--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is sometimes said that we should never…" description: "\"It is sometimes said that we should never believe a scientific theory until it is verified by experiment. But a famous astronomer has also stated that ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb3/joao-magueijo-40503_astronomers_it-is-sometimes-said-that-we-should-neve_1903205.png" --- # It is sometimes said that we should never believe a… ![“It is sometimes said that we should never believe a scientific theory until it is verified by experiment. But a famous astronomer has also stated that we should never believe an observation until it is confirmed by a theory.” quote by Joao Magueijo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb3/joao-magueijo-40503_astronomers_it-is-sometimes-said-that-we-should-neve_1903205.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb3/joao-magueijo-40503_astronomers_it-is-sometimes-said-that-we-should-neve_1903205.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb3/joao-magueijo-40503_astronomers_it-is-sometimes-said-that-we-should-neve_1903205.png) > “It is sometimes said that we should never believe a scientific theory until it is verified by experiment. But a famous astronomer has also stated that we should never believe an observation until it is confirmed by a theory.” [Joao Magueijo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joao-magueijo/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Science and observation depend on each other; theories need experimental proof, and observations need theoretical frameworks to be meaningful. **In simple terms:** Science and observation need each other. Key Takeaway Balance theory and experiment. Themes science philosophy methodology Mood curious analytical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - research labs - academic debate - policy making - education - public discourse Key Concepts empiricism theory confirmation observation Questions to Reflect On - How do we decide when a theory is sufficiently tested? - What role should intuition play in science? A Different Perspective Overreliance on theory can ignore anomalous data. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Astronomers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/astronomers/) [Experiments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experiments/) [Observation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/observation/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Scientific theory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scientific-theory/) ## Related quotes > [Dad was a world-famous astronomer; Mom was the artist who drew the iconic Pioneer plaque.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-sagan/dad-was-a-world-famous-astronomer-mom-was-the-artist-who-drew-the/) [Nick Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-sagan/) > [Of course, the laws of science contain no matter and have no energy either and therefore do not exist except in people's minds. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/of-course-the-laws-of-science-contain-no-matter-and-have-no-energy/) [Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/) > [I believe in evidence. I believe in observation, measurement, and reasoning, confirmed by independent observers. I'll believe anything, no matter how wild and ridiculous,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/i-believe-in-evidence-i-believe-in-observation-measurement-and/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [“Don't you believe in flying saucers, they ask me? Don't you believe in telepathy? — in ancient astronauts? — in the Bermuda triangle? —…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/don-t-you-believe-in-flying-saucers-they-ask-me-don-t-you-believe-in/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [I do agree that the science is not settled on this. The idea that we would put American's economy at jeopardy based on scientific…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-perry/i-do-agree-that-the-science-is-not-settled-on-this-the-idea-that-we/) [Rick Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-perry/) > [Historically speaking all - or very nearly all - scientific theories originate from myths.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-popper/historically-speaking-all-or-very-nearly-all-scientific-theories/) [Karl Popper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-popper/) > [All scientific theories are provisional and may be changed, but ... on the whole, they are accepted from Washington to Moscow because of their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nevill-francis-mott/all-scientific-theories-are-provisional-and-may-be-changed-but-on-the/) [Nevill Francis Mott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nevill-francis-mott/) > [“The evolution of higher and of lower forms of life is as well and as soundly established as the eternal hills. It has long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-fairfield-osborn/the-evolution-of-higher-and-of-lower-forms-of-life-is-as-well-and-as/) [Henry Fairfield Osborn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-fairfield-osborn/) > [“I am now convinced that we have recently become possessed of experimental evidence of the discrete or grained nature of matter, which the atomic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilhelm-ostwald/i-am-now-convinced-that-we-have-recently-become-possessed-of/) [Wilhelm Ostwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilhelm-ostwald/) > [“From this point of view, the laws of science represent data compression in action. A theoretical physicist acts like a very clever coding algorithm.