A hand holding a brass magnifying glass over a small gray panel, revealing green detail in one corner.

Original artwork, not a still

William James

I believe there is no source of deception in the investigation of nature which can compare with a fixed belief that certain kinds of phenomena are impossible.

Behind the line

What it means

Our interpretation.

The speaker argues that the biggest trap when studying nature is deciding beforehand that some things can't happen. A fixed belief in impossibility distorts what you're willing to see, and so it deceives more powerfully than any other source of error.

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