"Most important for the history of science is the fact that Liber de Ludo Aleae,'The Book of Games of Chance', contains the first study of the principles of probability. [...] it would seem much more just to date the beginnings of probability theory from Cardano's treatise rather than the customary reckoning from Pascal's discussions with his friend de Méré and the ensuing correspondence with Fermat [...] at least a century after Cardano [...]" (Oystein Ore [Ed.], "Cardano the Gambling Scholar", 1953)
"The history of science is rich in the example of the fruitfulness of bringing two sets of techniques, two sets of ideas, developed in separate contexts for the pursuit of new truth, into touch with one another." (J. Robert Oppenheimer, "Science and the common understanding", 1954)
"In no subject is there a rule, compliance with which will lead to new knowledge or better understanding. Skillful observations, ingenious ideas, cunning tricks, daring suggestions, laborious calculations, all these may be required to advance a subject. Occasionally the conventional approach in a subject has to be studiously followed; on other occasions it has to be ruthlessly disregarded. Which of these methods, or in what order they should be employed is generally unpredictable. Analogies drawn from the history of science are frequently claimed to be a guide; but, as with forecasting the next game of roulette, the existence of the best analogy to the present is no guide whatever to the future. The most valuable lesson to be learnt from the history of scientific progress is how misleading and strangling such analogies have been, and how success has come to those who ignored them." (Thomas Gold, "Cosmology", 1956)
"Discovery always carries an honorific connotation. It is the stamp of approval on a finding of lasting value. Many laws and theories have come and gone in the history of science, but they are not spoken of as discoveries. […] Theories are especially precarious, as this century profoundly testifies. World views can and do often change. Despite these difficulties, it is still true that to count as a discovery a finding must be of at least relatively permanent value, as shown by its inclusion in the generally accepted body of scientific knowledge." (Richard J. Blackwell, "Discovery in the Physical Sciences", 1969)
"By showing us the extreme diversity of the factors involved in scientific creativity, the history of science teaches us that we should open the doors of our laboratories more widely. If we put that lesson into practice, our reflection on the past will have had a beneficial effect on the future." (Jean Rostand, "Humanly Possible: A Biologist’s Note on the Future of Mankind", 1970)
"And yet, on looking into the history of science, one is overwhelmed by evidence that all too often there is no regular procedure, no logical system of discovery, no simple, continuous development. The process of discovery has been as varied as the temperament of the scientist." (Gerald Holton, "Thematic Origins of Scientific Thought: Kepler to Einstein", 1973)
"The history of science is full of revolutionary advances that required small insights that anyone might have had, but that, in fact, only one person did." (Isaac Asimov, "The Three Numbers", Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, 1974)
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