Science Quotes & Cartoons Key

 

PART A - Quote Matching  

 

__5__  CURIOSITY & SELF-DISCOVERY TEND TO MOTIVATE SCIENTISTS

This quote by Ehrenfest illustrates a key characteristic of scientists.  They are always asking questions and are not afraid to ask very basic or "stupid" questions -- which are often the hardest to answer because they force the scientist to think about the basic problem.

___4__ DEDICATED & PERSISTENT RESEARCH YIELDS BENEFITS

This quote by Weinberg illustrates that often scientists have to spend a lot of time in thinking, working with ideas, and being persistent in spending large amounts of time on mentally and physically working ideas through -- even when  they don't seem to be going anywhere.  It all seems worth it when a rare breakthrough occurs, however.

___2__ SCIENTISTS ARE ATTRACTED BY THE WONDER, AWE, & JOY FOUND IN THEIR RESEARCH

This quote by Weisskopf illustrates very nicely a part of being a scientist that is often not perceived by others -- the joy of insight and sense of awe that often overwhelms a scientist as he or she grasps a key idea or makes a profound connection.

___1___ INSPIRATION EMERGES FROM A WELL-INFORMED MIND

The key phrase in this quote is "the prepared imagination."    Inspiration in science is rarely something that appears out of nowhere.   New and important insights are more likely to be achieved by someone who has been thinking about something for a long time (refer to Quote 4).  All this hard mental work "prepares" the mind to make that leap of  understanding to a new level that we call "inspiration."  There is a legend that Newton's idea about gravity came to him when an apple fell from a tree while he could see the moon in the sky.   

___7___ THEORIES CANNOT BE VERIFIED, BUT THEY CAN BE FALSIFIED

Einstein's quote is an excellent statement of the concept that one cannot ever prove a theory to be true (verify it), but a theory can be proven false and then discarded.   A theory can be accepted as the best explanation of the known observations, but scientists must always keep an open mind and entertain the possibility that it might not be correct or another better explanation might come along.

___3___ SELF-DECEPTION CAN COLOR AN OBSERVATION

This thoughtful quote by Mitchell illustrates how important it is to strive for objectivity in one's observations and to not allow oneself to see something just because one wants to see it.  Being a good and careful observer means being aware of the possibility of any self-deceptions which might affect one's observations.

___6___ KNOWLEDGE IS EVER-CHANGING

This quote from Gould (after whom the UA Campus Gould-Simpson Building is named) is a great quote for our Global Change class!  If nature never stands still -- then our knowledge about nature will have to keep up by being ever-changing as well.

PART B -- Cartoon Matching 

__E___ INDUCTIVE REASONING

Inductive reasoning reasons from the "INdividual to the general" -- in other words, a general statement or conclusion is made based on one or more individual observations.  In this cartoon, the curator is making an unfounded conclusion (or generalization) that the same artist created  both the happy face and Pac-Man.  The cartoon illustrates one of the dangers of inductive reasoning (making unfounded conclusions from too little evidence) in a humorous way.

___D___ DEDUCTIVE REASONING

Deductive reasoning reasons from "DE" (the) whole thing (the general) to an individual situation"  -- in other words, a general theory, law, or statement is assumed and then conclusions are drawn about individual things based on the general theory.  Deductive reasoning also has dangers, as illustrated in the cartoon where the dog erroneously deduces he is a cat based on the correct theory that all cats have four legs.

___F___ EVER-CHANGING NATURE OF SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE

Cartoon F is the best answer for this phrase.  It illustrates that no discovery should be considered  "final" in science -- something new may always turn up to change what we know.  (Cartoon B is another possible choice, but B is better described by the "cumulative enterprise" phrase)

___C___ PREDICTION & TESTING

Cartoon C illustrates (in a humorous way) how prediction and testing go hand in hand.   Sometimes the most important scientific discoveries take place in experiments when we do NOT get the results that are predicted.

___A___ CONFLICT OF INTEREST

Cartoon A best illustrates the concept of "conflict of interest," which arises when a scientist may have funding from a specific source, or have a strong personal interest in a specific scientific outcome, that may influence his or her objectivity in conducting research or drawing conclusions.  "Conflict of interest" usually is an internal conflict within a scientist or scientific research group -- not an external "battle" among scientists (as depicted in Cartoon G).

___G___ REVIEW OF SCIENTIFIC RESULTS BY COLLEAGUES

Cartoon G depicts the process of peer review in a humorous and unflattering way.   Peer review is  a careful evaluation of one's results, publications,   etc. by one's colleagues.  The review is designed to determine if the research is valid and a significant contribution to science.  Note that the peer review process is a normal and beneficial part of the scientific process.  It does not usually end up in a fist fight as depicted in the cartoon!

___B___ SCIENCE IS A CUMULATIVE ENTERPRISE

Cartoon B best illustrates the idea that science is a cumulative process.  Science progresses by new pieces of information that are added to pre-existing knowledge.  Although Cartoon F also expresses the concept of new knowledge being progressively discovered by individuals, the "conveyor belt" image of several scientists adding to an idea one after the other in a cooperative venture is a slightly better representation of the  "cumulative enterprise" concept.

 

PART C -- Discussion Summary  (not discussed in class)