normative

Science requires modesty and willingness to be wrong

Good science requires being willing to follow natural-seeming ideas even where they lead to crazy-sounding conclusions and to make falsifiable predictions, accepting that being proven wrong teaches you what was missing; the grandiose stance of demanding 100% certainty actually impedes understanding nature.

normativepending

Speaker

Cumrun Vafa

Evidence Quote

things which sound crazy does not mean they are wrong. And in fact, if the theory naturally suggests these are natural thoughts, we should take them very seriously. Don't be afraid, go with them, make predictions, and don't be afraid of making wrong predictions.

Source

277 | Cumrun Vafa on the Universe According to String TheorySean Carroll's Mindscape
Created: 6/13/2026, 12:07:45 AM

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