Bernd Heinrich A Year in the Maine Woods (1995) : Wondering how golden-crowned kinglets, which eat insects from open branches, survive the Maine winters, in "December 11 : Wind", p. 150.
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I do not yet want to form a hypothesis to test, because as soon as you make a hypothesis, you become prejudiced. Your mind slides into a groove, and once it is in that groove, has difficulty noticing anything outside of it. During this time, my sense must be sharp; that is the main thing — to be sharp, yet open.

— Bernd Heinrich on Hypothesis

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "I do not yet want to form a hypothesis to test, because as soon as you make a hypothesis, you become prejudiced. Your mind slides into a groove, and once it is in that groove, has difficulty noticing anything outside of it. During this time, my sense must be sharp; that is the main thing — to be sharp, yet open." in the context of "Bernd Heinrich A Year in the Maine Woods (1995) : Wondering how golden-crowned kinglets, which eat insects from open branches, survive the Maine winters, in "December 11 : Wind", p. 150." to mean that wisdom is timeless.

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Source: Wikiquote: "Hypothesis" (Quotes) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
Bernd Heinrich

About Bernd Heinrich

Bernd Heinrich, Ph.D (born 19 April 1940) is a professor in the zoology department at the University of Vermont. He has authored books about nature writing, zoology, ecology, and evolution. His father was the ichneumon expert Gerd Heinrich (1896–1984).