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gleick/from-this-point-of-view-the-laws-of-science-represent-data/) [James Gleick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gleick/) > [The fact that these scientific theories have a fine track record of successful prediction and explanation speaks for itself. (Which is not to say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-kornblith/the-fact-that-these-scientific-theories-have-a-fine-track-record-of/) [Hilary Kornblith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-kornblith/) > [You always have to be worried about something that is considered a so-called 'scientific theory' that fits every scenario. Climate change, as they've defined…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-cruz/you-always-have-to-be-worried-about-something-that-is-considered-a-so/) [Ted Cruz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-cruz/) > [Extreme heroism springs from something that no scientific theory can fully explain; it's an illogical impulse that flies in the face of biology, psychology,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-mcdougall/extreme-heroism-springs-from-something-that-no-scientific-theory-can/) [Christopher McDougall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-mcdougall/) > [When you ask why did some particular question occur to a scientist or philosopher for the first time, or why did this particular approach…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-goldstein/when-you-ask-why-did-some-particular-question-occur-to-a-scientist-or/) [Rebecca Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-goldstein/) > [Scientific theory and its application to the growing needs of mankind advance hand in hand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cargill-gilston-knott/scientific-theory-and-its-application-to-the-growing-needs-of-mankind/) Cargill Gilston Knott ## More by Joao Magueijo > [...it's the process of losing oneself in the jungle that makes science worth doing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joao-magueijo/it-s-the-process-of-losing-oneself-in-the-jungle-that-makes-science/) [Joao Magueijo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joao-magueijo/) > [Thus, the distance between any two galaxies increases in time, creating the illusion of mechanical motion. But in reality, galaxies just sit there, contemplating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joao-magueijo/thus-the-distance-between-any-two-galaxies-increases-in-time-creating/) [Joao Magueijo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joao-magueijo/) > [I've always felt that copious use of the word 'something' allows anyone to solve any problem, even insoluble ones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joao-magueijo/i-ve-always-felt-that-copious-use-of-the-word-something-allows-anyone/) [Joao Magueijo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joao-magueijo/) > [Although the term dialogue was really a euphemism for scientists trying to kill each other, this format worked very well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joao-magueijo/although-the-term-dialogue-was-really-a-euphemism-for-scientists/) [Joao Magueijo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joao-magueijo/) > [Becoming a real researcher has been the ultimate humbling experience for me. Nature is the examiner from hell; if you find new things at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joao-magueijo/becoming-a-real-researcher-has-been-the-ultimate-humbling-experience/) [Joao Magueijo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joao-magueijo/) > [My diary entries during this period constantly refer to the importance of learning how to take criticism. If you shut yourself in your own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joao-magueijo/my-diary-entries-during-this-period-constantly-refer-to-the/) [Joao Magueijo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joao-magueijo/) > [Thinking can be lateral or "sweaty". For the latter you're better off in an office and following a routine but for the former you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joao-magueijo/thinking-can-be-lateral-or-sweaty-for-the-latter-you-re-better-off-in/) [Joao Magueijo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joao-magueijo/) > [The game of science can accurately be described as a never-ending insult to human intelligence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joao-magueijo/the-game-of-science-can-accurately-be-described-as-a-never-ending/) [Joao Magueijo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joao-magueijo/) > [Inflation is really like drugging the baby universe with speed. The supercool union of the hitherto unfriendly gods was blessed by amphetamine, and this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joao-magueijo/inflation-is-really-like-drugging-the-baby-universe-with-speed-the/) [Joao Magueijo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joao-magueijo/) > [For instance, the blood of hibernating arctic squirrels may supercool to minus 3 degrees, when it would normally congeal. The supercooled blood still flows,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joao-magueijo/for-instance-the-blood-of-hibernating-arctic-squirrels-may-supercool/) [Joao Magueijo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joao-magueijo/) [Explore all 11 Joao Magueijo quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joao-magueijo/) ## More Astronomers quotes > [Astronomers have built telescopes which can show myriads of stars unseen before; but when a man looks through a tear in his own eye,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/astronomers-have-built-telescopes-which-can-show-myriads-of-stars/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [Culture implies all which gives the mind possession of its own powers, as languages to the critic, telescope to the astronomer. Culture alters the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/culture-implies-all-which-gives-the-mind-possession-of-its-own-powers/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [By the way, were we to find life-forms on Venus, we would probably call them Venutians, just as people from Mars would be Martians.