[ExI] instilling ambition

[Tomasz Rola]

On Sun, 20 Jan 2013, Stefano Vaj wrote:

> On 20 January 2013 16:39, Tomasz Rola <rtomek at ceti.pl> wrote:
> 
> > This idea I could support. Heh. Why they become dull? Maybe because 
> > they are made to be such.
> >
> 
> The double environmental effect.
> 
> First, the environment select the intrinsic traits of the members of a 
> given population.
> 
> Then, it hones its phenotypes to perfection. :-)

Yeah. For the same reasons, certain members of population are turned away. 
I don't think it is really good.

OTOH, I am by no means entomologist, so my observations are un-systematic 
and un-objective. Perhaps this effect was always present - being in a 
position to tell other people what the world is like, getting hot green 
right into one's hand for such services, this _is_ great niche. OTOH, the 
green is not so big on average, I think. And if one happens to be in wrong 
science, there is not even "moral win" to justify doing such job (if one 
gets to teach students who are not very interested or maybe even dropouts 
from other places).

So apart from careful selection, there may be few more additional reasons.

Anyway, the notion that scientist is open to new ways seems to be - kind 
of - exaggerated. There were quite a few folks in the past who were 
initially shunned by their collegues, their ideas sometimes accepted only 
after their pitiful death. I usually don't bother to remember their names 
but today I have just read about one mathematician, Georg Cantor, who 
spent his old years in poverty and hunger (and nowadays, I happen to 
stumble upon his name one way or another). Being right or ahead simply 
does not sound like good evolutionary advice, at least not for humans. And 
scientists are humans, definitely.

BTW, another guy was Nicola Tesla. To me (perhaps I am misinformed) Tesla 
was curious while Edison was ambitious. That Edison medal was awarded to 
Tesla, rather than the other way is a (indirect and anecdotal) proof to 
me, that there is something very uncivilish with this civilisation of 
ours.

Regards,
Tomasz Rola

--
** A C programmer asked whether computer had Buddha's nature.      **
** As the answer, master did "rm -rif" on the programmer's home    **
** directory. And then the C programmer became enlightened...      **
**                                                                 **
** Tomasz Rola          mailto:tomasz_rola at bigfoot.com             **