The Science of Discworld (Science of Discworld, #1)

by Terry Pratchett

Science is a structure created and maintained by people. And people choose what interests them, and what they consider to be significant and, quite often, they have thought narratively.

The current name for what has variously been called ‘heresy’ and ‘natural philosophy’ is, of course, ‘science’.

Beware of scientific fundamentalists who try to tell you everything is pretty much worked out, and only a few routine details are left to do. It is just when the majority of scientists believe such things that the next revolution in our world-view creeps into being, its feeble birth-squeaks all but drowned by the earsplitting roar of orthodoxy.

The ‘draw a line’ philosophy offers a substantial political advantage to people with hidden agendas.

Science is not about building a body of known ‘facts’. It is a method for asking awkward questions and subjecting them to a reality-check, thus avoiding the human tendency to believe whatever makes us feel good.