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The first principle is that you must not fool yourself, and you are the easiest person to fool.
Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
Self-deception comes first on the list of what a scientist must guard against, because you are the one person you can never step away from. The line has outgrown the speech, turning up in lab handbooks, replication-crisis debates and talks on confirmation bias. It is a rule for scientists that works equally well for anyone with a pet theory.
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In context
May contain spoilersShow the scene
Feynman gave the line in his 1974 commencement address at Caltech, adapted into the essay 'Cargo Cult Science' and later reprinted as the final chapter of Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!. He was warning graduates against research that looks like science but lacks its integrity. He compared it to the South Pacific cargo cults, whose islanders built mock airstrips and wooden headphones in hope of drawing planes loaded with goods. His remedy was scrupulous honesty, including reporting anything that might make your own results wrong.
Sources (2)
- Wikiquote: Richard Feynman'Cargo Cult Science' entriesReference checked
- Wikipedia: Cargo cult sciencesection 'Cargo Cult Science'Reference checked
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