--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Science starts with preconception, with…" description: "\"Science starts with preconception, with the common culture, and with common sense. It moves on to observation, is marked by the discovery of paradox, a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aab/j-robert-oppenheimer-6978_common_science-starts-with-preconception-with-t_3047909.jpg" --- # Science starts with preconception, with the common… ![“Science starts with preconception, with the common culture, and with common sense. It moves on to observation, is marked by the discovery of paradox, and is then concerned with the correction of preconception. It moves then to use these corrections for the designing of further observation and for…” quote by J. Robert Oppenheimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aab/j-robert-oppenheimer-6978_common_science-starts-with-preconception-with-t_3047909.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aab/j-robert-oppenheimer-6978_common_science-starts-with-preconception-with-t_3047909.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aab/j-robert-oppenheimer-6978_common_science-starts-with-preconception-with-t_3047909.jpg) > “Science starts with preconception, with the common culture, and with common sense. It moves on to observation, is marked by the discovery of paradox, and is then concerned with the correction of preconception. It moves then to use these corrections for the designing of further observation and for more refined experiment. And as it moves along this course the nature of the evidence and experience that nourish it becomes more and more unfamiliar; it is not just the language that is strange \[to common culture\].” [J. Robert Oppenheimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-robert-oppenheimer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Science begins with existing ideas and cultural assumptions, then uses observation to reveal paradoxes, correcting those ideas and refining experiments, leading to increasingly unfamiliar evidence. **In simple terms:** Science starts with ideas, tests them, and refines knowledge. Key Takeaway Question assumptions, observe, and adapt. Themes science philosophy methodology progress knowledge Mood curious analytical inquisitive Type philosophical educational When to use this quote - research labs - educational curricula - policy development - public communication Key Concepts epistemology paradox refinement experiment observation Questions to Reflect On - How do you identify hidden assumptions? - What paradoxes challenge your field? A Different Perspective Complex concepts may be inaccessible to non‑experts. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Common](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/common/) [Common culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/common-culture/) [Common sense](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/common-sense/) [Concerned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/concerned/) [Correction Preconception](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/correction-preconception-5055509/) [Corrections](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/corrections/) [Courses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/courses/) [Culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture/) [Design](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/design/) [Discovery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discovery/) [Discovery Paradox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discovery-paradox-5055512/) [Evidence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evidence/) [Experiments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experiments/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Moving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moving/) [Observation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/observation/) [Paradox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paradox/) [Preconception](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/preconception/) [Preconception Common](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/preconception-common-5055510/) [Preconception Moves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/preconception-moves-5055511/) [Preconceptions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/preconceptions/) [Refined](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/refined/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Strange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strange/) [Unfamiliar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unfamiliar/) [Use](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/use/) ## Related quotes > [“That's why I'm talking to you. You are one of the rare people who can separate your observation from your preconception. You see what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/that-s-why-i-m-talking-to-you-you-are-one-of-the-rare-people-who-can-2/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [When preconception is so clearly defined, so easily reproduced, so enthusiastically welcomed and so long accommodated as in the case of Piltdown Man, science…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-reader/when-preconception-is-so-clearly-defined-so-easily-reproduced-so/) [John Reader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-reader/) > [“That's why I'm talking to you. You are one of the rare people who can separate your observation from your preconception. 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Unlike the modern youth culture, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-scruton/the-ethical-life-is-maintained-in-being-by-a-common-culture-which/) [Roger Scruton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-scruton/) > [Africa is one continent, one people, and one nation. The notion that in order to have a nation it is necessary for there to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kwame-nkrumah/africa-is-one-continent-one-people-and-one-nation-the-notion-that-in/) [Kwame Nkrumah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kwame-nkrumah/) > [Countries will cooperate with each other, and are more likely to cooperate with each other when they share a common culture, as is most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-p-huntington/countries-will-cooperate-with-each-other-and-are-more-likely-to/) [Samuel P. Huntington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-p-huntington/) ## More by J. Robert Oppenheimer > [In some sort of crude sense, which no vulgarity, no humor, no overstatement can quite extinguish, the physicists have known sin; and this is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-robert-oppenheimer/in-some-sort-of-crude-sense-which-no-vulgarity-no-humor-no/) [J. Robert Oppenheimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-robert-oppenheimer/) > [Discovery follows discovery, each both raising and answering questions, each ending a long search, and each providing the new instruments for a new search.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-robert-oppenheimer/discovery-follows-discovery-each-both-raising-and-answering-questions/) [J. Robert Oppenheimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-robert-oppenheimer/) > [There are no secrets about the world of nature. There are secrets about the thoughts and intentions of men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-robert-oppenheimer/there-are-no-secrets-about-the-world-of-nature-there-are-secrets/) [J. Robert Oppenheimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-robert-oppenheimer/) > [It is proper to the role of the scientist that he not merely find new truth and communicate it to his fellows, but that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-robert-oppenheimer/it-is-proper-to-the-role-of-the-scientist-that-he-not-merely-find-new/) [J. Robert Oppenheimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-robert-oppenheimer/) > [To try to be happy is to try to build a machine with no other specification than that it shall run noiselessly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-robert-oppenheimer/to-try-to-be-happy-is-to-try-to-build-a-machine-with-no-other/) [J. Robert Oppenheimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-robert-oppenheimer/) > [We knew the world would not be the same. A few people laughed, a few people cried. Most people were silent. I remembered