Yesterday, 08:28 PM
The whole process reminds me of a story from a book about inventors, discoverers and so on that I got for my birthday when I was 14/15. The following facts:
Around 1450 AD, the scholars of the time in Europe asked the question of what would happen if you dropped a stone from the top of the mast of a moving ship. Would the stone fall right next to the mast, or further back, because the ship was still moving while the stone fell? The scholars of the time discussed and discussed this question in their circles, without reaching a conclusion.
It was not until around 1850 that someone did the obvious thing: he asked a sailor to drop a stone from the top of the mast of his moving ship. The stone fell right next to the mast, of course. That settled the question.
It's no joke, it actually took 400 years for someone to come up with this idea; there is no record of any of the scholars having tried it before.
I always have to think of history, like the problem with the unpacking TamTam. I also have to think of it when I read of a problem or hear where is it unclear about what happens when one do this or that. Often the answer is that there is no really a problem, otherwise someone would have tried it long ago or announced a solution; and so on.
In such cases, always one should think of the 400 years of academic discussion about the falling stone.
Conclusion (basically): If you want something done really well, do it yourself! (If at all possible.)
Happy Christmas!
Around 1450 AD, the scholars of the time in Europe asked the question of what would happen if you dropped a stone from the top of the mast of a moving ship. Would the stone fall right next to the mast, or further back, because the ship was still moving while the stone fell? The scholars of the time discussed and discussed this question in their circles, without reaching a conclusion.
It was not until around 1850 that someone did the obvious thing: he asked a sailor to drop a stone from the top of the mast of his moving ship. The stone fell right next to the mast, of course. That settled the question.
It's no joke, it actually took 400 years for someone to come up with this idea; there is no record of any of the scholars having tried it before.
I always have to think of history, like the problem with the unpacking TamTam. I also have to think of it when I read of a problem or hear where is it unclear about what happens when one do this or that. Often the answer is that there is no really a problem, otherwise someone would have tried it long ago or announced a solution; and so on.
In such cases, always one should think of the 400 years of academic discussion about the falling stone.
Conclusion (basically): If you want something done really well, do it yourself! (If at all possible.)
Happy Christmas!