William J M Rankine - Collected Quotes

"A hypothetical theory is necessary, as a preliminary step, to reduce the expression of the phenomena to simplicity and order before it is possible to make any progress in framing an abstractive theory." (William J M Rankine, "Outlines of the Science of Energetics", 1855)

"An essential distinction exists between two stages in the process of advancing our knowledge of the laws of physical phenomena; the first stage consists in observing the relations of phenomena, whether of such as occur in the ordinary course of nature, or of such as are artificially produced in experimental investigations, and in expressing the relations so observed by propositions called formal laws. The second stage consists in reducing the formal laws of an entire class of phenomena to the form of a science; that is to say, in discovering the most simple system of principles, from which all the formal laws of the class of phenomena can be deduced as consequences." (William J M Rankine, "Outlines of the Science of Energetics", 1855)

"But in practical science, the question is - What are we to do? - a question which involves the necessity for the immediate adoption of some rule of working. In doubtful cases, we cannot allow our machines and our works of improvement to wait for the advancement of science; and if existing data are insufficient to give an exact solution of the question, that approximate solution must be acted upon which the best data attainable show to be the most probable. A prompt and sound judgment in cases of this kind is one of the characteristics of a Practical Man in the right sense of that term." (William J M Rankine, "On the Harmony of Theory and Practice in Mechanics", 1856)

"Discrepancy between theory and practice, which in sound physical and mechanical science is a delusion, has a real existence in the minds of men; and that fallacy, through rejected by their judgments, continues to exert and influence over their acts." (William J M Rankine, "On the Harmony of Theory and Practice in Mechanics", 1856)

"In the original discovery of a proposition of practical utility, by deduction from general principles and from experimental data, a complex algebraical investigation is often not merely useful, but indispensable; but in expounding such a proposition as a part of practical science, and applying it to practical purposes, simplicity is of the importance:—and… the more thoroughly a scientific man has studied higher mathematics, the more fully does he become aware of this truth—and… the better qualified does he become to free the exposition and application of principles from mathematical intricacy." (William J M Rankine, "On the Harmony of Theory and Practice in Mechanics", 1856)

"In treating of the practical application of scientific principles, an algebraical formula should only be employed when its shortness and simplicity are such as to render it a clearer expression of a proposition or rule than common language would be, and when there is no difficulty in keeping the thing represented by each symbol constantly before the mind."(William J M Rankine, "On the Harmony of Theory and Practice in Mechanics", 1856)

"Mechanical knowledge may [...] be distinguished into three kinds; purely scientific knowledge, purely practical knowledge, and that intermediate kind of knowledge which relates to the application of scientific principles to practical purposes, and which arises from understanding the harmony of theory and practice." (William J M Rankine, "On the Harmony of Theory and Practice in Mechanics", 1856)

"Some of the evils which are caused by the fallacy of an incompatibility between theory and practice having been described, it must now be admitted, that at the present time those evils show a decided tendency to decline." (William J M Rankine, "On the Harmony of Theory and Practice in Mechanics", 1856)

"[...] the symbols of algebra, when employed in abstruse and complex theoretical investigations, constitute a sort of thought-saving machine, by whose aid a person skilled in its use can solve problems respecting quantities, and dispense with the mental labour of thinking of the quantities denoted by the symbols, except at the beginning and the end of the operation." (William J M Rankine, "On the Harmony of Theory and Practice in Mechanics", 1856)

"Thus it is that the commonest objects are by science rendered precious; and in like manner the engineer or the mechanic, who plans and works with understanding of the natural laws that regulate the results of his operations, raise to the dignity of a Sage." (William J M Rankine, "A Manual of Applied Mechanics", 1858)