“It is not unscientific to make a guess, although many people who are not in science think it is.”

— Richard Feynman , book The Character of Physical Law

Source: The Character of Physical Law (1965), chapter 7, “Seeking New Laws,” p. 165-166: video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2NnquxdWFk&t=37m21s
Context: It is not unscientific to make a guess, although many people who are not in science think it is. Some years ago I had a conversation with a layman about flying saucers — because I am scientific I know all about flying saucers! I said “I don’t think there are flying saucers”. So my antagonist said, “Is it impossible that there are flying saucers? Can you prove that it’s impossible?” “No”, I said, “I can’t prove it’s impossible. It’s just very unlikely”. At that he said, “You are very unscientific. If you can’t prove it impossible then how can you say that it’s unlikely?” But that is the way that is scientific. It is scientific only to say what is more likely and what less likely, and not to be proving all the time the possible and impossible. To define what I mean, I might have said to him, "Listen, I mean that from my knowledge of the world that I see around me, I think that it is much more likely that the reports of flying saucers are the results of the known irrational characteristics of terrestrial intelligence than of the unknown rational efforts of extra-terrestrial intelligence." It is just more likely. That is all.

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Richard Feynman 181

American theoretical physicist 1918–1988

Walter Hilton (1340–1396) English Augustinian mystic.

Book I, ch. 59 (p. 72)
The Ladder of Perfection (1494)

“The idea of making machines that think has an unfailing fascination, not only for science fiction readers, but for all who can see it is a possible way of gaining some understanding of the working of our own minds. Thinking, however, is not an easily defined phenomenon, although it is often considered to be the process of solving problems.”

Edward Ihnatowicz (1926–1988) Cybernetic sculptor

Source: The Relevance of Manipulation to the Process of Perception, 1977, p. 133

“The thing about people who are truly and malignantly crazy: their real genius is for making the people around them think theyare crazy. In military science this is called Psy-Ops, for your info.”

David Foster Wallace book Infinite Jest

Source: Infinite Jest

“Men frequently think that the evils in the world are more numerous than the good things; many sayings and songs of the nations dwell on this idea. …Not only common people make this mistake, but even many who think they are wise.”

Maimónides book The Guide for the Perplexed

Source: Guide for the Perplexed (c. 1190), Part III, Ch.12

“Although many of us may think of ourselves as thinking creatures that feel, biologically we are feeling creatures that think”

Jill Bolte Taylor (1959) American neuroscientist

Source: My Stroke of Insight: A Brain Scientist's Personal Journey

“Many people need desperately to receive this message: "I feel and think much as you do, care about many of the things you care about, although most people don't care about them. You are not alone."”

Kurt Vonnegut book Timequake

Timequake (1997)

“I guess I think I'm writing for people who are smarter than I am, because then I'll be doing something that's worth their time.”

Susan Sontag (1933–2004) American writer and filmmaker, professor, and activist

"The Risk Taker" http://books.guardian.co.uk/departments/politicsphilosophyandsociety/story/0,,635799,00.html, profile/interview by Gary Younge, The Guardian (19 January 2002)
Context: I guess I think I'm writing for people who are smarter than I am, because then I'll be doing something that's worth their time. I'd be very afraid to write from a position where I consciously thought I was smarter than most of my readers.

“It is supposed that there has been progress in the science of textual criticism, and the most frivolous pretender has learned to talk superciliously about "the old unscientific days."”

A.E. Housman (1859–1936) English classical scholar and poet

The old unscientific days are everlasting; they are here and now; they are renewed perennially by the ear which takes formulas in, and the tongue which gives them out again, and the mind which meanwhile is empty of reflexion and stuffed with self-complacency.
"The Application of Thought to Textual Criticism", a lecture delivered on August 4, 1921

“I guess people used to think Deep Throat was a criminal, but now they think he's a hero.”

W. Mark Felt (1913–2008) Whistleblower who exposed the Watergate scandal

Statement to his daughter, Joan Felt; reported by his grandson, Nick Jones in a public statement of his personal family. (31 May 2005)

“It makes no sense at all if people consider the one who lacks knowledge and science as a prosperous person.”

Ja'far al-Sadiq (702–765) Muslim religious person

Ibn Shu’ba al-Harrani, Tuhaf al-'Uqul, p. 382
Regarding Knowledge & Wisdom, General

“It is not unscientific to make a guess, although many people who are not in science think it is.”

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