Mike G Posted February 26, 2012 Report Share Posted February 26, 2012 I often say that when you can measure the fish that you are speaking about, and express it in numbers, you know something about it; but when you cannot express it in numbers, your fish is of a meager and unsatisfactory kind; it may be the beginning of fishing, but you have scarcely, in your thoughts, advanced to the stage of science, whatever the fish may be. Lord Kelvin Comment: I am not sure I like this one. Though Lord Kelvin's insight on quantification has helped advance science, it seems to have had an unwanted effect. It turned the joy of discovery into the work of science. In The River Why, Gus points out men like his father who are skeptical of a fish's existence unless it has been precisely measured, weighed, and photographed. Is life just one big lab? Oops! I forgot to number this quotation. Henning Hale Orviston might question its existence.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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