by Chet Raymo
Scientific knowledge grows organically, like a tree. Every piece of published research is like a new bud on a twig. The bud is connected to every other bud on the tree. Two buds may be very close together, on the same twig, or very far apart, so that to trace the connection one would have to follow twigs and branches all the way back to the trunk and out again along other branches and twigs. Ultimately, all scientific knowledge is one. It is the connectedness of science that give us confidence in its reliability. |
Fedora
“It may be that science grows best wastefully and wild, without the horticulturist's tidying hand.”
What a great mindful metephor for the growth of scientifc knowledge. Thanks for posting.
I really enjoy Chet Raymo's writing. Only a couple of his articles are posted on The Way Things Are, so be sure to follow his blog at http://www.sciencemusings.com/blog/