Re: [xml-dev] XML-DEV list - prior art

[Melvin Chin <mc@SoftOffice.Net>]

At 12:49 PM 2006-09-30 -0600, Jon Noring wrote:
>For a profession that adheres to the principles of science, scientists
>rarely practice what they preach -- to treat everything as a theory,
>and to be willing to change their theories as new evidence comes in.

I doubt this over-generalization is itself scientifically based, as it is 
not readily
verifiable just looking through scientific history.  Examples galore.  Flat 
world
to round world (about Earth), gravity as a separate force to gravity being 
part of
a unified theory of forces, atoms being smallest to quarks being more 
fundamental,
existence of anti-particles,  and so on.  More recently, Stephen Hawkings
publicly admitted his initial ideas on string theory was incorrect when he
found convincing evidence proving otherwise.


>  A corollary of this is that all ideas are to be treated as equal when
>tendered. The reality is that science is a dog-eat-dog world where
>egos and emotions rule, not science.

You're describing the human aspects (the "HR Department" of Science
Institute if you may), not about Science itself.


>And having worked for 15 years in
>three DOE National Laboratories as a staff scientist (including LBL
>and LLNL), and had regular lunches with many of the Ph.D physicists
>and chemists there, I know what I speak of. In private, 95% of the
>conversation dealt with the human issues of ego clashes, personality,
>censorship of ideas, etc., and not with discussion of science following
>rational scientific principles of openness and inquiry. I guess humans
>are human, even if they are Ph.D. scientists.

True and highly possible, but again, that's what happen to human politics
in every instituted organisation, where rules and procedures are set and
people of continuous thoughts and with creative energy, even scientists
as you pointed out, challenge constantly.  They're not perculiar to scientists,
or scientists working in institutions.  You're only describing what happens
everyday in large and small organisations whereever people work together.



cheers.