the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-robert-oppenheimer/we-knew-the-world-would-not-be-the-same-a-few-people-laughed-a-few/) [J. Robert Oppenheimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-robert-oppenheimer/) > [We hunger for nobility: the rare words and acts that harmonize simplicity and truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-robert-oppenheimer/we-hunger-for-nobility-the-rare-words-and-acts-that-harmonize/) [J. Robert Oppenheimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-robert-oppenheimer/) > [I saw what the Depression was doing to my students. Often they could get no jobs, or jobs which were wholly inadequate. And through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-robert-oppenheimer/i-saw-what-the-depression-was-doing-to-my-students-often-they-could/) [J. Robert Oppenheimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-robert-oppenheimer/) > [This world of ours is a new world, in which the unit of knowledge, the nature of human communities, the order of society, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-robert-oppenheimer/this-world-of-ours-is-a-new-world-in-which-the-unit-of-knowledge-the/) [J. Robert Oppenheimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-robert-oppenheimer/) > [My childhood did not prepare me for the fact that the world is full of cruel and bitter things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-robert-oppenheimer/my-childhood-did-not-prepare-me-for-the-fact-that-the-world-is-full/) [J. Robert Oppenheimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-robert-oppenheimer/) > [You can certainly destroy enough of humanity so that only the greatest act of faith can persuade you that what's left will be human.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-robert-oppenheimer/you-can-certainly-destroy-enough-of-humanity-so-that-only-the/) [J. Robert Oppenheimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-robert-oppenheimer/) > [In the spring of 1936, I was introduced by friends to Jean Tatlock. In the autumn, I began to court her. We were at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-robert-oppenheimer/in-the-spring-of-1936-i-was-introduced-by-friends-to-jean-tatlock-in/) [J. Robert Oppenheimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-robert-oppenheimer/) > [When we deny the EVIL within ourselves, we dehumanize ourselves, and we deprive ourselves not only of our own destiny but of any possibility…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-robert-oppenheimer/when-we-deny-the-evil-within-ourselves-we-dehumanize-ourselves-and-we/) [J. Robert Oppenheimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-robert-oppenheimer/) > [Pragmatism is an intellectually safe but ultimately sterile philosophy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-robert-oppenheimer/pragmatism-is-an-intellectually-safe-but-ultimately-sterile-philosophy/) [J. Robert Oppenheimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-robert-oppenheimer/) > [“Knowledge cannot be pursued without morality.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-robert-oppenheimer/knowledge-cannot-be-pursued-without-morality/) [J. Robert Oppenheimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-robert-oppenheimer/) [Explore all 96 J. Robert Oppenheimer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-robert-oppenheimer/) ## More Common quotes > [I'm Fine!, the most common LIE in the world...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/punkinhead-abhishek/i-m-fine-the-most-common-lie-in-the-world/) [Punkinhead Abhishek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/punkinhead-abhishek/) > [A flourishing, morally credible media is a vital component in the maintenance of genuinely public talk, argument about common good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rowan-williams/a-flourishing-morally-credible-media-is-a-vital-component-in-the/) [Rowan Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rowan-williams/) > [We find few historians who have been diligent enough in their search for truth; it is their common method to take on trust what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/we-find-few-historians-who-have-been-diligent-enough-in-their-search/) [John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/) > [The ability of the gospel to unite us on common strengths and common truths is one of the great miracles . . . of the gospel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-r-holland/the-ability-of-the-gospel-to-unite-us-on-common-strengths-and-common/) [Jeffrey R. Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-r-holland/) > [Our times demand the declaration of the world's resources as the common heritage of all people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacque-fresco/our-times-demand-the-declaration-of-the-world-s-resources-as-the/) [Jacque Fresco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacque-fresco/) > [ Neither Italian fascism nor German national "socialism" have anything in common with such a \[Soviet socialistic\] society, primarily because private ownership of factories, plants,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-stalin/neither-italian-fascism-nor-german-national-socialism-have-anything/) [Joseph Stalin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-stalin/) > [When you have a cavity in your tooth and you let it get worse, eventually you have to get a root canal. If you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivia-newton-john/when-you-have-a-cavity-in-your-tooth-and-you-let-it-get-worse/) [Olivia Newton-John](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivia-newton-john/) > [There is nothing that we can properly call our own but our time, and yet everybody fools us out of it who has a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/there-is-nothing-that-we-can-properly-call-our-own-but-our-time-and/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [Common sense is nothing more than a deposit of prejudices laid down in the mind before you reach eighteen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/common-sense-is-nothing-more-than-a-deposit-of-prejudices-laid-down/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [A common fallacy in much of the adverse criticism to which science is subjected today is that it claims certainty, infallibility and complete emotional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyril-norman-hinshelwood/a-common-fallacy-in-much-of-the-adverse-criticism-to-which-science-is/) [Cyril Norman Hinshelwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyril-norman-hinshelwood/) > [We can find common qualities and common values that have made Britain the country it is. Our belief in tolerance and liberty which shines…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-brown/we-can-find-common-qualities-and-common-values-that-have-made-britain/) [Gordon Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-brown/) > [A time will come when the science of destruction shall bend before the arts of peace; when the genius which multiplies our powers, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-arago/a-time-will-come-when-the-science-of-destruction-shall-bend-before/) [Francois Arago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-arago/) > [… and so he tried to accept the ache in his heart as what Dr. Larch would call the common symptoms of normal life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/and-so-he-tried-to-accept-the-ache-in-his-heart-as-what-dr-larch/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [It is a tragedy that we live in a world where physical courage is so common, and moral courage is so rare.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-monet/it-is-a-tragedy-that-we-live-in-a-world-where-physical-courage-is-so/) [Claude Monet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-monet/) > [Those who advocate common usage in philosophy sometimes speak in a manner that suggests the mystique of the 'common man.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/those-who-advocate-common-usage-in-philosophy-sometimes-speak-in-a/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) [Browse all 7,866 Common quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/common/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Science starts with preconception, with the common culture, and with common sense. 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