☆ 從事科學的人,應該既知道自己的所知,亦知道自己的無知。
We should realize that, if [Socrates]
demanded that the wisest men should rule,
he clearly stressed that he did not mean
the learned men; in fact, he was skeptical
of all professional learnedness,
whether it was that of the philosophers or
of the learned men of his own generation, the Sophists.
The wisdom he meant was of a different kind.
It was simply the realization: how little do I know!
Those who did not know this, he taught,
knew nothing at all.
This is the true scientific spirit.
( Karl R. Popper )
科學理論,其實是建設在「浮沙」之上,
正如地殼的板塊是浮在岩漿之上:
The empirical basis of objective science
has thus nothing “absolute” about it.
Science does not rest upon solid bedrock.
The bold structure of its theories rises,
as it were, above a swamp.
It is like a building erected on piles.
The piles are driven down from above
into the swamp, but not down to any
natural or “given” base;
and if we stop driving the piles deeper,
it is not because we have reached firm ground.
We simply stop when we are satisfied that the
piles are firm enough to carry the structure,
at least for the time being.
( Karl R. Popper, The Logic of Scientific Discovery, 1959 )
參考:《浮沙恐懼症》(一) 《浮沙恐懼症》(二)
Absolute certainty is a privilege of
uneducated minds — and fanatics.
It is, for scientific folks, an unattainable ideal.
( C. J. Keyser )
To teach how to live without certainty,
and yet without being paralyzed by hesitation,
is perhaps the chief thing that philosophy,
in our age, can still do for those who study it.
( Bertrand Russell, A History of Western Philosophy )
但千萬不要小看建設在「浮沙」之上的東西,
只要這些東西能夠不斷修正,不斷改善,不斷學習,不斷進步,
不斷提升,就必須正視!
人工智能電腦的完美,或許就是源於能夠透過科學方法和態度,
不斷的學習 Machine Learning,自我修正、改善、提升和進步,
謝絕人性,按章工作,精密計算,去蕪存菁,以至能突破所限,
包括人工智能電腦創始者的極限,一步一步慢慢迫近真理,
將人類最優秀的森林思維和根源思維模式發揮到淋漓盡致。
真理當然是非人性,冷靜,不需要顧及任何人類情緒感受,
真理一向公平,不講人性、感情、交情,沒有恐懼和亢奮。
☆ 不要介意被人說自己是在鑽牛角尖,
因為科學就是要鑽牛角尖、就是需要辯論和批判,
就是必須通過實驗來證明那一個假說是對的。