Thinkquote of the day: Feynman on not fooling people

I would like to add something that's not essential to the science, but something I kind of believe, which is that you should not fool the layman when you're talking as a scientist.

– Nobel Laureate Richard Feynman, 1974 commencement address at Caltech.

I like the refreshing honesty with which Feynman admits that not fooling the layman is not essential to the science. I've heard endless guff about how scientists are more honest or humble than most people, but nothing I have observed bears that out particularly - nor was there any reason to expect it. People are generally as honest as they make up their minds to be, and when a whole professional class has decided to adopt an alternate reality (mind is an illusion) and suppress evidence of the prevailing reality (there is a mind behind the universe), insisting on the prevailing reality requires a singular act of courage.

My other blog is the Mindful Hack, which keeps tabs on neuroscience and the mind.

If you like this blog, check out my book on the intelligent design controversy, By Design or by Chance?. You can read excerpts as well.

Are you looking for one of the following stories?

My review of Francis Collins’ book The Language of God , my backgrounder about peer review issues, or the evolutionary biologist’s opinion that all students friendly to intelligent design should be flunked.

Lists of theoretical and applied scientists who doubt Darwin and of academic ID publications.

My U of Toronto talk on why there is an intelligent design controversy, or my talk on media coverage of the controversy at the University of Minnesota.

A summary of tech guru George Gilder's arguments for ID and against Darwinism

A critical look at why March of the Penguins was thought to be an ID film.

A summary of recent opinion columns on the ID controversy

A summary of recent polls of US public opinion on the ID controversy

A summary of the Catholic Church's entry into the controversy, essentially on the side of ID.

O'Leary's intro to non-Darwinian agnostic philosopher David Stove’s critique of Darwinism.

An ID Timeline: The ID folk seem always to win when they lose.

Why origin of life is such a difficult problem.

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