3 ms·

You say that, but witness Roger Penrose and James Watson speaking and writing outside of their areas of specialty. I think it's completely reasonable to ask for

You say that, but witness Roger Penrose and James Watson speaking and writing outside of their areas of specialty. I think it's completely reasonable to ask for primary sources in any informed discussion, regardless of forum. It's just as easy as citing the secondary source in any book worth citing. I think your concerns over my rhetoric have some merit, but ultimate editing my comments at this point would just create confusion.

beat 8y ago
I think looking for primary sources is only necessary at this level when there is good reason to question the credibility of the secondary source. "Not their specific field of expertise" isn't sufficient, especially when they're just citing facts and not interpreting them. I think there's a substantial difference in value between citing primary sources to refute a secondary source, versus dismissing a secondary source out of hand because it's not a primary source. (This is actually familiar ground to me; my spouse has been teaching popularized dance history lately, and I've been encouraging her to write a book on the subject, because her interpretation challenges some conventional wisdom. She doesn't want to write a book because she's too reliant on secondary sources and too lazy to go read through more of the primary source material.)
- throwaway5752 8y ago
  I hope she writes the book. It doesn't have to be scholarly, it can just scratch an itch - but I am sure it will be a great contribution to the body of knowledge in that area. Createspace, Lulu, Gumroad are all pretty good resources for taking a single piece from a single print of "vanity" project to something with an isbn and distribution channels, possibly over multiple editions. Some have editing, cover design, and "typesetting" services available for reasonable prices. I hope nothing I've said would give the impression that I would hold this in anything but the highest regard. Best of luck to her.

beat 8y ago

I think looking for primary sources is only necessary at this level when there is good reason to question the credibility of the secondary source. "Not their specific field of expertise" isn't sufficient, especially when they're just citing facts and not interpreting them. I think there's a substantial difference in value between citing primary sources to refute a secondary source, versus dismissing a secondary source out of hand because it's not a primary source. (This is actually familiar ground to me; my spouse has been teaching popularized dance history lately, and I've been encouraging her to write a book on the subject, because her interpretation challenges some conventional wisdom. She doesn't want to write a book because she's too reliant on secondary sources and too lazy to go read through more of the primary source material.)

throwaway5752 8y ago
I hope she writes the book. It doesn't have to be scholarly, it can just scratch an itch - but I am sure it will be a great contribution to the body of knowledge in that area. Createspace, Lulu, Gumroad are all pretty good resources for taking a single piece from a single print of "vanity" project to something with an isbn and distribution channels, possibly over multiple editions. Some have editing, cover design, and "typesetting" services available for reasonable prices. I hope nothing I've said would give the impression that I would hold this in anything but the highest regard. Best of luck to her.