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A debate about the possible role of history in Physics teaching



I recall hearing about a "debate" on the treatment of history in physics
texts. The way I heard it Stephen Brush from the U of Md was invoved. One
side was suggesting in effect that maybe it is okay to distort the history
for the purpose of properly "training" future professional physicists as I
remember hearing it. I'm looking for some evidence of such a debate in
print. I thought maybe it was in AJP but the on-line indexing does not
seem to go earlier than 1970 or so and I believe this debate went on before
that. At any rate I have searched the on-line index and have been
unsuccessful.

Does anybody remember such a debate/discussion? If so, can you point me to
some evidence of it published in the literature? Thanks.

Please reply off-line.

Dewey


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Dewey I. Dykstra, Jr. Phone: (208)426-3105
Professor of Physics Dept: (208)426-3775
Department of Physics/MCF421/418 Fax: (208)426-4330
Boise State University dykstrad@email.boisestate.edu
1910 University Drive Boise Highlanders
Boise, ID 83725-1570 novice piper: GHB, Uilleann

"As a result of modern research in physics, the ambition and hope,
still cherished by most authorities of the last century, that physical
science could offer a photographic picture and true image of reality
had to be abandoned." --M. Jammer in Concepts of Force, 1957.

"If what we regard as real depends on our theory, how can we make
reality the basis of our philosophy? ...But we cannot distinguish
what is real about the universe without a theory...it makes no sense
to ask if it corresponds to reality, because we do not know what
reality is independent of a theory."--S. Hawking in Black Holes
and Baby Universes, 1993.
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