Science alone of all the subjects contains within itself the lesson of the danger of belief in the infallibility of the greatest teachers in the preceding generation ... Learn from science that you must doubt the experts. As a matter of fact, I can also define science another way: Science is the belief in the ignorance of experts.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Science teaches us to doubt experts and value ignorance.
- In plain terms
- Doubt authority; science values knowing what you don't know.
- What can you take from it?
- Question experts and remain humble.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Who do you trust and why?
- What expert claim have you doubted?
Another view
Doubting everyone can lead to paralysis.
More from Richard Feynman
Science is a way of trying not to fool yourself. The first principle is that you must not fool yourself, and you are the easiest person to fool.
Permalink to quote #57 The remark which I read somewhere, that science is all right as long as it doesn't attack religion, was the clue I needed to understand the problem. As long as…
Permalink to quote #59 I can live with doubt, and uncertainty, and not knowing. I think it's much more interesting to live not knowing than to have answers which might be wrong. I ha…
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