Re: Intuition in science

From: Brian Harper (harper.10@osu.edu)
Date: Wed Aug 13 2003 - 15:35:46 EDT

  • Next message: Brian Harper: "Re: Darwin quote"
    At 10:56 AM 8/12/2003 -0400, Robert Schneider wrote:
    My wife Maria is writing a book on teaching as a contemplative activity.  She is including a section of her book in which she gives examples of persons who come to insights, understandings, and discoveries using intuition and other non-rational ways of knowing.  She would like to include scientists among those who exemplify this.
     
    I told her about the German scientist who came to the insight about the chemical structure of benzine as a result of a (Jungian) dream he had about a serpent biting its tail--help me out here, who was the scientist and where might we find his story?  And she knows the story of Barbara McClintock "listening" to the corn.
     
    Also, if you can think of other examples of scientists who have had great breakthroughs as a result of intuition and flashes of insight, would you write either of us about them?  And, do you know of books, articles, etc., where she could find their stories?  I'll pass along to her anything posted on the list.
     
    Thanks,
     

    Feynman has written that new laws are
    essentially guessed. This would of course
    involve both imagination and intuition.
    See for example "The Meaning of it all",
    Richard Feynman, Addison Wesley, 1998.




    This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.4 : Wed Aug 13 2003 - 15:42:34 EDT