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Quote by Hermann von Helmholtz

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Science and Culture: Popular and Philosophical Essays

Comprising a variety of scholarly contributions, the book examines the historical, social, and ethical implications of scientific discoveries. It includes discussions on the role of science in shaping public discourse, the impact of technology on human behavior, and the philosophical underpinnings of scientific inquiry. more

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Hermann von Helmholtz
Hermann von Helmholtz

Hermann von Helmholtz was a German physicist, physiologist, and physician. He made significant contributions to the fields of physiology, physics, and philosophy, particularly in the theories of hearing and vision. His research had a profound impact on subsequent physiology and psychology. more

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“All good intellects have repeated, since Bacon's time, that there can be no real knowledge but that which is based on observed facts. This is incontestable, in our present advanced stage; but, if we look back to the primitive stage of human knowledge, we shall see that it must have been otherwise then. If it is true that every theory must be based upon observed facts; it is equally true that facts can not be observed without the guidance of some theory. Without such guidance, our facts would be desultory and fruitless; we could not retain them: for the most part we could not even perceive them.”

IfsHumansLooksHas BeensRealFactsWould BeScienceStageTheoryIntellectPerceiveGuidancePrimitiveHuman KnowledgeReal Knowledge
Author:Auguste Comte
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“But, contrary to the lady's prejudices about the engineering profession, the fact is that quite some time ago the tables were turned between theory and applications in the physical sciences. Since World War II the discoveries that have changed the world are not made so much in lofty halls of theoretical physics as in the less-noticed labs of engineering and experimental physics. The roles of pure and applied science have been reversed; they are no longer what they were in the golden age of physics, in the age of Einstein, Schrödinger, Fermi and Dirac.”

WorldHas BeensMadeWarFactsAgeScienceRolesChangedTheoryPureDiscoveryPrejudiceTablesProfessionContraryPhysicsGoldenWar Of The WorldsHallsApplicationWorld War IiEngineeringWorld War ITheoreticalLoftyLabsGolden AgePhysical ScienceApplied ScienceTheoretical Physics
Author:Nicholas Metropolis
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“For if as scientists we seek simplicity, then obviously we try the simplest surviving theory first, and retreat from it only when it proves false. Not this course, but any other, requires explanation. If you want to go somewhere quickly, and several alternate routes are equally likely to be open, no one asks why you take the shortest. The simplest theory is to be chosen not because it is the most likely to be true but because it is scientifically the most rewarding among equally likely alternatives. We aim at simplicity and hope for truth.”

IfsWantTryingFirstsScienceCoursesAsksTheoryProveScientistAimSimplicityChosenBeing TrueAlternativesExplanationRoutesRetreatSimplestSurvivingScientific Method
Author:Nelson Goodman
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“For strictly scientific or technological purposes all this is irrelevant. On a pragmatic view, as on a religious view, theory and concepts are held in faith. On the pragmatic view the only thing that matters is that the theory is efficacious, that it 'works' and that the necessary preliminaries and side issues do not cost too much in time and effort. Beyond that, theory and concepts go to constitute a language in which the scientistic matters at issue can be formulated and discussed.”

MatterSciencePurposeLanguageSidesReligiousViewsEffortIssuesToo MuchTheoryCostConceptsTechnologicalIrrelevantPragmaticThings That MatterOnly Thing That MattersReligious Views
Author:Bertram Brockhouse
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“From the point of view of the pure morphologist the recapitulation theory is an instrument of research enabling him to reconstruct probable lines of descent; from the standpoint of the student of development and heredity the fact of recapitulation is a difficult problem whose solution would perhaps give the key to a true understanding of the real nature of heredity.”

GivingRealFactsProblemRealityScienceDifficultUnderstandingNatureLinesViewsStudentsTheoryKeysDevelopmentPureSolutionsResearchInstrumentsPoint Of ViewStandpointDescentEnablingHeredityDifficult ProblemsTrue UnderstandingRecapitulation
Author:E.S. Russell
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“I noticed affixed to a laboratory door the following words: "Les théories passent. Le Grenouille reste. [The theories pass. The frog remains.] &mdashJean Rostand, Carnets d'un biologiste." There is a risk that in the less severe discipline of criticism the result may turn out to be different; the theories will remain but the frog may disappear.”

MayDifferentScienceTurnsDifferencesResultsRiskDoorsTheoryDisciplineCriticismRemainsFollowingDisappearSelf DisciplineSevereLaboratoryFrogsGrenouille
Author:Frank Kermode
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