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I don't know if it's ok to link to reddit from here, but here's a good explanation why Semmelweis ideas were not accepted from the beginning: https://www.reddit

I don't know if it's ok to link to reddit from here, but here's a good explanation why Semmelweis ideas were not accepted from the beginning: https://www.reddit.com/r/badhistory/comments/2bnsjx/ignaz_semmelweis_the_tesla_of_medicine/ https://www.reddit.com/r/badhistory/comments/2bnsjx/ignaz_se... tldr: it was a very radical idea and he was a difficult, unliked man. I read that as "kind of a jerk", but that's my interpretation. We might react the same way if the person you dislike for being a smartass comes with an idea that there are invisible tiny things killing people. I think there's a lesson here, it's not enough to be right. You need to sell your ideas well. Especially if you're selling to a group that already dislike you due to previous interactions.

carlmr 5y ago
>You need to sell your ideas well. Especially if you're selling to a group that already dislike you due to previous interactions. Alternatively, be nice to people, making it easier for them to like your ideas.
- I_complete_me 5y ago
  It seems logical to me that good ideas could be available to intolerable people.
- dsego 5y ago
  This is like the first few chapters of "How to Win Friends & Influence People". Mostly never criticize people, it just makes them want to save face.
  - carlmr 5y ago
    I think it says to criticize in private and laud in public. We are all emotional beings, so I think it's good advice.
    - dsego 5y ago
      Not just emotional. My biggest takeaway is that everyone wants to feel important, that they matter. And it's true whether you are a president or a petty criminal. It's a very strong emotion.
bjourne 5y ago
> tldr: it was a very radical idea and he was a difficult, unliked man. I read that as "kind of a jerk", but that's my interpretation. We might react the same way if the person you dislike for being a smartass comes with an idea that there are invisible tiny things killing people. Semmelweiss didn't know what it was that killed people. He had some results that suggested a correlation between hand washing and mothers surviving. But he couldn't explain what the mechanism was. It was quite easy for the scientific establishment to dismiss his results as a peculiarity of the ward he was working on.

carlmr 5y ago

>You need to sell your ideas well. Especially if you're selling to a group that already dislike you due to previous interactions. Alternatively, be nice to people, making it easier for them to like your ideas.

I_complete_me 5y ago
It seems logical to me that good ideas could be available to intolerable people.
dsego 5y ago
This is like the first few chapters of "How to Win Friends & Influence People". Mostly never criticize people, it just makes them want to save face.
- carlmr 5y ago
  I think it says to criticize in private and laud in public. We are all emotional beings, so I think it's good advice.
  - dsego 5y ago
    Not just emotional. My biggest takeaway is that everyone wants to feel important, that they matter. And it's true whether you are a president or a petty criminal. It's a very strong emotion.

bjourne 5y ago

> tldr: it was a very radical idea and he was a difficult, unliked man. I read that as "kind of a jerk", but that's my interpretation. We might react the same way if the person you dislike for being a smartass comes with an idea that there are invisible tiny things killing people. Semmelweiss didn't know what it was that killed people. He had some results that suggested a correlation between hand washing and mothers surviving. But he couldn't explain what the mechanism was. It was quite easy for the scientific establishment to dismiss his results as a peculiarity of the ward he was working on.