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https://theconversation.com/intellectual-humility-is-a-key-ingredient-for-scientific-progress-211410>
"The virtue of intellectual humility is getting a lot of attention. It’s
heralded as a part of wisdom, an aid to self-improvement and a catalyst for
more productive political dialogue. While researchers define intellectual
humility in various ways, the core of the idea is “recognizing that one’s
beliefs and opinions might be incorrect.”
But achieving intellectual humility is hard. Overconfidence is a persistent
problem, faced by many, and does not appear to be improved by education or
expertise. Even scientific pioneers can sometimes lack this valuable trait.
Take the example of one of the greatest scientists of the 19th century, Lord
Kelvin, who was not immune to overconfidence. In a 1902 interview “on
scientific matters now prominently before the public mind,” he was asked about
the future of air travel: “(W)e have no hope of solving the problem of aerial
navigation in any way?”
Lord Kelvin replied firmly: “No; I do not think there is any hope. Neither the
balloon, nor the aeroplane, nor the gliding machine will be a practical
success.” The Wright brothers’ first successful flight was a little over a year
later.
Scientific overconfidence is not confined to matters of technology. A few years
earlier, Kelvin’s eminent colleague, A. A. Michelson, the first American to win
a Nobel Prize in science, expressed a similarly striking view about the
fundamental laws of physics: “It seems probable that most of the grand
underlying principles have now been firmly established.”
Over the next few decades – in no small part due to Michelson’s own work –
fundamental physical theory underwent its most dramatic changes since the times
of Newton, with the development of the theory of relativity and quantum
mechanics “radically and irreversibly” altering our view of the physical
universe.
But is this sort of overconfidence a problem? Maybe it actually helps the
progress of science? I suggest that intellectual humility is a better, more
progressive stance for science."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
