Nullius in verba: the motto of the Royal Society (opens in new tab)

Nullius in verba (“take nobody’s word for it”) is the motto of the Royal Society, and , is “an expression of the determination of Fellows to withstand the domination of authority and to verify all statements by an appeal to facts determined by experiment.” At first glance, this motto is wildly hypocritical: why then does the Royal Society promote meetings and lectures? Why does it publish journals? It’s true that back in its early days (the 17th century), one could do actual science at a meet...