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I have a scientific mind. Probably as scientific as it can get. I take pride in this, although more and more people tend to consider scientists as senseless robots, a necessary pain to keep our technological society running. People with a scientific mind are dull, they are not fun speaking with, you would not want them around your dinner table. You had rather invite movie actors, singers, football players, writers, businessmen, doctors, firefighters, veterinarians or even lawyers.

This is an attempt at restoring the honour of scientific thinking - through a series of posts, I will take the reader to places a scientist is not expected to go, and yet reach astounding conclusions.

My definition of a scientific mind

There is a distinction between a rational mind, a mathematical mind, and a scientific mind.

Rationality is the basic human capability to deduce truths from facts. To me, rationality is the cornerstone of human intelligence. Feelings and intuition are animal behaviours, a shortcut in our brains when there is no time or too few neurons to think. Reason makes us human.

Mathematical thinking is extreme rationality with extreme creativity. You do not make breakthroughs in Math with logic only. Still, however creative they may be, mathematics leave no room for doubt. The mathematical definition of truth is ‘conclusion logically deduced from postulates’. Once you decide that posulates are true and you agree on the rules of logic, nobody can ever cast a doubt on a theorem: proven once, true forever.

Physics, biology or science at large are much less comfortable. Everytime science casts light on a new subject, it also casts a hoard of shadows elsewhere. The more we know, the more we ignore. Fundamental facts that one holds true can always be questioned by new experiments. Unconscious (and often necessary) logical shortcuts can always be challenged. I believe scientific thinking is mathematics with doubt. Doubt is everywhere. Or at least it should be. Too many so-called scientists only have a rational mind, but I believe true science only comes with doubt. Doubt is at the root of modern science philosophy, from Descartes’ “Discours de la Méthode” in 1637 to Karl Popper’s developments in 1934.

Like a four-year-old, my scientific mind keeps asking me questions like:

• Why is this so and not otherwise ?
• How can I (you, we, they) be so sure about this ?
• Are my feelings telling me that something is not right ?
• Could this be any simpler ?
• Is my judgement biased by cultural habits ?
• When I look at it the other way around, does it still hold ?

Strict logic, extreme creativity and constant doubt, my holy trinity of true science.

What can I do with a scientific mind ?

For one thing, I can do science — that’s the main purpose. No wonder I am an R & D engineer, always at the frontier between hardcore research and future industrial concepts. But I can also turn my mind to other places, finding philosophical nuggets or challenging common sense truths. As a matter of fact, many posts in this blog are products of this scientific mind. I hope the following series of posts will change your mind about scientific minds — just be ready for a lot of doubt, creativity, and logic.

• Why Airbus and Boeing will soon go bust
• Stylesheet hacking, genetic engineering: same difference
• Mathematical proof that God exists
• Statistical gender equality
• Should we all have children ?
• About mass vaccination
• My canonical model for economics
• On homeopathy and alternative medicines
• Western biased parenting culture
• What can I do about peak oil ?
• We do not really want to live long

Naturally, the list will grow as I come up with new ideas

Read away

Descartes’ “Discours de la Méthode”

Karl Popper

Scientific Method

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