On Being Wrong
Tuesday July 7, 2009
In the Geology Forum today, I acknowledged a correction to something erroneous I'd written: "None of you should be shy about correcting me. There is so much to know, and I am only grateful for the help. An important attribute of a scientist (and writers too), no matter what your field, is readiness to admit error. At the same time, advancing a new idea requires a large degree of self-confidence. The mental discipline it takes to achieve both can be quite demanding."
At a higher level, in its July 4 issue Science News published an exchange between award-winning science students and some Nobelists. The questioner asked what the Nobelists would do if their theories were proven incorrect. Leon Lederman noted that a key feature of science is that "we know how to fix things when they are wrong." Martin Chalfie said that being wrong "is how we work normally." Dudley Herschbach explained that being wrong "is part of science, so you don't fear being wrong." More worthy responses are in the article.
Comments
That’s the great beauty and strength of science when it is done well. There is a genuine humility in the realization that accepted facts and truths could only be approximations of reality and may need to be revised as more information comes to light.
Perhaps religious fundamentalists could take a lesson from such humility.