His mathematical and astronomical researches included mystical topics rejected by modern science. To Fu Ta-wei, a professor of history at National Tsing Hua University, "Shen Gua was not by any means a strict advocate of the scientific method.
然而在沈括的世界裡，他根本不知道什麼是迷信，什麼是科學，在他的天文、數學研究中就有科學界排斥的象數玄學，對於研究沈括多年的清華大學歷史研究所教授傅大為而言，「沈括絕對不是一個極端科學主義者。