Feynman re: science vs. pseudoscience

Apr 27, 2026 · By Dennis Hackethal · Fork · Check another quote

Original text

Now it behooves me, of course, to tell you what they’re missing. But it would be just about as difficult to explain to the South Sea Islanders how they have to arrange things so that they get some wealth in their system. It is not something simple like telling them how to improve the shapes of the earphones. But there is one feature I notice that is generally missing in cargo cult science. That is the idea that we all hope you have learned in studying science in school—we never explicitly say what this is, but just hope that you catch on by all the examples of scientific investigation. It is interesting, therefore, to bring it out now and speak of it explicitly. It’s a kind of scientific integrity, a principle of scientific thought that corresponds to a kind of utter honesty—a kind of leaning over backwards.
Feynman, Richard P. "Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!": Adventures of a Curious Character (p. 340). Kindle Edition.

Quote text

[T]here is one feature … that is generally missing in [pseudoscience] … It’s a kind of scientific integrity…
Ellipsis used (if any): ‘…’
✓ No issues found using regular expression . and Histogram algorithm. 
Now‧it‧behooves‧me,‧of‧course,‧to‧tell‧you‧what‧they’re‧missing.‧But‧it‧would‧be‧just‧about‧as‧difficult‧to‧explain‧to‧the‧South‧Sea‧Islanders‧how‧they‧have‧to‧arrange‧things‧so‧that‧they‧get‧some‧wealth‧in‧their‧system.‧It‧is‧not‧something‧simple‧like‧telling‧them‧how‧to‧improve‧the‧shapes‧of‧the‧earphones.‧But‧t[T]here‧is‧*one*‧feature‧I‧notice…‧that‧is‧generally‧missing‧in‧cargo[pseudoscience]‧cult‧science.‧That‧is‧the‧idea‧that‧we‧all‧hope‧you‧have‧learned‧in‧studying‧science‧in‧school—we‧never‧explicitly‧say‧what‧this‧*is*,‧but‧just‧hope‧that‧you‧catch‧on‧by‧all‧the‧examples‧of‧scientific‧investigation.‧It‧is‧interesting,‧therefore,‧to‧bring‧it‧out‧now‧and‧speak‧of‧it‧explicitly.…‧It’s‧a‧kind‧of‧scientific‧integrity,‧a‧principle‧of‧scientific‧thought‧that‧corresponds‧to‧a‧kind‧of‧utter‧honesty—a‧kind‧of‧leaning‧over‧backwards.…

Explanation

# Part Valid? Explanation
1 
Now‧it‧behooves‧me,‧of‧course,‧to‧tell‧you‧what‧they’re‧missing.‧But‧it‧would‧be‧just‧about‧as‧difficult‧to‧explain‧to‧the‧South‧Sea‧Islanders‧how‧they‧have‧to‧arrange‧things‧so‧that‧they‧get‧some‧wealth‧in‧their‧system.‧It‧is‧not‧something‧simple‧like‧telling‧them‧how‧to‧improve‧the‧shapes‧of‧the‧earphones.‧But‧t
 ✓ yes Deletion is followed by a valid insertion.
2 
[T]
 ✓ yes Insertion is properly bracketed.
3 
here‧is‧*one*‧feature‧
4 
I‧notice
 ✓ yes Deletion is followed by a valid insertion.
5 
…
 ✓ yes Insertion is an ellipsis.
6 
‧that‧is‧generally‧missing‧in‧
7 
cargo
 ✓ yes Deletion is followed by a valid insertion.
8 
[pseudoscience]
 ✓ yes Insertion is properly bracketed.
9 
‧
10 
cult‧science.‧That‧is‧the‧idea‧that‧we‧all‧hope‧you‧have‧learned‧in‧studying‧science‧in‧school—we‧never‧explicitly‧say‧what‧this‧*is*,‧but‧just‧hope‧that‧you‧catch‧on‧by‧all‧the‧examples‧of‧scientific‧investigation.‧It‧is‧interesting,‧therefore,‧to‧bring‧it‧out‧now‧and‧speak‧of‧it‧explicitly.
 ✓ yes Deletion is followed by a valid insertion.
11 
…
 ✓ yes Insertion is an ellipsis.
12 
‧It’s‧a‧kind‧of‧scientific‧integrity
13 
,‧a‧principle‧of‧scientific‧thought‧that‧corresponds‧to‧a‧kind‧of‧utter‧honesty—a‧kind‧of‧leaning‧over‧backwards.
 ✓ yes Deletion is followed by a valid insertion.
14 
…
 ✓ yes Insertion is an ellipsis.

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