Idea 31: Avoid inaccuracies and exaggeration
There would be too great a darkness if truth had no visible signs.
Blaise Pascal, French mathematician and philosopher
In science you cannot prove that something is true; what you can do, however, is prove that theories are not true by subjecting them to a controlled series of experiments.
You can apply this principle of falsification more generally. You may not, for example, be able to convince people directly that what you are saying is true. But you can certainly avoid communicating to them something that is not true. Here are two useful habits.
Avoid Inaccuracies
Few people set out to say things they know are incorrect, but errors have a way ...