The Ten Commandments of Science

It's often been claimed that scientists are more likely to be atheists than any other profession.  (Read the evidence for this claim here!)
I'm not here to agree or disagree, nor am I here to support or not support this idea. However, it has been suggested, since scientists don't have religion quite as often as many other people, that they lack an understanding of many ideas like the 10 commandments (a judeo-christian set of rules supposedly put down by God and taught by Moses to his followers).  It turns out that I AGREE!  And that's why I've put together the following new, science oriented ten commandments, for those who are more earthly focused, and less spiritually driven. Without further fanfare I present:

 The Ten Commandments of Science

1) Thou shalt put no other beliefs before what can be tested by experimentation.

This is probably pretty simple for most scientists. Basically, don't put your own personal beliefs ahead of what's testable and repeatable.  If you don't have evidence for it and you can't support your theory empirically, then you shouldn't follow that theory.  If someone makes a claim, you need to see how it's been studied, or researched. As I mentioned in my long older series, "5 Reasons it Sucks to be a Scientist", it's hard to trust data you yourself didn't see collected or analyzed.  Remember, part of being a scientist is being evidence driven. That's why you should always seek out evidence! A good scientist follows the evidence, not their biased beliefs.

2) Thou shalt not assume

Science is built on the idea that for anything to be considered fact, it must be based on sound principles that we understand and can repeatedly replicate.  Never make an assumption as a scientist unless you have a good explanation that supports your assumption. That's why every paper written in Nature or Science (well known science journals) spends the first half of the article outlining every detail of background information that you need to assume to reach the same conclusions the researchers have.  In science, assumptions are bad, and more importantly, dangerous.  A scientist should be thorough and detailed before even STARTING to ask a question, and a good scientist never assumes.

3) Thou shalt not call evidence 'proof'

How many times does a scientist get asked if they can PROVE their research is real?  How often does a media giant call a specialized scientist onto the airwaves just to ask him, "What did you prove?"
This is foolish because most smart scientists would have to answer, "Nothing!"  Science gives evidence, and science supports ideas and theories.  A scientific law is a set of theories that has sufficient support to be nearly proven, but in truth science has to admit that even the things it considers facts are often not true facts...they're just the best approximation we can make. Science doesn't deal in absolutes (we leave that to the Sith), it deals in evidence.  Never claim to have 'proof'. All you really have is evidence to support one possible theory.

4) Remember to keep the mind fresh with diverse studies and rest

I'm  not just saying this to keep up the symmetry between the original 10 commandments on the scientist's ten commandments:  I'm serious in saying that every scientist needs to know when to stop chasing their tail.  Sometimes, when you take a break, the answer comes to you.  Remember the famous story of the phrase 'Eureka'? Archimedes, the famous ancient scientist and inventor, was stepping into a bath and saw water rise, and suddenly had an understanding about displacement that allowed him to accurately measure the volume contained within complex shapes. Or the story of Newton and the apple? Science requires the mind to be in ideal shape, which is impossible if you don't take care of your brain, and keep your mind in good shape. Those stories are about scientists who made major discoveries not by spending all day working, but by taking a break, and studying more than one tiny aspect of a field. A good scientist understands this, and knows that sometimes the key to science is to let it ruminate and study many other sciences, instead of forcing new ideas in one small discipline.

5) Respect the science of the past, even as you pass it by

Science is a cumulative study.  No modern discovery happens without ages and ages of work having been done on every piece of the modern theory.  That's why it's important that every scientist remember to read up and understand the basics and basis of modern scientific beliefs.  If you understand how the basic laws have been discovered or clarified within science, perhaps a better understanding of more complex laws can be put in place.It's been said that a scientist is a man reaching the sky while standing on the shoulders of giants.  That's true: Everything we learn today would be impossible without the giant scientific minds of the past, and no theory can be complete without always looking at the original works, and accounting for what is already known, before discussing what COULD be known. All modern scientists are only as good as the science that came before them. A good scientist understands the basics, and where they came from, before moving on to new theories, so make sure you know your basics!

