Hypotheses are scaffoldings erected in front of a building and then dismantled when the building is finished. They are indispensable for the workman; but you mustn't mistake the scaffolding for the building.

— Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Maxims and Reflections (1833)

Source: https://archive.org/details/maximsreflection00goet/page/152/mode/2up

Topics: science