"The ability of a scientific theory to be refuted is the key criterion that distinguishes science from metaphysics. If a theory cannot be refuted, if there is no observation that will disprove it, then nothing can prove it - it cannot predict anything, it is a worthless myth." (Eric Lerner, "The Big Bang Never Happened", 1991)
"Nature is not ‘given’ to us - our minds are never virgin in front of reality. Whatever we say we see or observe is biased by what we already know, think, believe, or wish to see. Some of these thoughts, beliefs and knowledge can function as an obstacle to our understanding of the phenomena. […] mathematics is not a natural science. It is not about the phenomena of the real world, it is not about observation and induction. Mathematical induction is not a method for making generalizations." (Anna Sierpinska, "Understanding in Mathematics", 1994)
"Science is distinguished not for asserting that nature is rational, but for constantly testing claims to that or any other affect by observation and experiment." (Timothy Ferris, "The Whole Shebang: A State-of-the Universe’s Report", 1996)
"Scientists reach their conclusions for the damnedest of reasons: intuition, guesses, redirections after wild-goose chases, all combing with a dollop of rigorous observation and logical reasoning to be sure […]" (Stephen J Gould, "Dinosaur in a Haystack: Reflections in natural history", 1995)
"What's so awful about using intuition or using inductive arguments? […] without them we would have virtually no mathematics at all; for, until the last few centuries, mathematics was advanced almost solely by intuition, inductive observation, and arguments designed to compel belief, not by laboured proofs, and certainly not through proofs of the ghastliness required by today's academic journals" (Jon MacKeman, "What's the point of proof?", Mathematics Teaching 155, 1996)
"Science attempts to establish an understanding of all types of phenomena. Many different explanations can sometimes be given that agree qualitatively with experiments or observations. However, when theory and experiment quantitatively agree, then we can usually be more confident in the validity of the theory. In this manner mathematics becomes an integral part of the scientific method." (Richard Haberman, "Mathematical Models: Mechanical Vibrations, Population Dynamics, and Traffic Flow", 1998)
"The rate of the development of science is not the rate at which you make observations alone but, much more important, the rate at which you create new things to test." (Richard Feynman, "The Meaning of It All", 1998)
"Simple observation generally gets us nowhere. It is the creative imagination that increases our understanding by finding connections between apparently unrelated phenomena, and forming logical, consistent theories to explain them. And if a theory turns out to be wrong, as many do, all is not lost. The struggle to create an imaginative, correct picture of reality frequently tells us where to go next, even when science has temporarily followed the wrong path." (Richard Morris, "The Universe, the Eleventh Dimension, and Everything: What We Know and How We Know It", 1999)
"The rate of the development of science is not the rate at which you make observations alone but, much more important, the rate at which you create new things to test." (Richard Feynman, "The Meaning of It All", 1998)
"Simple observation generally gets us nowhere. It is the creative imagination that increases our understanding by finding connections between apparently unrelated phenomena, and forming logical, consistent theories to explain them. And if a theory turns out to be wrong, as many do, all is not lost. The struggle to create an imaginative, correct picture of reality frequently tells us where to go next, even when science has temporarily followed the wrong path." (Richard Morris, "The Universe, the Eleventh Dimension, and Everything: What We Know and How We Know It", 1999)
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