Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
raised. Their philosophy may prevent them from taking even the
first small step on the journey to a paradigm shift. But newcomers—
either young in age or new to the field—are unburdened by the
weight of the prevailing paradigm. Indeed, the outsider often does
not know enough to work within the paradigm even if he or she
wanted to. Typically the outsider has neither the background nor the
interest required to learn a new field from scratch. Why climb the
mountain in one field, as Luis did, only to descend so that you can
laboriously pack the gear of climbers who are scaling a new moun-
tain? Better to leap from peak to peak.
Much of the interesting work in science, as the Alvarez theory
shows so well, is done at the interface between disciplines. Progress is
made when the techniques of one discipline are applied for the first
time, or in novel ways, to the problems of another discipline, some-
thing that outsiders are in a good position to do. Nobelist Harold
Urey brought his expertise as a chemist to bear on problems of the
earth sciences and made many outstanding contributions. Outsiders
are like bees carrying vital scientific pollen from one disciplinary
flower to another.
Another facet of the case for the outsider is that the young are
apt to be overly influenced by the stifling presence of the magister.
Following the lead of their elders and their own self-interest, young
scientists naturally pursue what they see as possible, which by defin-
ition usually lies within the current paradigm. But outsiders, particu-
larly Nobelists such as Urey and Alvarez, whose respectability is not
in question and who owe allegiance neither to the magisters of the
field nor to the ruling paradigm, can step in with impunity. Indeed, it
seems likely that nothing would have made Luis Alvarez happier
than to break rank with Lyell and Hutton; had he been a 30-year-old
geologist in his first position, however, it might have been different.
Seldom does a magister launch a paradigm shift within the field
in which his or her eminence was achieved. To do so would mean
casting off previous work and conclusions—tantamount to admit-
ting error or poor judgment. But a magister who turns out to have
been wrong may no longer deserve the title. Few have been able to
walk the tightrope of maintaining eminence while correcting past
errors of judgment.
T
HE
P
OWER
OF
D
ISSENT
Francis Bacon captured a key aspect of science when he said that
"Truth emerges more readily from error than from confusion."
