上外版大学英语写作精选第五册(5)

but to a later age， they seem harmless and often essential to the elevation of human conditions.

    The enormous success of science has led to the general belief that scientists have developed and ate employing a "method" - a method that is extremely effective in gaining， organizing， and applying new knowledge. Galileo， famous scientist of the 1600s， is usually credited with being the "Father of the Scientific Method." His method is essentially as follows：

    1.  Recognize a problem.

    2.  Guess an answer.

    3.  Predict the consequences of the guess.

    4.  Perform experiments to test predictions.

    5.  Formulate the simplest theory organizes the three main ingredients： guess， prediction， experimental outcome.

    Although this cookbook method has a certain appeal， to has not been the key to most of the breakthroughs and discoveries in science. Trial and error， experimentation without guessing， accidental discovery， and other methods account for much of the progress in science. Rather than a particular method， the success of science has more to do with an attitude common to scientists. This attitude is essentially one of inquiry， experimentation， and humility before the facts. If a scientist holds an idea to be true and finds any counterevidence whatever， the idea is either modified or abandoned. In the scientific spirit， the idea must be modified or abandoned in spite of the reputation of the person advocating it. As an example， the greatly respected Greek philosopher Aristotle said that falling bodies fall at a speed proportional to their weight. This false idea was held to be true for more than 2，000 years because of Aristotle's immense authority. In the scientific spirit， however， a single verifiable experiment to the contrary outweighs any authority， regardless of reputation or the number of followers and advocates.
   Scientists must accept facts even when they would like them to be different. They must strive to distinguish between what they see and what they wish to see —— for humanity's capacity for self-deception is vast. People have traditionally tended to adopt general rules， beliefs， creeds， theories， and ideas without thoroughly questioning their validity and to retain them long after they have been shown to be meaningless， false， or at least questionable. The most widespread assumptions are the least questioned. Most often， when an idea is adopted， particular attention is given to cases that seem to support it， while cases that seem to refute it are distorted， belittled， or ignored. We feel deeply that it is a sign of weakness to "change out minds." Competent scientists， however， must be expert at changing their minds. This is because science seeks not to defend our beliefs but to improve them. Better theories are made by tho

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