“That's what law is: educated guesses at right and wrong.”

— Neal Shusterman , book Unwind

Source: Unwind

Last update June 3, 2021. History

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Neal Shusterman 122

American novelist 1962

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"They do it all the time," says Hayden. "That's what law is: educated guesses at right and wrong.”

Neal Shusterman book Unwind

Source: Unwind

“In general, we look for a new law by the following process: First we guess it. Then we – now don't laugh, that's really true. Then we compute the consequences of the guess to see what, if this is right, if this law that we guessed is right, to see what it would imply. And then we compare the computation results to nature, or we say compare to experiment or experience, compare it directly with observations to see if it works. If it disagrees with experiment, it's wrong. In that simple statement is the key to science. It doesn't make any difference how beautiful your guess is, it doesn't make any difference how smart you are, who made the guess, or what his name is. If it disagrees with experiment, it's wrong. That's all there is to it.”

Richard Feynman book The Character of Physical Law

same passage in transcript: video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2NnquxdWFk&t=16m46s
The Character of Physical Law (1965)
Variant: In general we look for a new law by the following process. First we guess it. Then we compute the consequences of the guess to see what would be implied if this law that we guessed is right. Then we compare the result of the computation to nature, with experiment or experience, compare it directly with observation, to see if it works. If it disagrees with experiment it is wrong. In that simple statement is the key to science. It does not make any difference how beautiful your guess is. It does not make any difference how smart you are, who made the guess, or what his name is – if it disagrees with experiment it is wrong. That is all there is to it.

“Guessing right for the wrong reason does not merit scientific immortality.”

Stephen Jay Gould (1941–2002) American evolutionary biologist

"The Godfather of Disaster", p. 379
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“It doesn't matter what's the cause,
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“To govern the state by law is to praise the right and blame the wrong.”

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“What's going on? … What you are doing is not allowed in Islamic law [halal]. What you are doing is forbidden in Islam [haraam]! … Do you know right from wrong?”

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“The problem is not only with what’s right and wrong but the problem is with who decides about what’s right and wrong.”

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“I think of it often and imagine the scene clearly. Even if they come to kill me, I will tell them what they are trying to do is wrong, that education is our basic right.”

Malala Yousafzai (1997) Pakistani children's education activist

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“No law can be sacred to me but that of my nature. Good and bad are but names very readily transferable to that or this; the only right is what is after my constitution; the only wrong is what is against it.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882) American philosopher, essayist, and poet

“If we get public education right, everything else will follow. But if we get it wrong, not much else will matter.”

Steve Kagen (1949) American politician

"Problems We Face Together", Representative Steve Kagen, United States House of Representatives, 2007-07-21 http://kagen.house.gov/issues.shtml#edu,
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“That's what law is: educated guesses at right and wrong.”

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