3 ms·
I don't think that there are fewer gifted/hard working people today than there were 80 years ago. It is simply that the problems that science deals with today a
by abdullahkhalids 7y ago
I don't think that there are fewer gifted/hard working people today than there were 80 years ago. It is simply that the problems that science deals with today are much more complex, because the low hanging fruits were all picked by the Einsteins.
- mellosouls 7y agoPeople pre Einstein's time probably said that about the Newtons. Has there ever been any lower hanging fruit than the fact 95% of our universe is unexplained, and the tiny bit that is is described by two mutually incompatible theories?
- abdullahkhalids 7y agoLow hanging fruit can be fairly precisely defined. Human brains have finite memory and finite processing power. Relative to that, every year, a new scientist has to learn more about what others have done before him, before he can create something new. So, it becomes harder and harder every year to make a super contribution. What Einstein had to study before superseding Newton could probably be put into a 10-20K page book. What a scientist has to study before superseding quantum is probably closer to a 50-100K page book.
- mellosouls 7y agoYes, I understand the argument - but it doesn't alter the fact that those excuses can always be used, and probably always have been. Quantum mechanics was more revolutionary than general relativity, but came almost immediately after and was simpler (after the conceptual leap) to study, which rather undermines the low-hanging fruit excuse.