Friday, March 7, 2008

The Pleasure of Finding Things Out - Richard Feynman

Richard Feynman speaks much about the inner pleasure of just finding things out. Not the drive to be famous, not the desire to be rich, and not the joy of being honored and recognized by your peers. His father was a great influence in his early life and taught him the importance of the man and not the uniform. His comments coincide with the thoughts of his cargo cult science article and likewise that of the article on Critical Thinking in an Online World. We must have integrity in our lives and especially in the of science.

His idea of the mere pleasure of finding things out, and that being the driving force for a scientist (or for himself in his example). I think and believe that it is this desire which makes way for the integrity. If a scientist doesn't have the desire to be rich, famous, and honored, but just wants to know "why?" he will come to a true honest answer based on reason, understanding, and facts. So the question and problem that needs to be solved, at the root of integrity in science, is how is this possible? Can we be rid ourselves of the natural desires to be rich and famous, loving the limelight and attention? If so, how? If not, will science ever be a practice of integrity? Thinking skeptically, how much of what we believe or have been led to believe is based on a scientist ego not wanting to admit that he has not truly found what he has found? But there are actually many holes in his theory. Who can be certain without personally testing it all firsthand.

I find it absurd myself to go to such an extreme, but we must exaggerate a point to make it easier to understand sometimes.

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