There is a quote that struck my mind while reading a book called "The Demon-Haunted World". It is from a book "The New Organon(1620)" by Francis Bacon.
"The human understanding is no dry light, but receives an infusion from the will and affections; whence proceed sciences which may be called "sciences as one would." For what a man had rather were true he more readily believes. Therefore he rejects difficult things from impatience of research; sober things, because they narrow hope; the deeper things of nature, from superstition; the light of experience, from arrogance and pride, lest his mind should seem to be occupied with things mean and transitory; things not commonly believed, out of deference to the opinion of the vulgar. Numberless, in short, are the ways, and sometimes imperceptible, in which the affections color and infect the understanding."
And This is Richard Feynman's technique to identify pseudo-science, which is about recognizing the difference between knowing the name for something and truly understanding it.
'Without using the new word which you have just learned, try to rephrase what you have just learned in your own language. Without using the word "energy," tell me what you know now about the dog's motion.'
I need to confess that I have been more of a pseudo-engineering student. This is not a sudden feeling that emerged while reading the book and an article. I have vaguely had an opinion on myself that there is rarely anything I can explain in plain Korean/English. I just did not want to acknowledge the fact that I know nothing. There are many scientific concepts I have learned through lectures and studies so far, but I feel like I need to go over everything from scratch. Okay. Let's get started.
"The human understanding is no dry light, but receives an infusion from the will and affections; whence proceed sciences which may be called "sciences as one would." For what a man had rather were true he more readily believes. Therefore he rejects difficult things from impatience of research; sober things, because they narrow hope; the deeper things of nature, from superstition; the light of experience, from arrogance and pride, lest his mind should seem to be occupied with things mean and transitory; things not commonly believed, out of deference to the opinion of the vulgar. Numberless, in short, are the ways, and sometimes imperceptible, in which the affections color and infect the understanding."
And This is Richard Feynman's technique to identify pseudo-science, which is about recognizing the difference between knowing the name for something and truly understanding it.
'Without using the new word which you have just learned, try to rephrase what you have just learned in your own language. Without using the word "energy," tell me what you know now about the dog's motion.'
I need to confess that I have been more of a pseudo-engineering student. This is not a sudden feeling that emerged while reading the book and an article. I have vaguely had an opinion on myself that there is rarely anything I can explain in plain Korean/English. I just did not want to acknowledge the fact that I know nothing. There are many scientific concepts I have learned through lectures and studies so far, but I feel like I need to go over everything from scratch. Okay. Let's get started.
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