Chapter 2, Observation as practical intervention, p. 21.
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It should be no news to anyone that the perceptual judgements of individuals can be unreliable for a range of reasons. The challenge, in science, is to arrange the observable situation in such a way that the reliance on such judgements is minimised if not eliminated.

— Alan Chalmers

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "It should be no news to anyone that the perceptual judgements of individuals can be unreliable for a range of reasons. The challenge, in science, is to arrange the observable situation in such a way that the reliance on such judgements is minimised if not eliminated." in the context of "Chapter 2, Observation as practical intervention, p. 21." to mean that wisdom is timeless.

Source: Wikiquote: "Alan Chalmers" (Quotes, What Is This Thing Called Science? (Third Edition; 1999)) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app

About Alan Chalmers

Alan Francis Chalmers (born 1939, in Bristol, England) is a British-Australian philosopher of science.