Good Robert Heinlein quote for this site

[Brian Hall]

"If it can’t be expressed in figures, it is not science; it is opinion.
It has long been known that one horse can run faster than another – but which one?
Differences are crucial." - Robert Heinlein

 

[Chrispy]

Grok!

 

[Brian Hall]

Maybe a coicidence. I received this notification from Twitter a couple of minutes after I posted that quote here.

 

[Philbo King]

TANSTAAFL

 

[beefkabob]

Heinlein? He knows how to sound profound without being profound.

 

[Brian Hall]

Heinlein? He knows how to sound profound without being profound.

The most profound things are really just common sense.

 

[sam_adams]

Maybe a coicidence. I received this notification from Twitter a couple of minutes after I posted that quote here.
View attachment 351443

You're in trouble now.

Would you like to know more?

 

[Pareto Pragmatic]

"If it can’t be expressed in figures, it is not science; it is opinion.
It has long been known that one horse can run faster than another – but which one?
Differences are crucial." - Robert Heinlein

Having read all things Heinlein, I 100% agree that is a great quote for this site. And in context, those are nice quotes.

But it is wrong.

Karl Popper might put it this way "If it can be falsified, it it open to being tested by science." Or in language he might have actually used, "Falsification is the criterion of the demarcation of science." To which I would add that falsification does NOT require numbers.

Even measurement does not require numbers. A double pan balance will measure weight inequalities in the < > sense. And you don't need to time a horse race to know which horse is faster, just note which one crosses the finish line first.

Do I like more precise measures? Yes. But sometimes lower level measurements are perfectly adequate for testing a hypothesis

 

[Haflermichi]

The most profound things are really just common sense.

Unfortunately, "Common sense is not so common".
Votaire

 

[Flaesh]

Even measurement does not require numbers.

- red curve is better than green.

Another numberless scientific experiment: One young man in the early 1970s experimented with taking medicine tablets (to obtain a drug effect) and lay on the couch in a deranged state. His mother approached him and asked: “How many pills did you take?” The young man pointed his finger to the side and said: “He ate more.” But there was no one there.

 

[beefkabob]

The most profound things are really just common sense.

That sounds profound without being profound.

 

[kemmler3D]

I think the real originator of this quote (or at least the core idea) was Lord Kelvin:

“When you can measure what you are speaking about, and express it in numbers, you know something about it, when you cannot express it in numbers, your knowledge is of a meager and unsatisfactory kind; it may be the beginning of knowledge, but you have scarcely, in your thoughts advanced to the stage of science.”​

I would personally say this is both profound, and not common sense. If this idea was common sense, every audio site would be like ASR.

 

[Timcognito]

Sometimes I feel like "a stranger in a strange land" when reading some posts at ASR.

 

[egellings]

Unfortunately, "Common sense is not so common".
Votaire

I wonder why they call it that.

 

[radix]

But it is wrong.

Karl Popper might put it this way "If it can be falsified, it it open to being tested by science." Or in language he might have actually used, "Falsification is the criterion of the demarcation of science." To which I would add that falsification does NOT require numbers.

Yes, exactly. Measurements do not make an experiment. One needs to make a hypothesis that predicts something and then test that hypothesis.

For an "explain it to me like I'm 5" on the scientific method: https://www.khanacademy.org/science...y/science-of-biology/a/the-science-of-biology

 

[beefkabob]

There is a whole section of philosophy devoted to what science is and isn't. Heinlein has written some fun stories, but bless his heart, he's not an expert in the field.

Also, pretty much everything can be quantified. The number of times I thought about cheese today? Science!

 

[Timcognito]

Also, pretty much everything can be quantified.

Yes but understood and explained are different. Take gravity for instance. Hard to quantify an emotion.

 

[Multicore]

If it can’t be expressed in figures, it is not science; it is opinion.

Bad luck, Charlie Darwin.

Secondly, in our current moment we are drowning in data and desperate for real information. It's easy to assign provable reliable figures to assert falsehoods or misdirection.

 

[BDWoody]

"If it can’t be expressed in figures, it is not science; it is opinion.
It has long been known that one horse can run faster than another – but which one?
Differences are crucial." - Robert Heinlein

“Never attempt to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and annoys the pig.”
― Robert Heinlein, Time Enough for Love

That one might work too, but I'm partial to this one:

“Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea.”
― Robert A. Heinlein

 

[mhardy6647]

TANSTAAFL

That one comes up quite a bit in hifi.
Lookin' at you, "Hofmann's Iron Law"!