science as a servant

Humble little blog, as it should be.

Who are the most revered scientists of the 20th century? I think it depends on your perspective. For example, some may say Watson and Crick in biochemistry (even though important and possibly critical work was done by Rosalind Franklin). But in physics, nearly everyone knows of  Albert Einstein. Undeniably a great mind and innovative thinker. Maybe not the world’s best mathematician but good enough, and more than compensated in an inspired sense of the created order. My favourite quotes are often from Einstein,… particularly “Make everything as simple as possible, … but not more”. In other words, I interpret that as ‘don’t sacrifice truth for simplicity or ease in explanation”. But Einstein’s original is appropriately  simpler and more elegant … :-). However, many physicists often prefer Richard Feynman as an elucidator and intellectual “force” in Physics, although he is far less commonly referred to by lay-people. His mathematics and engineering skills were arguably better than Albert’s, but his physics was just as legendary.  For example, Feynman’s lectures on physics, are more highly prized than Einstein’s by most physicists.

His approach to science was based on integrity. In a talk at Caltech, he warned about a departure of science into an advertising moral world. It was possibly prophetic. Ironically, the same lecture heavily criticised para-psychology( not the same as prophecy of course). Nonetheless, he suggested that science is not about publishing only the points which support your argument. That is bad science. Here at zyXby, this is our promise . We will publish the good and the bad, so that the customer has enough information to make the best, most informed decision. Anything less is “bad science” and dangerous.

Dangerous, because risk analysis includes considering the unlikely. If you don’t consider the unlikely, you can ignore significant risks to safety and even commercial success. Maybe Feynman may provide  one of your favourite quotations

“The first principle is that you must not fool yourself—and you are the easiest person to fool. So you have to be very careful about that. After you’ve not fooled yourself, it’s easy not to fool other scientists. You just have to be honest in a conventional way after that. “

For Feynman’s address to Caltech see Caltech commencement speech