Key moderating principles I try to keep in mind as I struggle to understand complex molecular materials
-correlation does not imply causality
-extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence
-Kauzmann's maxim: people will tend to believe what they want to believe rather than believing what the evidence before them suggests they should believe
-use the method of multiple alternative hypothesis
-be mindful of the dangers of curve fitting
-in systems with many degrees of freedom it is very hard to find control variables, because most variables are not independent of one another
-Feynman's warning: the easiest person to fool is yourself
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Rodney Baxter (1940-2025): Mathematical Physicist
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