{ "href": "/post/2023/08/15/there-is-only-one-science/", "relId": "2023/08/15/there-is-only-one-science", "title": "There Is Only One Science", "author": "pmjones", "tags": [ { "href": "/tag/science/", "relId": "science", "title": "Science", "author": null, "created": null, "updated": [], "markup": "markdown" } ], "created": "2023-08-15 14:12:57 UTC", "updated": [ "2023-08-15 14:12:57 UTC" ], "markup": "markdown", "html": "
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\"All science is either physics or stamp-collecting.\"

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-- Ernest Rutherford

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I recall hearing it first another way, I think via Heinlein: \"There is only one science. It is called 'physics.' Everything else is stamp-collecting.\" I like that phrasing better, because it highlights the disparity more plainly.

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Anything that calls itself \"science\" must be based on observation, but only physics provides a predictive capacity from those observations. The other \"sciences\" consist only of collections of observations; those observations can be categorized, organized, and reorganized as new observations are collected, but they do not provide a predictive capacity. They do not tell you what your next observation will be with much certainty. If you find a strongly predictive capacity, chances are that there is a physics component underlying the observations.

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Thus, the further you get from \"physics\", the further you get from \"science.\"

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