[A]s a graduate student at Columbia University, I remember the a priori derision of my distinguished stratigraphy professor toward a visiting Australian drifter [a supporter of the theory of continental drift]. [:] Today [:] my own students would dismiss with even more derision anyone who denied the evident truth of continental drift-a prophetic madman is at least amusing; a superannuated fuddy-duddy is merely pitiful.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Scientific consensus shifts over time, turning once-mocked ideas into accepted truths and the mocks into outdated figures.
- In plain terms
- What people laughed at yesterday might be obvious today, and those who mocked it look foolish later.
- What can you take from it?
- Stay open to new ideas even if they seem wild at first.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Who did you dismiss recently?
- How will your views age?
Another view
Not every dismissed idea turns out to be correct.
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