“When people join a scientific community, they give up certain childish but universal desires: the need to feel that they are right all the time or the belief that they are in possession of the absolute truth. In exchange, they receive membership in an ongoing enterprise that over time will achieve what no individual could ever achieve alone. They also receive expert training in a craft, and in most cases learn much more than they ever could on their own. Then, in exchange for their labor expended in the practice of that craft, the community safeguards a member’s right to advocate any view or research program he or she feels is supported by the evidence developed from its practice” (Lee Smolin, The Trouble With Physics (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2006) pp.302-303).
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In