Joseph: <<Didn't Einstein do what you recommend? He fabricated the cosmological constant to make his equations yield a static universe - "the broader data and theories developed to this point." And didn't he say that it was the biggest mistake of his life?>>
I believe that Einstein was very familiar with the data and theories at that time. The cosmological constant might or might not have been 'his biggest mistake'.
>The best innovations in science are almost always from those intimately >and accurately familiar with the current data and theories who -then
>and only then- are in a position to critique and surpass them.
Joseph: <<Poor Albert would not have had a chance with you and Glenn and should
never have had the opportunity to dethrone Newton because he was only an
obscure patent clerk. Yet, the unassailable data from the total eclipse
of the Sun of 1919 did just that.>>
He worked as a patent clerk but his schooling certainly went beyond that as did his familiarity with the theories and data at his times.
So yes indeed, it is very appropriate to ask if someone is familiar with the present day data and theories.