In the sciences, we are now uniquely privileged to sit side-by-side with the giants on whose
shoulders we stand.
—Gerald Holton, 1961
3
***
The whole of science is nothing more than the refinement of everyday thinking.
—Albert Einstein, 1936
The scientific method is a potentiation of common sense.
—P. B. Medawar, 1969
Common sense in an uncommon degree is what the world calls wisdom.
—Samuel Taylor Coleridge, 1827
Science is nothing but […] common sense rounded up and minutely articulated.
—George Santayana, 1906
Science is nothing but trained and organized common sense, differing from the latter only
as a veteran may differ from a raw recruit.
—Thomas Henry Huxley, 1894
Common sense, however it tries, cannot avoid being surprised from time to time. The aim
of science is to save it from such surprises.
—Bertrand Russell, 1987
Science is a first-rate piece of furniture for a man’s upper chamber, if he has common sense
on the ground-floor.
—Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr., 1872
A weak mind with no common sense magnifies trifling things and cannot receive great
ones.
—Anonymous
4
Common sense in matters medical is rare, and is usually in inverse ratio to the degree of
education.
—William Osler, 1894
Common sense is not so common.
—Anonymous
5
3
A popular (anonymous?) paraphrase says: “…to rub the shoulders with the giants on whose
shoulders we stand”.
4
Frequently misattributed to Lord Chesterfield.
5
This wisdom is frequently attributed to Voltaire, who indeed wrote a very close line, “Common
sense is very rare”, in his 1767 essay Common Sense, but only with the remark “People say
sometimes…”.
On Science and Technology
27
shoulders we stand.
—Gerald Holton, 1961
3
***
The whole of science is nothing more than the refinement of everyday thinking.
—Albert Einstein, 1936
The scientific method is a potentiation of common sense.
—P. B. Medawar, 1969
Common sense in an uncommon degree is what the world calls wisdom.
—Samuel Taylor Coleridge, 1827
Science is nothing but […] common sense rounded up and minutely articulated.
—George Santayana, 1906
Science is nothing but trained and organized common sense, differing from the latter only
as a veteran may differ from a raw recruit.
—Thomas Henry Huxley, 1894
Common sense, however it tries, cannot avoid being surprised from time to time. The aim
of science is to save it from such surprises.
—Bertrand Russell, 1987
Science is a first-rate piece of furniture for a man’s upper chamber, if he has common sense
on the ground-floor.
—Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr., 1872
A weak mind with no common sense magnifies trifling things and cannot receive great
ones.
—Anonymous
4
Common sense in matters medical is rare, and is usually in inverse ratio to the degree of
education.
—William Osler, 1894
Common sense is not so common.
—Anonymous
5
3
A popular (anonymous?) paraphrase says: “…to rub the shoulders with the giants on whose
shoulders we stand”.
4
Frequently misattributed to Lord Chesterfield.
5
This wisdom is frequently attributed to Voltaire, who indeed wrote a very close line, “Common
sense is very rare”, in his 1767 essay Common Sense, but only with the remark “People say
sometimes…”.
On Science and Technology
27