“It is not within the power of practitioners of demonstrative sciences to change opinion at will, choosing now this and now that one; there is a great difference between giving orders to a mathematician or a philosopher and giving them to a merchant or a lawyer; and demonstrated conclusions about natural and celestial phenomena cannot be changed with the same ease as opinions about what is or is not legitimate in a contract, in a rental, or in commerce. [1] And:
“For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for nature cannot be fooled” [2]
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[1] G. Galilei, letter to the Grand Duchess Christina of Tuscany, 1615 (Ref: Edward R. Tufte, Visual and Statistical Thinking, p.53)
[2] R.P. Feynam “Appendix F: Personal Observations on the Reliability of the Shuttle” (Loc. cit.)