science-as-a-jigsaw puzzle

Categories: Comparisons

Prof. Ruth Morgan (Professor of Crime and Forensic Sciences, UCL) describes the processes of science as analgous to undertaking a jigsaw puzzle

"That's the story of science, isn't it.
And I guess it is a bit like having a jigsaw puzzle. And you're working on that jigsaw puzzle. And then you start realising that actually there are an awful lot of pieces in front of you that actually aren't part of your puzzle, they are parts of different puzzles and you don't actually have all the pieces of the puzzle you are trying to make, so at the very best you are going to build a picture that's got quite a few different holes in it. And it's the art of bringing all these different insights together so that you are able to make inferences about what's going on even though you don't have the complete picture."

Prof. Ruth Morgan speaking on an episode of BBC Inside Science
Synonyms:
science…is a bit like having a jigsaw puzzle,

Author: Keith

Former school and college science teacher, teacher educator, research supervisor, and research methods lecturer. Emeritus Professor of Science Education at the University of Cambridge.