DOCSLIB.ORG

The Incomplete Guide to the Art of Discovery the Incomplete Guide to the Art of Discovery

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Incomplete Guide to the Art of Discovery the Incomplete Guide to the Art of Discovery The Incomplete Guide to the Art of Discovery The Incomplete Guide to the Art of Discovery By Jack E. Oliver Irving Porter Church Professor Emeritus Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences Cornell University ©2004 Jack E. Oliver Originally Published by Columbia University Press in 1991 Re-published by The Internet-First University Press This manuscript is among the initial offerings being published as part of a new approach to scholarly publishing. The manuscript is freely available from the Internet-First University Press repository within DSpace at Cornell University at http://dspace.library.cornell.edu/handle/1813/83 The online version of this work is available on an open access basis, without fees or restrictions on personal use. A professionally printed and bound version may be purchased through Cornell Business Services by contacting: [email protected] All mass reproduction, even for educational or not-for-profit use, requires permission and license. We will provide a downloadable version of this document from the Internet-First University Press. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Ithaca, N.Y. January 2004 The Incomplete Guide to the Art of Discovery JACK E. OLIVER Contents PREFACE iX 1. About Discovery 1 Purpose and Scope 2 The Joy of Discovery 7 Importance to Society 8 An Art and a Science 9 Intended Audience 11 The Organization of What Follows 12 A Little Background in Earth Science 13 2. Strategy for Discovery 31 Don't Follow the Crowd 32 Rebel, but Wisely 35 Strive to Enhance Serendipity 37 Avoid Science Eddies 39 Study the Earth, and the Science of Geology 41 Seek the Nonquestions 43 See Your Era in Long-Term Perspective 46 Go with Intuition 48 Avoid Sidetracking to Trivia 52 vi Contents Be Competitive, Be a Winner, Be First 54 Argue by Analogy 57 Vision, Hypotheses, and Objective Testing 59 The Strategy of Exploration for Understanding 62 3. Tactics for Discovery 66 Adapt and Adopt Instruments and Techniques 66 Skim the Cream 69 Minimize Jargon 71 Speak (Listen) to the Earth, and It Shall Teach Thee 72 Go for the Spatial Pattern 78 How to Choose a Graduate School 81 Skim the Rest of the Volume, Any Volume 84 Do It Yourself 86 The Knack of the Fresh Perspective 87 Choose Your Problem Very Carefully 89 The Curve of Discovery 92 Overcoming the "Terminal" Paper 93 4. Personal Traits and Attitudes for Discoverers 97 Never Confuse Sophistication with Understanding 98 Enjoy the Struggle, Not the Spoils 100 Never Fully Accept Any Hypothesis, Theory, Law, or Doctrine 103 Respect, Not Reverence 105 Let's Hear It for Enthusiasm 108 There Is No Limit to What You Can Accomplish if Someone Else Gets the Credit 110 Humility Leads to Discovery 110 Audacity Leads to Discovery 113 Be Optimistic, at Least Secretly 115 Avoid All Pretense 116 Remember a Scientist's Debt to Society 118 Dream a Little, or a Lot 121 Occasionally, Think Like a Child 122 Work Hard, Then Harder 124 Some Characteristics of an Innovator 125 Contents vii 5. Caveats 127 Beware of Indoctrination 127 Beware of Occam's Razor 129 Beware of Classification Schemes 133 6. A Few Views and Comments on Science 136 How, Not Why 137 A Science Among the Sciences 139 Will Science Stifle Itself? 143 The Discoverers and the Do-It-Righters 146 Big Science Vs. Little Science, The Wrong Focus 149 The Fundamental Conflict Between Bureaucracy and Science 152 The Joy and the Perils of Success 155 Youth and Age 156 There Is Only One Earth 159 How to Recognize an Important Contribution to Science 160 How to Recognize That You Have Made an Important Discovery 163 Major Discoveries Are Not Made Democratically 164 7. The Inside Story of One Discovery 167 8. Closing Remarks 187 POSTSCRIPT 193 REFERENCES 197 INDEX 199 Preface D,URING my career in science, now nearly a half century in duration, I have grown more and more aware that success in science, paralleling success in most careers, comes not so much to the most gifted, nor the most skillful, nor the most knowledge- able, nor the most affluent of scientists, but rather to the supe- rior strategist and tactician. The individual who is able to ma- neuver with propriety through the world of science along a course that regularly puts him or her in a