[Phys-L] How Ignorance Drives Science #2

[Richard Hake <rrhake@earthlink.net>]

Some subscribers to Phys-L might be interested in a recent post "How 
Ignorance Drives Science #2" [Hake (2013)].  The abstract reads:

ABSTRACT:  I recently became aware of Stuart Firestein's (2012) 
"Ignorance: How It Drives Science" at <http://bit.ly/15NqzM1>, 
excerpted at <http://bit.ly/13wLAFE>.

My own 3 decades worth of experience as a solid-state physicist is 
consistent with Firestein's thesis that *ignorance drives science* - 
see e.g., "Early History of High Field Superconductivity: 1930-1967 - 
A Tragicomedy in Twelve Acts" [Hake (2011)] at <http://bit.ly/ojnMqo> 
(8.8 MB), especially the Epilogue on page 28, wherein I give quotes 
supporting Firestein's thesis by scientists Berlincourt, Brush, 
Dyson, and Pippard.

In this post I also give links to further evidence in support of 
Firestein's thesis:

A. Three abstracts of discussion-list posts:
      a. "Re: Should the History of Science Be Rated X?" [Hake (2012a)] at
             <http://bit.ly/NclPUR>;
      b. "Should the History of Science Be Rated X? ADDENDA" [Hake (2012b)] at
             <http://bit.ly/NUe6LC>; and
      c. "Can Education Research Be 'Scientific'? What's 
'Scientific'?" [Hake (2012c)
             at <http://bit.ly/YrZJUS>.

B. Two books:
      a. "Real Science: What it is, and what it means" [Ziman (2000)] 
at <http://bit.ly/c8N2U1>;
      b. "Out of the Crystal Maze: Chapters from The History of Solid 
State Physics"
             [Hoddeson et al. (1992)] at <http://bit.ly/195zbRk>.
 *******************************************

To access the complete 12 kB post please click on <http://yhoo.it/13RvMod> .

Richard Hake, Emeritus Professor of Physics, Indiana University
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"If we wish to boast of our achievements, let us not point to the 
unerring pursuit of truth by a logically faultless thinking machine, 
but to the astonishing way in which truth can be caused to emerge 
from the toils of error and stupidity."
       - A.B. Pippard (1977)

REFERENCES [URL shortened by <http://bit.ly/> and accessed on 18 July 2013.]
Hake, R.R. 2013. "How Ignorance Drives Science #2" online on the 
OPEN! Net-Gold archives at <http://yhoo.it/13RvMod>.  Post of 18 Jul 
2013 15:52:58-0700 to AERA-L and Net-Gold. The abstract and link to 
the complete post are being distributed to various discussion lists 
and are also on my blog "Hake'sEdStuff" at <http://bit.ly/13PLYX5> 
with a provision for comments.