Re: Ten Learning Principles - Worthwhile or Not?

[Jack Uretsky <jlu@HEP.ANL.GOV>]

Hi all-
        I don't understand Hugh's remark.  Demolishing a well-accepted
theory or belief can be worth a Nobel prize. Some examples: Lederman, et
al.'s demonstration of neutrino flavors, Michelson's demolition of "ether
drift", Lee and Yang for proposing the Wu experiment on parity
nonconservation.
        What is important is that the experiment showing "bad things"
can be reproduced.
        One counter-example is worth 1000 (before inflation) examples.
                                        Regards,
                                                Jack


On Thu, 31 Jan 2002, Hugh Haskell wrote:

> At 13:51 -0500 1/31/02, Ludwik Kowalski wrote:
>
> > The task of validation, especially before the theory
> > is used to justify big and costly projects, should not be assigned
> > to its proponents. It should be assigned to those who have
> > nothing to loose from finding bad things about the theory.
>
> And also nothing to gain.
>
> Hugh
> --
>
> Hugh Haskell
> <mailto://haskell@ncssm.edu>
> <mailto://hhaskell@mindspring.com>
>
> (919) 467-7610
>
> Let's face it. People use a Mac because they want to, Windows because they
> have to..
> ******************************************************

--
"But as much as I love and respect you, I will beat you and I will kill
you, because that is what I must do.  Tonight it is only you and me, fish.
It is your strength against my intelligence.  It is a veritable potpourri
of metaphor, every nuance of which is fraught with meaning."
                     Greg Nagan from "The Old Man and the Sea" in
                     <The 5-MINUTE ILIAD and Other Classics>