Dialectic

First of all, hats off to the German philosopher Georg Hegel.

Scientific research requires us to observe and analyze the natural world in a rational process. We come to the conclusion with sound evidence. So why do we get different conclusions towards a same phenomena most of time? The reasons rest upon multiple aspects: sampling strategies, investigation methods, statistics methods, and even the researchers — their work ethics and their knowledge background.

These different opinions may not be the truth, but they are valuable resources for us to mine the truth. Both opinions may contain some facts as well as exaggeration and distortion. We need to synthesize these facts so that we may come close to the truth finally.

Taken together, respect opinions different from our own. What your opponents have may be just what you need.

The Niagara Fall on August 30, 2019