Charles Babbage Quotes

To no circumstance is the wide diffusion of error in the world more owing than to our habit of adopting conclusions from insufficiently established data. An indispensable preliminary, then, in every investigation, is to get at facts. Until these are arrived at, every opinion, theory, or system, however ingeniously framed, must necessarily rest upon an uncertain basis.

Before anything can be reasoned upon to a conclusion, certain facts, principles, or data, to reason from, must be established, admitted, or denied.

If the data do not prove that indexing wins, well, the data are wrong.

When you are studying any matter or considering any philosophy, ask yourself only: what are the facts, and what is the truth that the facts bear out. Never let yourself be diverted by what you wish to believe, but look only and surely at what are the facts.

The data stream has been corrupted, return to first principles.

No good model ever accounted for all the facts, since some data was bound to be misleading if not plain wrong.

We think we have the best matching algorithm, we think we have the best members. So why wouldn't we want to just shine the light onto just how our processes work, what the real data are, and let people come to their own conclusions.

My colleagues have learned to respect nothing but evidence, and to believe that their highest duty lies in submitting to it, however it may jar against their inclinations.

Errors using inadequate data are much like those using no data at all.

John Chancellor said he could remember a time when arguments could be settled by government statistics. Today, nobody’s statistics can be trusted.

It is easy to lie with statistics. It is hard to tell the truth without it.

Go with the science!.

Whether or not I like a piece of data has very little bearing on whether or not I am likely to accept it.

Disregard belief systems that aren't based on empirical studies.

AIs are only as good as the data they are trained on.

Without evidence, anything goes. Think about it. Common sense says the sun goes round the Earth. Who agrees with me?

The scientist is indistinguishable from the common man in his sense of evidence, except that the scientist is more careful.

Science is a method, not a religion, yet it can be just as close-minded. Open minds here Claire. Always open minds. Question everything, accept nothing as fact until you prove it for yourself.

I'm optimistic. I see no longer people accepting fuzzy thinking in the world. The change is not that people aren't still saying under-informed things. The change is that if you're in power and you say something under-informed, there are people out there with a voice who will take you to task for having done so

Science is not a body of facts. Science is a state of mind. It is a way of viewing the world, of facing reality square on but taking nothing on its face. It is about attacking a problem with the most manicured of claws and tearing it down into sensible, edible pieces.

To avoid being drawn into error, keep a firm grip on the truth.

It does not make any difference how beautiful your guess is. It does not make any difference how smart you are, who made the guess, or what his name is if it disagrees with experiment it is wrong. That is all there is to it.

Our five senses are faulty data-taking devices, and they need help.

Ever since Sir Isaac Newton's times, scientists have worked in the same sort of way: They show a great respect for experiment and observation, They don't cherry pick data, They take a skeptical approach to what they do. And then scientists work together to get a consensus as to what should be believed And that generates very reliable knowledge and that reliable knowledge drives innovation

Still, it is an error to argue in front of your data. You find yourself insensibly twisting them round to fit your theories.