Dear Ian, it seems we have drifted a bit from the original thread. Maybe this is a good point to allow the discussion to settle.
Best regards, Tim On 11/29/2014 01:41 PM, Ian Tickle wrote: > Hi Tim > > On 29 November 2014 at 10:16, Tim Gruene <t...@shelx.uni-ac.gwdg.de> wrote: > > I want to improve >> crystallographic methods because people who solve crystal structures >> want an answer to a biological or chemical or physical question rather >> than because they enjoy watching the realisation of a mathematical >> definition. > > > Surely it's not case of either/or? You need both a sound mathematical > grounding of the methodology and a relevant real-world problem to apply it > to. I think this is why crystallography, being such a cross-disciplinary > subject, works so well. However you need to ensure that your maths is > valid before you try to apply it to real-world problems, otherwise you > obviously won't get a sensible answer to your biological question. > > I like Ken Follett's definition of a physicist, for whom >> reality is a poor approximation to theory, but the motivation for my > > research runs the other way round. > > > Really? The theory of quantum electrodynamics (QED), i.e. the theory of > the interactions between radiation and matter, which is of course highly > relevant to X-ray crystallography if not to just about every other branch > of science requiring measurements, has been established with the incredible > degree of agreement of 1 part in 100,000,000 between theory and > experimental data. It's the most accurate theory ever devised by man to > explain physical phenomena. > > Follett studied philosophy at University College London before taking up > fiction writing. Tell me about the degree of agreement between > philosophical theories and experiment! > > I would prefer to quote Richard Feynman who received the 1965 Nobel Prize > in Physics for his work on QED: > > "The theoretical broadening which comes from having many humanities > subjects on the campus is offset by the general dopiness of the people who > study these things." > > and > > “The first principle is that you must not fool yourself and you are the > easiest person to fool.”. > > Cheers > > -- Ian > -- Dr Tim Gruene Institut fuer anorganische Chemie Tammannstr. 4 D-37077 Goettingen GPG Key ID = A46BEE1A
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