Jed sez: ...
> Bacon also described Sci Am. editor J. Hogan and the other end-of-history > fruitcakes: > > ". . . by far the greatest obstacle to the advancement of the sciences, and > the undertaking of any new attempt or department, is to be found in men’s > despair and the idea of impossibility; for men of a prudent and exact turn > of thought are altogether diffident in matters of this nature, considering > the obscurity of nature, the shortness of life, the deception of the senses, > and weakness of the judgment. They think, therefore, that in the revolutions > of ages and of the world there are certain floods and ebbs of the sciences, > and that they grow and flourish at one time, and wither and fall off at > another, that when they have attained a certain degree and condition they > can proceed no further." ... Interesting comments, Jed, I think... No doubt, quite accurate too. In regards to the above Bacon comments "...and other end-of-history fruitcakes" I must lodge an inconsequential complaint. Bacon's prose strikes me as so incredibly convoluted and turgid from my (occasionally dyslexic) POV that I sometimes wished the writer would have simply come out and stated the obvious, something like "...folly follows in the footsteps of those who assume we have learned everything there is to know about the universe." But then, Bacon's prose wouldn't have been so eloquent, would it! As to the rest of Bacon's commentary: "...the role of discoverers:" After my second failed attempt to comprehend the meaning behind the writers first two sentences I simply gave up. I think I'll go back and attempt to paint another pretty picture in the hopes that such activity will restore my bruised-ego. Regards Steven Vincent Johnson www.OrionWorks.com www.zazzle.com/orionworks
