ANOTHER SCIENTIST'S VIEW OF HOW SCIENCE WORKS

Dr. Richard Feynman (1918 - 1988), an American physicist and multi-faceted scientist, said the follow about how science works in a lecture given in 1964: “Generally we look for a new law (of Nature) by the following process. First we guess it. Then we compute the consequences of the guess to see what would be implied if the law we guessed is right. Then we compare the result of the computation with Nature, with experiment or experience, compare it directly with observation, to see if it works. If it disagrees with experiment it is wrong. In that simple statement is the key to science. It does not make any difference how beautiful your guess is. It does not make any difference how smart you are, who made the guess, or what his name is--if it disagrees with experiment it is wrong. That is all there is to it.”