In 1974, Richard Feynman presented his commencement address in which he discussed the principles of cargo cult science in relation to the idea of integrity. The researcher stated that people are often inclined to refer to science in those cases where it is impossible to follow the scientific method, and the term cargo cult science is used to speak about things that are “said to be scientific,” but they are not actually scientific in their nature (Feynman par. 9). In his speech “Cargo Cult Science,” Feynman discusses cargo cult science as a variant of pseudoscience.
The Main Point, the Author, Is Making
Feynman states in his commencement address that researchers should not ignore the principle of integrity in order to avoid following cargo cult science because it is important to make scientific conclusions while providing all the information on the research, including possible faults and unexpected results. According to Feynman, scientific integrity is “a principle of scientific thought that corresponds to a kind of utter honesty” (Feynman par. 12).
Thus, a scientist should not miss any important things while concluding his findings in order not to fool oneself and provide complete information related to scientific research. It is important to inform about all the points and results, “not just the information that leads to judgment in one particular direction or another” (Feynman par. 14). The focus on avoiding the results which cannot support the experiment is typical for cargo cult scientists who do not report on things that can contribute to eliminating the received results. That is why the main purpose of the author’s article is to persuade the researchers to follow the principles of real science supported by the idea of integrity.
Some Characteristics of Poor Science
Feynman determines a range of characteristics that can be used to define poor science, pseudoscience, or cargo cult science. The first characteristic mentioned by the author in the presence of the scientific form and scientific investigation, but the absence of the essential feature which prevents the idea from working (Feynman par. 11). The most important characteristic to discuss pseudoscientific researches is the absence of scientific integrity as “a kind of leaning over backward” (Feynman par. 14).
In order to state the scientific nature of the research, it is necessary to discuss its details and results from all the perspectives, while paying much attention to faults, biases, and wrong assumptions. The next important feature is the ignorance of repeating the experiment by oneself. Those researchers who choose to use the results received by the other investigators ignore the opportunity to make their own research more credible while supporting or rejecting the known findings.
Feynman states that pseudoscientists can be very “anxious for new results” because these results are contradictory in relation to their predictions, and they can destroy “the value of the experiments themselves” (Feynman par. 29). It is characteristic for cargo cult scientists to ignore the results which do not support their experiments and focus on those ones which sound appropriately.
What Does It Mean to Discuss an Experiment as Repeatable?
The findings of the experiment can be discussed as valid if they are supported by the results of the other following experiments. That is why the experiment should be repeated in order to state the credibility of the results and the integrity of the overall investigation. Feynman notes, “other experimenters will repeat your experiment and find out whether you were wrong or right” (Feynman par. 16). Thus, an experiment is repeatable, if its results are supported by the other researchers who conduct it independently. From this point, Feynman claims that a real valid experiment should be repeatable because of the necessity to demonstrate whether the results are right or wrong.
Cargo cult scientists choose to ignore repeating experiments because of the lack of time, resources, and because of the possibility not to support certain assumptions. Feynman notes that para-psychologists or other cargo cult scientists look for experiments that can be repeated because they need to receive the same effect (Feynman par. 35). However, these scientists look for repeated results, not for the repeatable experiments because if the experiment is repeatable, its results can be different, and they do not always satisfy the expectations of cargo cult scientists. The rejection of the repeatable experiment is considered as characteristic for those scientists who intend to ignore the idea of integrity, and such behavior cannot be discussed as acceptable in the scientific world.
Conclusion
In his speech titled “Cargo Cult Science,” Richard Feynman describes the features of pseudoscience, and he persuades the audience belonging to the scientific world not to fool oneself while focusing on the expected results of experiments and ignoring faults and biases. The author states that a real scientist, not a cargo cult scientist, should follow the principle of integrity and report all the negative and positive results of his research in order not to mislead the scientific community and laymen.
Works Cited
Feynman, Richard. Cargo Cult Science. n.d. Web.