Conviction Quote by Peter Medawar
“The intensity of a conviction that a hypothesis is true has no bearing on whether it is true or false. The importance of the strength of our conviction is only to provide a proportionately strong incentive to find out if the hypothesis will stand up to critical evaluation.”
About This Quote
Conviction strength doesn’t determine truth; it only motivates rigorous testing of hypotheses.
In simple terms: Conviction isn’t proof.
Key Takeaway
Test ideas critically.
Themes
science
conviction
truth
Mood
analytical
inquisitive
Type
quote
philosophical
When to use this quote
- research
- education
Key Concepts
philosophy of science
critical thinking
Questions to Reflect On
- How do you separate belief from evidence?
- What drives scientific rigor?
A Different Perspective
Strong belief can bias inquiry.
![“What the use of P [the significance level] implies, therefore, is that a hypothesis that may be true may be rejected because it has not predicted observable results that have not occurred.” quote by Harold Jeffreys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/03a/harold-jeffreys-47480_being-true_what-the-use-of-p-the-significance-level_1333387.jpg)
![“[A certain class of explanations in science are] analgesics that dull the ache of incomprehension without removing the cause.” quote by Peter Medawar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/fbb/peter-medawar-9996_ache_a-certain-class-of-explanations-in-scien_299816.jpg)
![“Beneath everything else, North and West, there ran a profound, unvoiced, almost subconscious conviction that the [American] nation was going to go on growing-in size, in power, in everything a man could think of-and in that belief there was a might and a fury that would take form instantly at the…” quote by Bruce Catton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/a3c/bruce-catton-15493_belief_beneath-everything-else-north-and-west-t_10801.jpg)
