-online.com/section...-B/default.htm

The one that stood out to me, in the context of PF, was: "Science is disputative."

Alot of people echoed Feynman's answer to this question: "everything's made of atoms."

Which one resonates for you?

_{Warning: this apparently off hand quetion is a surreptitious rohrschach test. Your answer will reveal masses of information about the festering corruption and pathological contortions latent in your subconscious.}

hypatia

Carlo Rovelli

Evo

I had to go with David Deutsch because I like him.

He's shameless.

cronxeh

Knowing and accepting when you are wrong, such as in Einstein's case with Quantum Mechanics.

franznietzsche

That no matter how close your predictions are, your explanation is still not quite right and suffers from the fundamental flaws inherent in your assumptions.

gravenewworld

I would have to say what my chem prof. always said. "science doesn't explain why, but how."

Danger

Reality never conforms to the blueprints.

Gokul43201

When a scientific explanation is simple, it's most often wrong; and when it is right, it's terribly complex.

zoobyshoe

I have a problem with this as a blanket statement because aren't simplicity and complexity of explanation relative to the mind of the individual pondering the matter?

zoobyshoe

Priceless!

ron damon

Learning how reality can be understood in terms of information and rules is the most amazing thing I've taken from my study of physics and mathematics. How an idea can contain the subtlest of phenomena really makes me wonder why it should be so. The first time I say how a disarmingly simple polar equation could reproduce the shape of a flower, my mind was born anew...

Ivan Seeking

Here is one that I liked: Science can validate experience, but not deny it.

I don't know if this is the most important to understand, but for me one of the most profound realizations was that physical theories are merely models which may or may not ever approach the essence of reality; whether or not they do, we can never know. I found this to be damned annoying and quite disappointing really, but I have since learned to love this fact.

zoobyshoe

Did anyone find a lamer one than:

Scientists fall in love - with experiments.

?

Joel

This should be made clear in all high-schools:

Science is nothing but trained and organised common sense

honestrosewater

I only read the first two pages (I at least pretend to have a life ). I think the one that would have the greatest impact on people's lives was:
And the most useless:

hypnagogue

The ones I like the most are variations on a common theme: "How science inspires puzzlement and wonder"; "Uncovering the layers underlying observable phenomena gives a picture of reality that is more profound than reality appears to be"; "Conclusions drawn from scientific experiments are more satisfying, more intellectually stimulating and much more amazing than fiction"; "The fascination that attends the discovery of how things function"

Most important, I'd say, is "The potential benefits of stem-cell research are enormous"

Corniest: "Science = imagination + humility^2"

Most boring (albeit useful): "There are many small tricks to shorten calculations, or to check the results of calculations - such as estimating, rounding, and divisibility tests"

Monique

The most important scientific concept is to be critical.