From bcac994ac6f17be939d5bac094a62db4bf5df2d8 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: George Ogden <38294960+George-Ogden@users.noreply.github.com> Date: Mon, 26 Feb 2024 22:27:08 +0000 Subject: [PATCH] Add Planck's Princple --- README.md | 14 ++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 14 insertions(+) diff --git a/README.md b/README.md index 1325839..3706e6b 100644 --- a/README.md +++ b/README.md @@ -72,6 +72,7 @@ Like this project? Please considering [sponsoring me](https://github.com/sponsor * [YAGNI](#yagni) * [The Fallacies of Distributed Computing](#the-fallacies-of-distributed-computing) * [The Principle of Least Astonishment](#the-principle-of-least-astonishment) + * [Planck's Principle](#plancks-principle) * [Reading List](#reading-list) * [Online Resources](#online-resources) * [PDF eBook](#pdf-ebook) @@ -1034,6 +1035,19 @@ See also: - [Convention Over Configuration](#todo) +### Planck's Principle +[Planck's Principle on Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planck%27s_principle) + +Planck's Principle is often paraphrased as 'Science progresses one funeral at a time'. +It was formulated by Max Planck in his autobiography: +> A new scientific truth does not triumph by convincing its opponents and making them see the light, but rather because its opponents eventually die and a new generation grows up that is familiar with it ... +> +> An important scientific innovation rarely makes its way by gradually winning over and converting its opponents: it rarely happens that Saul becomes Paul. What does happen is that its opponents gradually die out, and that the growing generation is familiarized with the ideas from the beginning: another instance of the fact that the future lies with the youth. +> +>  Max Planck, Scientific autobiography, 1950, p. 33, 97 + +Thus, scientific and technological development is limited by how long it takes established scientists/researchers/developers to change their minds or leave the field for good. This is an important reason why paradigm shifts are so hard to achieve and spread. It is related to [Clarke's First Law](#clarkes-three-laws). + ## Reading List If you have found these concepts interesting, you may enjoy the following books.