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/by-the-way-were-we-to-find-life-forms-on-venus-we-would-probably-call/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [“In college, what had always stuck with him in Astronomy 101 was that the first astronomers to think of points of light not as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-vandermeer/in-college-what-had-always-stuck-with-him-in-astronomy-101-was-that/) [Jeff VanderMeer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-vandermeer/) > [I may remind you that history is not a branch of literature. The facts of history, like the facts of geology or astronomy, can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-b-bury/i-may-remind-you-that-history-is-not-a-branch-of-literature-the-facts/) [J. B. Bury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-b-bury/) > [Throughout history, humankind has been resistant to change and to the acceptance of new ideas... When Galileo discovered the moons of Jupiter, the astronomers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-weiss/throughout-history-humankind-has-been-resistant-to-change-and-to-the/) [Brian Weiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-weiss/) > [I started out, as most astronomers do, with a university job. But in my generation, women weren't very welcome at universities, and so I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-roman/i-started-out-as-most-astronomers-do-with-a-university-job-but-in-my/) [Nancy Roman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-roman/) > [I was a kind of a one-man army. I could solder circuits together, I could turn out things on the lathe, I could work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-van-allen/i-was-a-kind-of-a-one-man-army-i-could-solder-circuits-together-i/) [James Van Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-van-allen/) > [John Kerry and Ralph Nader met face-to-face, it was a historic meeting. Astronomers said today their meeting actually created what is called a 'charisma…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-leno/john-kerry-and-ralph-nader-met-face-to-face-it-was-a-historic-meeting/) [Jay Leno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-leno/) > [Have you noticed that the astronomers and mathematicians are much the most cheerful people of the lot? I suppose that perpetually contemplating things on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/have-you-noticed-that-the-astronomers-and-mathematicians-are-much-the/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [Astronomers ought to be able to ask fundamental questions without accelerators](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-perlmutter/astronomers-ought-to-be-able-to-ask-fundamental-questions-without/) [Saul Perlmutter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-perlmutter/) > [For seventeenth-century astronomers, the Epicurean doctrine of multiple worlds separated by void space was seen to fit with the new Copernican system in which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-wilson/for-seventeenth-century-astronomers-the-epicurean-doctrine-of/) [Catherine Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-wilson/) > [Just because a man glances up at the sky at night does not make him an astronomer, you know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-boyne/just-because-a-man-glances-up-at-the-sky-at-night-does-not-make-him/) [John Boyne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-boyne/) > [“Astronomers research outer space and I research inner space.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/astronomers-research-outer-space-and-i-research-inner-space/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [ “\[In high school\] my interests outside my academic work were debating, tennis, and to a lesser extent, acting. I became intensely interested in astronomy… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allan-mcleod-cormack/in-high-school-my-interests-outside-my-academic-work-were-debating/) Allan McLeod Cormack [Browse all 163 Astronomers quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/astronomers/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It is sometimes said that we should never believe a scientific theory until it is verified by experiment. But a famous astronomer has also stated that we should never believe an observation until it is confirmed by a theory.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Joao Magueijo" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joao-magueijo/it-is-sometimes-said-that-we-should-never-believe-a-scientific-theory/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Astronomers" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joao-magueijo/it-is-sometimes-said-that-we-should-never-believe-a-scientific-theory/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb3/joao-magueijo-40503_astronomers_it-is-sometimes-said-that-we-should-neve_1903205.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb3/joao-magueijo-40503_astronomers_it-is-sometimes-said-that-we-should-neve_1903205.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb3/joao-magueijo-40503_astronomers_it-is-sometimes-said-that-we-should-neve_1903205.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It is sometimes said that we should never believe a scientific theory until it is verified by experiment…” — Joao Magueijo", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Joao Magueijo", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joao-magueijo/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It is sometimes said that we...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joao-magueijo/it-is-sometimes-said-that-we-should-never-believe-a-scientific-theory/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joao-magueijo/it-is-sometimes-said-that-we-should-never-believe-a-scientific-theory/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```