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Re: "mind set"



Good discussion, Michael.  I would only add that, when presented with sound
evidence contrary to a previously held belief, a scientist will "change his
or her mind" pretty fast.

Ruth Weiner
ruth_weiner@msn.com
-----Original Message-----
From: Michael Stabin <stabin@npd.ufpe.br>
To: Multiple recipients of list <radsafe@romulus.ehs.uiuc.edu>
Date: Wednesday, May 03, 2000 6:13 AM
Subject: "mind set"


>>
>Interesting point here (well at least to me, I'm a geek).  The "mind set"
of
>scientists is formed in a completely different way than that of many other
>groups.  We do not change our collective minds until something has been
>proven, via the scientific method (a very well defined process), through
>evidence and logic.  The scientific "mind set" changes in sweeping ways
only
>very rarely (e.g. the introduction of relativistic thinking in physics), in
>moderate ways only with difficulty, and in smaller ways frequently.  This
>does not imply that there are not biases, or resistence to valid new
>thoughts at times.
>
>



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