Re: MOST IMPORTANT FOSSIL (A human skull as old as coal!)
Frank Manning (frank@bigdog.engr.arizona.edu)
8 Nov 1996 02:33:00 GMT
In article <E0IyxI.6yG@midway.uchicago.edu> meron@cars3.uchicago.edu
writes:
> [...]
> Anybody who has been actively involved in research knows well that for
> any good idea there are dozens of faulty ideas, thus a strick weeding
> process is needed.
True, the number of bad ideas greatly outweighs the good ones, but
there's a difference between strict and unreasonable with regards to
the weeding process.
> It may hurt the egos of some people but the
> purpose of science is to generate knowledge, not massage the egos of
> its practitioners. It may sometimes slightly delay the acceptance of
> a good idea but said delay is negligible when compared to waste of
> time and effort which may be caused by the uncritical acceptance of
> bad ideas.
For a somewhat different perspective, see _The Art of Scientific
Investigation_, by W.I.B. Beveridge.
-- Frank Manning
-- Chair, AIAA-Tucson Section
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