I Want to Demand This Freedom for Future Generations: [Richard] Feynman rounded out his first lecture by reminding students and faculty that "This freedom to doubt is an important matter in the sciences and, I believe, in other fields." Public policy is one of those fields. Feynman went on with words we would do well to keep in mind today:
"[The freedom to doubt] was born of struggle. It was a struggle to be permitted to doubt, to be unsure. And I do not want us to forget the importance of the struggle and, by default, to let the thing fall away. I feel a responsibility as a scientist who knows the great value of a satisfactory philosophy of ignorance, and the progress made possible by such a philosophy, progress which is the fruit of freedom of thought. I feel a responsibility to proclaim the value of this freedom and to teach that doubt is not to be feared, but that it is to be welcomed as the possibility of a new potential for human beings. If you know that you are not sure, you have a chance to improve the situation. I wan to demand this freedom for future generations."
