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To: Crispy
Many great scientist were first shunned by their peers. The scientific community is very close minded.

This is kind of a gross mischaracterization. It isn't that scientists have closed minds but that there is a certain amount of inertia around substantive ideas. You have to understand that there are thousands of cranks out there claiming to have discovered something remarkable for every guy who genuinely has a brilliant insight. I work in a particularly theoretical area, and ALL of the folks I normally interact with in my field of endeavour will admit to having more than one misguided theoretical notion in their lives. Some concepts are seductively simple or superficially obvious that require very careful study to prove otherwise.

In the end, really solid theorists win given enough time. I once proposed a very controversial theory in my field (now considered important and correct) that received quite a bit of dismissal and scorn from the "elite" of the field when I first publicly promoted it. But I was persistent and I had a very strong ally on my side: I had a strong enough mathematical basis for my assertion that I could force anyone who was reasonable to eventually admit that my theoretical model was mathematically very solid looking and elegant. I only had to argue one or two standard bearers into a corner so that they would grudgingly admit I might be correct before everyone else fell into line.

There is a problem that a lot of people are correct by accident i.e. they mistakenly come to the right conclusions from flawed premises and theory. One of the things that makes a crank a "crank" is that their theory crumbles under whithering scrutiny. Even if that the general concept proves correct eventually, it does not mean that the person proposing some variation on that concept actually had a reasonable basis on which to believe it or that they understood it.

If you can rigorously prove a theoretical model and its superiority under brutal review, the scientific community can be persuaded. The problem is that most people have half-assed theories and so there is no reason for anyone to listen to people without track records. To a certain extent I am an outlier; I earned my credentials by taking on the establishment and winning in a contest of pure theoretical prowess, a risky move but a fast track up the reputation ladder. Any scientist can go against the establishment, but you better be razor sharp and have an extremely solid grasp of your contrarian theory. It is worth noting that with credentials comes the obligation to shred inferior or poorly thought out theories. It is a form of housecleaning.

15 posted on 08/02/2004 11:05:40 PM PDT by tortoise (All these moments lost in time, like tears in the rain.)
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To: tortoise

"There is a problem that a lot of people are correct by accident i.e. they mistakenly come to the right conclusions from flawed premises and theory. One of the things that makes a crank a "crank" is that their theory crumbles under whithering scrutiny. Even if that the general concept proves correct eventually, it does not mean that the person proposing some variation on that concept actually had a reasonable basis on which to believe it or that they understood it."

Point taken.

I am curious what your field of study is? I am not a scientist myself but I am very interested in most sciences.


20 posted on 08/02/2004 11:33:06 PM PDT by Crispy
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To: tortoise
It is worth noting that with credentials comes the obligation to shred inferior or poorly thought out theories. It is a form of housecleaning.

Now that sounds like fun!

49 posted on 08/03/2004 9:29:50 AM PDT by zeugma (The Great Experiment is over and the Constitution is dead.)
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