Re: They wish!

Bill Hamilton (hamilton@predator.cs.gmr.com)
Fri, 24 Jan 1997 08:58:58 -0500

>Dario wrote:

>>Who needs theory when one has facts ? Besides a bad theory is worst than
>>no theory.
>
>
Steve Clark wrote

>Why is a bad theory worse than no theory? There have been plenty of wrong
>theories in the history of science, that is to be expected in any sort of
>exploration of our universe. Having a wrong theory means that you are
>thinking about your world and willing to explore it. Having no theory means
>that you are either brain dead, or believe that you have all necessary
>answers.

A colleague of mine used to say that a decision that has been made can be
changed, but a decision that has not been made cannot. When I was an ROTC
cadet many years ago an officer said what seemed to be the height of folly
to me at the time: It's better to make an incorrect decision and act on it
than to make no decision and fail to act. The rationale behind these
statements is that if you are making decisions and hypotheses and acting on
them, and your objective is to learn from the results of your decisions and
actions, then it is better to make a mistake and learn from it than to do
nothing and learn nothing.

Bill Hamilton
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
William E. Hamilton, Jr, Ph.D. | Staff Research Engineer
Chassis and Vehicle Systems | General Motors R&D Center | Warren, MI
810 986 1474 (voice) | 810 986 3003 (FAX) | whamilto@mich.com (home email)