Add a Comment   Return to Previous Page

Heretics

Entry 646, on 2007-11-25 at 16:46:03 (Rating 2, Science)

I recently listened to a podcast which discussed how progress is sometimes made in science through what were originally heretical ideas being gradually absorbed into accepted scientific theory. An example was given of the famous cosmologist, Thomas Gold, who has a theory regarding production of hydrocarbons (oil and coal, for example) through non-biological mechanisms. In the past he originated a theory regarding pulsars which was initially rejected but later turned out to be true. He was also a prominent supporter of the Steady State theory which later turned out to be false.

My point is that just because an occasional "crazy" theory is eventually found to be true, we shouldn't take all crazy theories too seriously. Most of them really are crazy and its only a tiny fraction which are eventually shown to be true. And the truth of the "crazy but true" theories is eventually demonstrated anyway, even if they are initially ridiculed. So I still contend that the best approach to crazy theories is to accept them on face value and say they are crazy, of course Niels Bohr once said: "Your theory is crazy, but not crazy enough to be true." Given the findings of quantum physics (which was an area he pioneered) who could argue with that?

There are no comments for this entry.

You can leave comments about this entry using this form.

Enter your name (optional):
Enter your email address (optional):
Enter the number shown here:
Enter the comment:

To add a comment: enter a name and email (optional), type the number shown, enter a comment, click Add.
Note that you can leave the name blank if you want to remain anonymous.
Enter your email address to receive notifications of replies and updates to this entry.
The comment should appear immediately because the authorisation system is currently inactive.

I do podcasts too! You can listen to my latest podcast, here: OJB's Podcast 2026-04-14 How Far is that Star?: How would we really know how big the universe is? Or subscribe to my podcast RSS feed, on my RSS Feeds page.

If you're not sure what to view from the thousands of pages on my site, here are some suggestions: My Latest Airshow Report (photos and movies from Warbirds Over Wanaka, 2026), My Favourite Wines and Beers (tasting notes for some of my favourites), An Interesting Astronomical Observation (learn a bit about astronomy from these observing notes), See Some Photos (A short rail journey through the Taieri Gorge), Read Some Mac Tips (Learn about how to use your Mac, and fix some problems).

Latest Site News and Notifications (Desktop): You are currently viewing OJB's web site, version 2.4 which has some major changes, and possibly errors! Please report any problems to ojb@mac.com.