Lancelot L Whyte - Collected Quotes

“Science does not begin with facts; one of its tasks is to uncover the facts by removing misconceptions.” (Lancelot L Whyte, “Accent on Form”, 1954)

"Science starts with an assumption which is always present, though it may be unconscious, may be forgotten, and may sometimes even be denied." (Lancelot L Whyte, "Accent on Form: An Anticipation of the Science of Tomorrow", 1954)

“The true aim of science is to discover a simple theory which is necessary and sufficient to cover the facts, when they have been purified of traditional prejudices.” (Lancelot L Whyte, “Accent on Form”, 1954)

"Both science and art have to do with ordered complexity." (Lancelot L Whyte, "The Griffin", 1957)

"Every scientific generation, measured by its most vocal members, exaggerates the historical importance of its own members [...] there is a perpetual temptation to study the latest and to neglect the past." (Lancelot L Whyte, "Essay on Atomism to 1960", 1961)

"If the universe is a mingling of probability clouds spread through a cosmic eternity of space-time, how is there as much order, persistence, and coherent transformation as there is?" (Lancelot L Whyte, "Essay on Atomism to 1960", 1961)

"Systematic errors of theory can seldom be discovered by direct attack; it is easier to uncover them by studying how and why physical theory took the path it did. That is why a clue to the future can sometimes be found in the past, and this is my reason for studying the history of atomism." (Lancelot L Whyte, "Essay on Atomism to 1960", 1961)

"Every rule has its limits, and every concept its ambiguities. Most of all is this true in the science of life, where nothing quite corresponds to our ideas; similar ends are reached by varied means, and no causes are simple." (Lancelot L Whyte, "Internal Factors in Evolution", 1965)