6) Thou shalt not falsify data

Science asks for the truth, not the coolest or most trendy theory. Recently a small group of climate scientists falsified data as well as reported only parts of  their data.  We've all read about this from time to time, and it's an ideal way to make this commandment's point clear: Once SOME science cannot be trusted, ALL science gets doubted.  It's better to publish absolute failures and weak data than to make anything up.  Science, as I've said above, requires strong and accurate foundations, and if you lie, everything that comes after that is suddenly a lie, and void.  The science of climate change took an enormous blow when a small number of folks lied.  Suddenly, all the REAL research, the TRUE data, and the OVERWHELMING EVIDENCE that man is impacting climate over time became something to doubt.  When a scientist lies, they're not just making their own data worthless, but they're tearing down the idea that science is about truth.  A good scientist will NEVER falsify their data, even if that means they fail to produce useable results.

7) Thou shalt cite evidence

Making claims in a scientific paper requires citations.  That's why research papers get so long, and complicated!  A scientist should have that in mind even in daily discussion, or when writing on facebook, or social media.  Every time that you make a claim, unless you know where you got your information, you're taking a big risk.  A good scientist always cites their sources, and can then show their evidence to back up the subsequent claims. Never take something for granted; cite your sources and find supporting evidence every time you make a claim.  It'll help you a great deal in the long run.

8) Thou shalt not plagiarize

Perhaps more important than having evidence is having ACCURATE evidence. Stealing someone else's research, misquoting it, or using it incorrectly is one of the biggest no-no's in all of science.  Obviously, when you're using citations to make your point it's important that you use the right citations.  Further, using someone's information without citations prevents anyone from checking your background information, or even being able to really buy into your story.  A real scientist will NEVER allow themselves to plagiarize, whether it's by citing incorrectly, or not citing someone else at all. That's stealing or lying, and I'm relatively certain even the original ten commandments had something to say about that.

9) Thou shalt not refute a claim without just cause

Theories don't always agree.  In biology, for example, research sometimes disagrees with other research: That doesn't necessarily make one paper wrong and one right. Oftentimes a single published result comes out and upsets everyone because it somehow refutes all known facts or theories...but the new hip theory almost never holds up to intense scrutiny or multiple examinations.  Fox News recently got noticed for posting the claim that global warming had been shown to be 'over', somehow.  That's because they saw one tiny piece of one tiny paper, and decided that any evidence against the prevailing theory was the same as PROOF that the existing theory is wrong.  That's like seeing a plane in the sky and debunking gravity!  But just because you don't understand how a new point of view works with the old doesn't make the old theory suddenly untrue. Remember:  Science is about evidence.  Until you've got enough evidence to make a complete case, perhaps it's not the right time to go to the jury looking for a new verdict.

10) Thou shalt not keep data hidden, or restrict its use

Most modern science is paid for by the governments of the world, especially when you mean 'science' to include more than just 'health and wellness' related science.  Sure, companies might be altering medicine, but governments are altering the rest of the scientific world.  Withholding data, or refusing to publish your data, is basically stealing that knowledge from the rest of the world.  If a scientist makes a discovery, his 'clients' might be...well...the whole country.  Scientists owe their 'clients' their results, even if those results aren't positive!  A good scientist publishes their research even if it's not earth shattering.  Publishing is not just to have another publication to add to a new C.V. but because science belongs, in some sense or another, to everyone.  Science is the pursuit of knowledge, and knowledge that is hidden is eventually lost.  A good scientist knows this, and shares their knowledge with the world...even when what their science finds isn't pleasant. After all, it's better to KNOW about a problem, like climate change, than not know and thus not act to fix it. Science is not a solitary endeavor, and a scientist's data may belong to an individual, but it also belongs to everyone whose taxes or funding paid for its collection.


I'm not going to say that the original 10 commandments is dumb or bad.  I think most of it makes a lot of sense.  "Don't kill" doesn't seem like a particularly controversial viewpoint, after all.  However, if you think that 'Citing your Sources' is more important than 'not saying God's vainly' then perhaps this is the list of commandments for you.  And hey, who's to say they can't both work together? 
In any case, I hope you've enjoyed, and thanks for reading.  If you do enjoy the posts from BB+B on science, check out "5 Reasons it Sucks to be a Scientist: Part 1" and the subsequent installments.

Thanks for reading,
Brian, the Author Guy