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I always feel sorry for Botzman: Encountering fierce resistance from the scientific community for his statistical theory (bedrock now but very revolutionary at

by Jun8 16y ago

I always feel sorry for Botzman: Encountering fierce resistance from the scientific community for his statistical theory (bedrock now but very revolutionary at that time), he committed suicide. So much for the high school history of science, where better theories immediately replace inadequate ones. Even Einstein didn't get his Nobel for his Special Theory.

kiba 16y ago
Some science are in the state of decay, some science progress in little steps, and some science must be revolutionized before moving on. The state of human knowledge is not that it always improve over time, but regress, advance, and forget as time passes. Based on technological progress and sophistication of our society, I think it is safe to say that science mostly advance, rather than regress in systematic knowledge.
zbyszek 16y ago
But he did get one for his equally novel explanation of the photoelectric effect, so I wouldn't feel too sorry for him. Nobel prizes tend not to be given for theoretical work until there is a good deal of supporting experimental evidence. This takes time, and that's why better theories do not usually replace their predecessors immediately.