Henri Poincaré - The foundations of science

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It matters little whether the ether really exists; that is the affair of metaphysicians. The essential thing for us is that everything happens as if it existed......some day, no doubt, the ether will be thrown aside as useless.

Henri Poincaré

The scientific fact is only the crude fact translated into a convenient language.

Henri Poincaré

The firm determination to submit to experiment is not enough; there are still dangerous hypotheses; first, and above all, those which are tacit and unconscious. Since we make them without knowing it, we are powerless to abandon them.

Henri Poincaré

The very name calculus of probabilities is a paradox. Probability opposed to certainty is what we do not know, and how can we calculate what we do not know?

Henri Poincaré

It is often said that experiments must be made without preconceived idea. That is impossible. Not only would it make all experiment barren, but that would be attempted which could not be done.

Henri Poincaré

For a superficial observer, scientific truth is beyond the possibility of doubt; the logic of science is infallible, and if the scientists are sometimes mistaken, this is only from their mistaking its rules.

Henri Poincaré

To observe is not enough. We must use our observations, and to do that we must generalize.

Henri Poincaré