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Issue87
------摘要------
作者:Arhoo 共用时间:78分56秒 617 words
从2005年2月18日16时33分到2005年2月18日17时78分
------题目------
In any field of inquiry, the beginner is more likely than the expert to make important discoveries.
------正文------
Every expert grows from a beginner. In this process of growth, he absorbs knowledge and acquires experiences that he used to be short of. However, with regard to making important discoveries, I fundamentally agree that the novices in most fields of inquiry have unique advantages that experts are usually lack of.
It is true that experts are superior in knowledge and experience. In comparison, beginners possess only some basic principals and elementary skills. However, this difference of quantity is merely in relative scale, only that between a cup of water and a bottle of water comparing with the ocean of unknown phenomena and rules. Countless examples in the history of science have proved the ignorance of human beings. Whenever people started to believe they have exploited all the field of knowledge, world-shaking breakthroughs were made. Thus, the advantage of experts over beginners may not be so remarkable as we usually think, at least In making discoveries, What is more, even if experts do have relatively significant advantage in experiences, it would not make so much difference in discoveries. In the ocean of knowledge, experiences and skills only have utility in the safety of the ship, but would never guarantee the sailor to find a new continent.
Meanwhile, the biggest advantage of the beginner is open-mindedness. As a Chinese proverb goes, "it is easier to write on a blank sheet of paper." Newly entering the field of research, his mind is not constrained by so much established rules--usually dogmas, but is armed with creativity and imagination. , one of the two most important paper written by The Nobel Economics Prize winner Ronald Coase attributes the success of The Nature of Firm, his famous paper written in undergraduate moment, to his ignorant to other well-established analytical models. An economics professor in my university once said, "I am so found of teaching undergraduate students because the questions they raised are always fresh and inspiring". However, this professor was one of the few experts who have realized this point. More often, specialists are not only deeply buried in their own little world of study, but also reluctant to accept the new idea brought by green hands. The contribution of Cantor, the were all rejected in this way. Additionally, being an expert, one is inclined to keep his fame and avoid making mistakes. This largely prevents experts from developing creative methods and ideas, as well as, making important discoveries.
Furthermore, other practical factors deter the "veterans" in exploring their fields. For many of them, they have already made achievements when they were beginners. What they have been doing is further exploring the remainder on his branch, although these later discoveries were largely made in "inertia" and are not so significant as the former one. However, the further they have explored on their own branches, the more painstaking for them to turn back onto the trunk where they started and find a new branch to exploit. This is hardly a problem for beginners for they have not even been on any branches. What they have to do is just to choose a branch and see what they can find. In this respect, it might be unfair to blame the experts too much for their less competence in making new discoveries.
Experience makes experts; open-minded experts make discoveries. Nevertheless, when one has become an expert, he is saying goodbye to open-mindedness, which in contrast, is the precious fortune for a green hand. It is only a problem of "division of work": novices explore the areas; experts apply their achievements to practical uses in the meanwhile warning novices not to repeat the already committed mistakes and pointing out undeveloped branches. |
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