It is fascinating how many science grants we could save on if we just asked HN commenters to describe the world. To think that we might have reached such knowledge about human beings by just asking HN to tell us about the world.
Eat your heart out, Karl Popper. It appears that Keats wins the day.
You jest, but there’s some sobering truth to the reality that knowledge is not readily distributed amongst humanity.
Some here in the US were searching for organic solutions to eliminating plastic waste, but there was a whole demographic that said, “Well, duh” when it was discovered that a particular worm ate plastic. For them it was just a part of observational life.
Consulting people who are intuitively skilled in some area can often be a good way to get a head start on understanding a problem. Given the seeming universality of imitation in humans, the assumption of complete arbitrariness actually seems like the bolder claim.
The strange thing is that many of these people seem to be unable to make predictions a priori, choosing to use their knowledge only for confirmation. If only humanity could harness their intellect and knowledge for search rather than confirmation.
It would be great, but I guess many people who have a prodigious ability in some area may not appreciate the dead ends less fortunate people get stuck in. One could also point to innovators whose artistic or scientific insights go unrecognized early in their career or even during their lifetimes.
I came across some valuable advice in a book once, though sadly I forget the author ant title: be ahead of your time, but only by about 20 minutes or so.
It is fascinating how many science grants we could save on if we just asked HN commenters to describe the world. To think that we might have reached such knowledge about human beings by just asking HN to tell us about the world.
Eat your heart out, Karl Popper. It appears that Keats wins the day.