Julia Thompson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote
And sometimes there is just no way a mind will be changed on a
particular subject if you keep arguing with that person; when that
happens, the best thing to do is move on and try not to discuss
that subject. ....
Interestingly, the mainstream sense of how science works (when there
is a big change) is;
You will not persuade your enemy that you are right.
You may persuade his students.
Put another way: give up on that person. This only succeeds when
changes are slow enough that you can live another day.
(In its fundamentals, science is a form of transcultural communication
in which you use forms of argument that cannot be denied by the
students of someone who opposes you. You use reasoning that all
accept, as among mathematicians, observations, as among astronomers,
or experiments, as among everyone who is able. Your enemy's students
think though the same problems as you, or make similar observations,
or, most effectively for your attempt at changing minds, conduct
experiments that confirm your results. Your enemy simply ignores you,
if you are lucky, which enables him to change his mind later, or says
you are a fraud. That is why `paradigm shifting' ideas consume at
least a generation.)
--
Robert J. Chassell Rattlesnake Enterprises
http://www.rattlesnake.com GnuPG Key ID: 004B4AC8
http://www.teak.cc [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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