On Sat, 25 Jan 2003 23:50:56 -0700, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
> Does the word "prevailing" mean that different scientists can reach > different conclusions based on identical scientific calculations? Calculations are calculations. And should be repeatable and reproducible. But in many areas of science "the facts" are in dispute and the understanding of even accepted facts can be con- troversial. The history of science is the history of new understandings replacing old views. There is a consensus of prevailing opinion in many fields challenged by outsiders with minority views. Most minority views turn out to be dead wrong, but some turn out to be correct and are later accepted as being correct by the recognized experts in a particular field. Breakthrough discoveries are often made by younger people who don't have their egos and careers invested in old ways of thinking and understanding and are able to see new patterns and relationships from odd and "out of the mainstream" points of view. A standard work describing this process is "The Structure of Scientific Revolutions" by Thomas Kuhn. Sam Ewalt Croswell, Michigan, USA -- Arachne V1.70;rev.3, NON-COMMERCIAL copy, http://arachne.cz/
