Richard Feynman
Theoretical physicist (1918 to 1988); shared the 1965 Nobel Prize in Physics for fundamental work in quantum electrodynamics; at the California Institute of Technology at the time of the award.
Richard Feynman did not write this page. ppll compiled it from their own words, each linked to the source. Is this you? · Report a mistake
What they believe
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Scientists must above all not fool themselves, and they are the easiest people to fool
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.
calteches.library.caltech.eduSaid c. 1974This on korrents
The bold line is korrents’ wording; the quote is theirs. These one: what they wrote before what they said aloud, one per source, newest first.
Beliefs
Korrents What they believe 7 beliefs — each backed by an exact quote.
Each is a — compiled by korrents.com, not by them: the one-line wordings are korrents', the quotes are theirs.
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Scientists must above all not fool themselves, and they are the easiest people to fool
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.
Cargo Cult Science (Caltech commencement address, 1974) Said c. 1974
Whoever puts out a theory must also report all the facts that disagree with it
If you make a theory, for example, and advertise it, or put it out, then you must also put down all the facts that disagree with it, as well as those that agree with it.
Cargo Cult Science (Caltech commencement address, 1974) Said c. 1974
Scientists should give all the information others need to judge their work, not just what points one way
In summary, the idea is to try to give all of the information to help others to judge the value of your contribution; not just the information that leads to judgment in one particular direction or another.
Cargo Cult Science (Caltech commencement address, 1974) Said c. 1974
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Scientific integrity means bending over backwards to show how one may be wrong
I’m talking about a specific, extra type of integrity that is not lying, but bending over backwards to show how you’re maybe wrong, that you ought to do when acting as a scientist.
Cargo Cult Science (Caltech commencement address, 1974) Said c. 1974
A scientist should explain to laymen what they are doing, even if that costs public support
If you’re representing yourself as a scientist, then you should explain to the layman what you’re doing—and if they don’t want to support you under those circumstances, then that’s their decision.
Cargo Cult Science (Caltech commencement address, 1974) Said c. 1974
Teaching students only how to get certain results, not how to experiment with integrity, is very dangerous
It is very dangerous to have such a policy in teaching—to teach students only how to get certain results, rather than how to do an experiment with scientific integrity.
Cargo Cult Science (Caltech commencement address, 1974) Said c. 1974
Details that could throw doubt on an interpretation must be given
Details that could throw doubt on your interpretation must be given, if you know them.
Cargo Cult Science (Caltech commencement address, 1974) Said c. 1974
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