“There is something fascinating about science. One gets such wholesale returns of conjecture out of such a trifling investment of fact.”

Exactly the opposite is true. Science must invest vast bodies of fact before a theory becomes agreed upon by the scientific community.

I take it you're not a scientist, EGL.

The search for 'how things work' is indeed a fascinating journey -- whether we figure it out or not.

It was learned, not long ago, that fossils can form in just a few short years, when a fossilied foot was found in a modern leather boot. Other discoveries have also been made that refute old assumptions about the natural world. Scientists accumulate large bodies of truth, inflated with large portions of myth. And don't forget that coffee and wine are good for you, or bad for you, depending on which scientists you listen to.

I don't think Twain actually made such a remark.

The quote is not completely false, but modern Science does a better job of accumulating and validating facts than any other avocation in human history. Now, if he'd changed the subject to religion he'd have nailed it.

The reverse is also true of Science .. as from a wholesale trifle conjectures one gets solid facts - as well.