Science Top 10

Here the MiW give you their top tips on the 10 scientific principles that have saved their lives – and may save yours...

1. Science is based on empirical evidence, that is, things that can be observed and measured.



2. Know your enemies.



3. A theory is only scientific if it admits the possibility of being shown to be untrue.



4. The following things do not exist – vampires, ghosts, alien intelligence, reiki, pixies (not The Pixies), evidence to support homeopathy, the Loch Ness Monster, faith healing, a link between autism and MMR, chakras, and so on. Do drop us a line if you disagree, but we will probably choose to ignore you cos you are wrong.



5. 'Occam's razor' advises making as few assumptions as possible when formulating a theory based on observations, because the simplest solution is probably the correct one.



6. If your biology teacher rhetorically says 'Why is the sky blue?' when asked a question that they doesn't know the answer to, they are a stupidhead and should be ignored.



7. Stand on the shoulders of giants. Cos lots of people much cleverer than us have done most of the work already.



8. If you are stuck, ask yourself 'What would Lisa Simpson do?'



9. Gravity always wins.



10. Stock phrases to be used liberally. 'The results were disappointing.' 'Hmm, another partial success.' 'Of course, this is just a prototype.'

^ Top