What does it mean to be scientific? Basically, it is a systematic approach to exploring the
world around us. That's it. You don't have to be wearing a white coat and work in a lab full
of specimens and test-tubes to be scientific. All you need do is have a curiousity and a
desire to find things out. I have discovered that many times I answer a question, only to
find out that my solution has led me to even more questions, thus the quest for knowledge
is never fully complete. Keep searching, thinking, reaching, learning all your life.
Quotes to Think about
You are not entitled to an opinion. An opinion is what you have when you don't
have any facts. When you have the facts, you don't need an opinion. -Solomon Short
Results! Why man I've have gotten a lot of results. I know several thousand things
that won't work. -Thomas Edison
We believe the following values underlie science:
A longing to know and understand.
Questioning of all things.
Search for data and their meaning.
Demand for verification.
Respect for logic.
Consideration of premises.
Consideration of Consequences.
-Educational Policies Commission 1966
A good theory must satisfy two requirements: It must accurately describe
a large class of observations on the basis of a model that contains only
a few arbitrary elements, and it must make definite predictions about the
results of future observations." -Stephen Hawking
There are seven basic steps to solving problems with a program:
Define the problem.
Determine the inputs and the outputs.
Create a test case.
Write a high-level algorithm.
Refine the algorithm by getting more specific.
Convert the algorithm into a program.
Test the program.
-Steven Nameroff
What are the facts? Again and again and again--what are the facts
Shun wishful thinking, ignore divine revelation, forget what the stars
fortell, avoid opinion, care not what the neighbors think, never mind the
unguessable verdict of history--what are the facts, and to how many
decimal places? You pilot always into an unknown future; facts are your
single clue. Get the facts! -Lazarus Long
