From: Marian Iskandar (a1c1d14@msn.com)
Date: Sun May 30 2004 - 04:19:02 MDT
On Sat, 29 May 2004 19:47:46 , "Paul Hughes" <psiphius@yahoo.com> said:
>I would also like to point out that Calculus, either
>Newtown or Leibniz, as well as the Special and General
>theories of Relativity by Einstein were all developed
>in isolation.
I would say isolation in the loosest sense of the word; If we're talking about the term in the strictest sense, we would mean no interaction with other people, no conversations or exchange of ideas, nothing. In the case of formulating ideas, and creating whole systems, that is absolutely ludicrous, not to mention nearly impossible. With regards to the development of SR and GR with Einstein, what many people don't seem to acknowledge is the fact that Einstein had many correspondents. His ideas and theories were not formulated in total isolation, as one would think, but rather it was discussed, argued, refuted...a constant process of revision, up until the point of its full and accurate formulation. Sure, there were times when Einstein would sit in his study by himself (well, im sure all the moments he wasn't around anyone), and mull over the his ideas, so to speak. But he didn't keep those thoughts to himself, he shared them with others, and those others in return replied with their own expert opinions. Its kind of like a chiseling process, only it wasn't a solitary effort, at least not *entirely*, more like a group effort; bouncing ideas back and forth.
It's amazing the rippling effect daily occurrences have on us. One conversation, whether profound or not, can result in a chain reaction, affecting how we perceive things from then on. Butterfly effect anyone?
As for Newton and Leibniz, in all honesty, no one really knows. How long has it been since those two created calculus? what, 400 years now? 500 even? (I don't feel like googling it) Studying history always reminds me of the game telephone. Who knows where and when the truth was misconstrued.
John K Clark writes:
>nevertheless working in
>isolation is usually not a good thing.
I agree.
Marian
----- Original Message -----
From: fudley
To: SL4
Sent: Saturday, May 29, 2004 11:28 PM
Subject: Re: The Seven Warning Signs of Bogus Science
On Sat, 29 May 2004 19:47:46 , "Paul Hughes" <psiphius@yahoo.com> said:
>I would also like to point out that Calculus, either
>Newtown or Leibniz, as well as the Special and General
>theories of Relativity by Einstien were all developed
>in isolation.
So was Andrew Wiles recent proof of Fermat's Last Theorem, and to a
certain degree Darwin's theory of Evolution; nevertheless working in
isolation is usually not a good thing.
John K Clark
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