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Feynman on Scientific Method.

seabala · lecture · Watch on YouTube

Scientific method & science communication

What it is

A short clip of Richard Feynman explaining the scientific method: guess, compute consequences, compare to experiment, and why vague theories like astrology cannot be proven wrong.

Why Hacker News recommends it

Widely recommended as one of the clearest, funniest short explanations of what makes something science.

  • 6 people recommended it
  • 6 different months
  • 5 strong recommendations
  • first 2012, last 2024

What HN commenters said

  1. “My personal understanding of "science" is this”

    Commenter's own definition of science

    acscott, 2016-09 · Strong recommendation · in “Bad science persists because poor methods are rewarded”

  2. “Feynman's lectures on the character of physical law should be something everyone sees in school.”

    Feynman's guess-compute-compare account of science

    quasirandom, 2021-03 · Strong recommendation · in “Trust: The Need for Public Understanding of How Science Works”

  3. “I love that whole series of lectures.”

    Basic scientific thinking from Feynman's Cornell lectures

    ddingus, 2022-11 · Strong recommendation · in “In what sense is quantum computing a science?”

  4. “Feynman is a great teacher!”

    Feynman explains the scientific method; vague theories at 5:10

    Kim_Bruning, 2024-04 · Strong recommendation · in “I should have loved biology (2020)”

  5. “he talks about the problems of "vague" theories”

    Feynman on problems with vague theories

    jshen, 2012-06 · Recommendation · in “Why Meditation Doesn't Directly Increase Happiness”

  6. “Feynman explains nicely”

    Feynman on debate of facts versus theory

    vixen99, 2021-03 · Recommendation · in “Scientists discover fossil plants beneath mile-deep Greenland ice”

Excerpts from Hacker News comments, linked to the originals. Summaries and labels were written by a language model from those comments.

Topics: feynman, scientific method, pseudoscience, falsifiability, physics

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