Logo - Feel The Words

Hypothesis Quotes

On forming and testing scientific ideas.

These hypothesis quotes warn against favoring an unverifiable idea over known and sufficient causes, a caution about logic that still applies well beyond the lab.

Nevertheless, as is a frequent occurrence in science, a general hypothesis was constructed from a few specific instances of a phenomenon.

Quotes by Sidney Altman

Roughly speaking, this hypothesis asks whether drug use causes some of the diseases officially associated with AIDS, such as immunodeficiency and Kaposi's sarcoma.

Quotes by Serge Lang

Originally, in the early eighties, the drug hypothesis was among the first which occurred to scientists.

Quotes by Serge Lang

Whenever known and sufficient causes are available, it is anti-scientific to discard them in favour of a hypothesis that can never be verified.

Quotes by Max Weber

Emotion Quotes

One must credit an hypothesis with all that has had to be discovered in order to demolish it.

Quotes by Jean Rostand

Not as a demonstrated natural law, but as a working hypothesis.

Quotes by Henry Norris Russell

One finds the truth by making a hypothesis and comparing observations with the hypothesis.

Quotes by David Douglass

I long ago suggested the hypothesis, that in the basin of the Thames there are indications of a meeting in the Pleistocene period of a northern and southern fauna.

Quotes by Charles Lyell

Frequently Asked Questions

What does the "anti-scientific" quote warn against?
It warns that when known and sufficient causes are already available, it's anti-scientific to instead favor a hypothesis that can never be verified. The speaker argues for grounding conclusions in testable Logic rather than unfalsifiable ideas. This reflects a core principle of sound scientific reasoning.
How does the quote describe hypotheses forming from few examples?
It notes that a general hypothesis is often constructed from just a few specific instances of a phenomenon, calling this a frequent occurrence in science. The speaker treats this pattern neutrally, as simply how scientific ideas commonly emerge. It's a description of process rather than a criticism.
What does the "drug hypothesis" quote reference historically?
It recalls that in the early eighties, a drug-related hypothesis was among the first explanations scientists considered for a phenomenon later linked to AIDS research. This situates the hypothesis within a specific, high-stakes period of medical uncertainty. The quote treats it as an early, tentative idea rather than settled fact.
What question does the AIDS-related hypothesis quote raise?
It wonders aloud whether drug use might be behind some illnesses officially linked to AIDS, naming immune deficiency and a rare cancer as examples. The phrasing treats this as an open Possibility worth investigating rather than a proven claim. It reflects the genuine uncertainty of early AIDS research.
Do these hypothesis quotes treat scientific ideas as fixed or evolving?
They treat hypotheses as evolving — built from limited evidence, tested against known causes, and open to revision as more is learned. None present a hypothesis as a final answer. This reflects the provisional nature of scientific reasoning across all four examples.

Others trace how the early drug hypothesis around AIDS-related illness grew from a handful of cases into a wider scientific possibility worth testing.