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> I've actually never heard someone make an informed analysis about a topic, and then spend their breath deriding people with different views. Newton / Leibniz
by knewter 4y ago
> I've actually never heard someone make an informed analysis about a topic, and then spend their breath deriding people with different views.
Newton / Leibniz would like a word
- maxbond 4y agoFair enough, that is indeed a counterexample. I'd suggest that as a general rule it's still the case, but that part of my comment was probably better left unsaid anyhow.
- knewter 4y agoMaybe we should have more Newtons and Leibnizes, rather than fewer.
- maxbond 4y agoIn what sense? We can always use more brilliant mathematicians and scientists, but I'd imagine if they put their energy into understanding their different perspectives and exploring calculus and notation together, they could have achieved even more.
- knewter 4y agoyou might imagine it, but it's a bit ridiculous to suggest that you can just pick a different branch from a choose your own adventure book that you think sounds rosier. People are people. The decisions those people made throughout their lives, that led to the behaviour that we might lament, are also the decisions that led to their world-changing discoveries. Rivalry has value.
- maxbond 4y agoIt's a bit out of turn to call what I'm saying ridiculous and imply that I'm employing some kind of fairytale reasoning and not offer any evidence other than your own opinion. You're free to disagree but your opening is writing checks that the body of your argument is not able to cash here. I don't see how a "rivalry" that destroyed Libniz' career was useful; the discoveries you're celebrating had already been made. Rivalry may have value, though in my mind it remains to be seen, but backstabbing certainly doesn't.