> Mike Scoles wrote (regarding Kamin):
>
> >I have wondered how a
> >rat-runner interested in basic conditioning phenomena can pass
> >himself off as an expert in these other areas!
>
And Jim Dougan concurred:
> Likewise, I have always wondered how a pigeon runner like Richard
> Herrnstein could pass himself as an expert in the same field of
> discourse - though obviously at the extreme opposite end of the
> spectrum from Kamin.
>
Both comments carry the implication that only those with formal
credentials in a particular field are entitled to contribute to it. I
have to disagree. An important aspect of how science operates is that
it isn't who you are that counts; it's what you have to say. And this
leads to an interesting game, if anyone cares to play it. Can you
name individuals who are noted for their contributions in fields
other than the one in which they have formal qualifications?
Off the top of my head, I can think of three:
1. A chemical engineer and fire prevention official with the Hartford
Insurance Company
-Benjamin Whorf, brilliant and creative linguist and the originator
of what came to be known as the famous "Whorfian hypothesis"
2. A clerk in the patent office in Bern, Switzerland, who had failed
the entrance examination to a technical university.
Albert Einstein. Need I say more?
3. A lecturer in physics at Southwark College, England
-Allen Esterson, scholar and scourge of all things Freudian.
And for Mike Scoles, a further note on Kamin. The lab where I ran
Kamin's rats was not the modern well-equipped lab occupied by Siegel
in the Psychology Building. It was a set of ramshackle
interconnected temporary buildings (shacks, really) which were used
for animal research before the new building was erected. I'm pretty
sure that Kamin had left before the move into the new building,
although he may have been allotted space in it which he never
occupied.
Stephen
___________________________________________________
Stephen L. Black, Ph.D. tel: (819) 822-9600 ext 2470
Department of Psychology fax: (819) 822-9661
Bishop's University e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Lennoxville, QC J1M 1Z7
Canada
Dept web page at http://www.ubishops.ca/ccc/div/soc/psy
TIPS discussion list for psychology teachers at
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