Ignorance, failure, and doubt would not seem at first to be good companions for science. But think of how each of them sparks the process of scientific inquiry.
Our desire to dispel ignorance is what leads us to doubt the orthodoxy, and try and fail to prove our hypotheses. Stuart Firestein, who teaches neuroscience and runs a lab at Columbia University, speaks on this very subject this evening (May 15th) at Southern Oregon University.
His appearance is part of SOU's campus theme for the academic year, "From Ignorance to Wisdom." Dr. Firestein pays us a visit before his talk.