> Before I get onto Johnson, may I add my 2 cents to this "outsiders never
> contribute anything" thread? Apart from Darwin the theological student....
>
Darwin was also a trained and experienced biologist when he signed aboard the
Beagle; in fact he was more a biologist than he was a theology student.
>
> ...and Lyell the lawyer....
>
Lyell was also a trained and experienced geologist.
>
> ...and Einstein the patent clerk....
>
This is the most ridiculous example of all. Einstein was a degreed physicist
and mathematician who could not secure work in any university or research
institute (possible employers considered him too arrogant), thus forcing him
to take work in the patent office. He was not, as Stephen implies, a simple
civil servant with no formal scientific or mathematical training.
>
> ...what about Wegener,
> the astronomer, the father of the modern theory of continental drift:
Wegener cross-trained in geology later in life.
None of these men were "outsiders" to the fields they made contributions in,
since they were trained in those fields and did research work in those fields.
What I would like to see is an example of an astronomer who knew nothing
about geology, who had no training as a geologist, who did no research work
in geology, who nonetheless made a contribution to geology that no geologist
could have made. Wegener does not count; can Stephen find someone who does?
Kevin L. O'Brien