James Balog Quotes

Scientists are always skeptics.

I am not here concerned with intent, but with scientific standards, especially the ability to tell the difference between a fact, an opinion, a hypothesis, and a hole in the ground.

Science is a wonderful way of getting out what's real.

We must have the real thing before we can have a science of a thing.

Science is simply a powerful way of understanding what's real and what isn't, what's true and what's not. It can help us determine what works, what doesn't, for whom, and under what circumstances.

Truth in science can be defined as the working hypothesis best suited to open the way to the next better one.

Reason, observation, and experience; the holy trinity of science.

Every science consists in the coordination of facts; if the different observations were entirely isolated, there would be no science.

Science isn't about authority or white coats; it's about following a method. That method is built on core principles: precision and transparency; being clear about your methods; being honest about your results; and drawing a clear line between the results, on the one hand, and your judgment calls about how those results support a hypothesis.

Facts are the air of scientists. Without them you can never fly.

In science, we must be interested in things, not in persons.

Science is a self-sufficient activity.

The man of science has learned to believe in justification, not by faith, but by verification.

There are an infinite number of boring things to do in science.

The heart of science is measurement.

Science has fulfilled her function when she has ascertained and enunciated truth.

If you're a real scientist, you're constantly open to new data. Nothing is ever 100% validated.

Something my father dearly loved is the scientific method, and it's founded in this element of humility. The idea is that you pursue the truth wherever it goes; you need to evidence, and you can - you see if it's repeatable.

Science is not a collection of facts; it is a process of discovery.

But I think you can strip the emotion and the subjectivity away while you focus on doing the science - and that's really important.

A good scientist can understand the current state of a field, pick interesting questions where a success will actually lead to useful new knowledge, and push that field further through their work.

Educated guesswork' is what science is. You form hypotheses, test them against the evidence, and if they fit the evidence, you can assume you've got close to the truth.

An experiment is a question which science poses to Nature and a measurement is the recording of Nature's answer.

In science we have to consider two things: power and circumstance.

No theory ever benefited by the application of data, Amy. Data kills theories. A theory has no better time than when it's lying there naked, pure, unsullied by facts. Let's just keep it that way for a while." "So you don't really have a theory?" "Clueless." "You lying bag of fish heads." "I can fire you, you know. Even if Clay was the one that hired you, I'm not totally superfluous to this operation yet. I'm kind of in charge. I can fire you. Then how will you live?" "I'm not getting paid." "See, right there. Perfectly good concept ruined by the application of fact.