Coralie schreef op vrijdag 29 januari 2016, 11:01:
Ik vind hem altijd een goed voorbeeld van hoe je kritisch kunt zijn zonder het spreekwoordelijke kind (de wetenschap in dit geval) met het badwater weg te gooien. Ook wel typerend voor zijn niet-dogmatische manier van denken is de titel van zijn laatste boek: 'I think you'll find it is a bit more complicated than that'
Uit zijn beschrijving over dit boek:
"Every fight you will read in this book, over the meaning of some data, is the story of the scientific process itself: you present your idea, you present your evidence, and we all take turns to try and pull them both apart. This process of close critical appraisal isn’t something we tolerate reluctantly, in science, with a grudge: far from it. Criticism and close examination of evidence is actively welcomed – it is the absolute core of the process – because ideas only exist to be pulled apart, and this is how we spiral in on the truth.
Away from the newspapers and science TV shows you can see that process, very clearly, in the institutions of science. The question-and-answer session at any academic conference, after someone presents their scientific research, is often a bloodbath: but nobody’s resentful, everyone expects it, and we all consent to it, as a kind of intellectual S&M activity. We know it’s good for our souls. If the idea survives, then great; if it needs more evidence, we decide what studies are needed next and do them. Then we all come back next year, tear the evidence apart again, and have another think. Real scientists know this. Only the fakers cry foul."
Warboel
