The test of a theory is its ability to cope with all the relevant phenomena, not its a priori 'reasonableness' The latter would have proved a poor guide in the development of science, which often makes progress by its encounter with the totally unexpected and initially extremely puzzling.


'From DAMTP [Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics] to Westcott House', Cambridge Review, 1981

John Polkinghorne Quotes

The test of a theory is its ability to cope with all the relevant phenomena, not its a priori 'reasonableness' The latter would have proved a poor...

The test of a theory is its ability to cope with all the relevant phenomena, not its a priori 'reasonableness' The latter would have proved a poor...

The test of a theory is its ability to cope with all the relevant phenomena, not its a priori 'reasonableness' The latter would have proved a poor...

The test of a theory is its ability to cope with all the relevant phenomena, not its a priori 'reasonableness' The latter would have proved a poor...