I would hazard a guess that 90% of great scientists start out as heretics. The problem is that 90% of scientific heretics are talking nonsense....I was asked how you can tell when a scientific heretic is right rather than mad. I confessed that, as I’ve grown older, I’m becoming more confused on this point. The problem is not just that vindicated heretics are rare, but also that the heretic who’s right will be just as partisan—avidly collecting evidence to confirm his idea—as the heretic who’s wrong.
—Matt Ridley writing in The Wall Street Journal. “Is That Scientific Heretic a Genius—or a Loon?” November 12-13, 2011. C4.
—Matt Ridley writing in The Wall Street Journal. “Is That Scientific Heretic a Genius—or a Loon?” November 12-13, 2011. C4.