position of serendipity is often the one who excels. Consequently, I have long sought to observe the experiences and the personal styles of successful scientists and to identify common traits that might be acquired and used profitably by others as they direct their careers. This book is a summary of those observations and hence can serve as a guide to the ambitious young scientist or student of science. However, no matter how well we prepare and plan, no matter how carefully we make our decisions and guide our actions, fate still seems always to play a central role in our careers and our lives. Often an apparently insignificant incident turns out to be a critical step to important developments that follow. In this preface, I relate the chain of incidents that led me to the gateway of the world of discovery and hence ultimately to the writing of x Preface this book. In so doing I hope not only to set the stage for what follows but also to set an appropriate tone of caution for a book that purports, somewhat optimistically, to be a guide in a subject that is never fully predictable. In the fall of 1946, Columbia played Yale in the Yale Bowl. During the post—World War II years, the stature and caliber of Ivy League football was unusually high as war veterans returned to school and reinforced the normal complement of younger ath- letes. Stadia were filled; tickets were scalped; Ivy League teams made headlines. The contest in New Haven was a particularly exciting one. Yale dominated early play and led at the half by two touchdowns, but Columbia rallied to pull ahead late in the game and win. For me that game was especially memorable. In the last quarter, I was able to block a Yale punt and so set up the winning score for Columbia. It was a notable event in an athletic career that was otherwise largely undistinguished. Long forgotten by others, that moment of success will stand out in my memory for life. But strangely that unusual achievement was not the most important thing that happened to me during that game. An obscure event earlier began an unlikely chain of happenings that had a far more profound effect on my life. The event set me onto the trail of discovery in science and eventually onto the writing of this book. Surely unnoticed by spectators, and inconsequen- tial with regard to the outcome of the contest, the event was a key incident in the development of my career and my life. While blocking on one play, which as I recall was a routine plunge into the line for little gain, I foolishly put my outstretched hand on the turf. An opposing player promptly stepped on it—with his cleats, of course. The injury that resulted was not crippling, but it did require frequent application of liniment and bandage dur- ing the following week or so. The liniment was the critical ele- ment in what followed. At the time, I was taking an intermediate-level course in elec- tricity and magnetism. It was given by Professor Polykarp Kusch, later a Nobel laureate in physics. The course was designed for, and populated by, physics majors, of which I was one. Now it often happens that members of a particular subset of society develop a common social attitude toward certain matters outside the mutual interest that defines the subset. In this manner, Preface xl physicists and physics students of that era were conditioned to downplay or ignore athletics. They wanted to be like Oppen- heimer, not Dimaggio, or Davis and Blanchard, or Sugar Ray Robinson. Modern physicists are often sports minded and sports conscious, but they were much less so then. Consequently, no one in that physics class knew that I was an athlete, nor did I in turn know whether any of the other students were athletes. The liniment quickly changed that. The strong aroma that accompanied me as I entered the classroom was detected by all and immediately identified by one, a wrestler named Dick Ed- wards. Dick knew that the familiar odor came from the Columbia trainer's private concoction and immediately deduced that an- other varsity athlete was in the class. He sniffed me out and struck up a conversation. The camaraderie of athletes prevailed and we became friends. Without the liniment, we might never have become acquainted in the no-nonsense environment of that course. Dick, it turned out, would arrange my introduction to geophysics. At the end of the academic year, I made a late decision to forego my senior year of college in order to begin graduate study in physics at Columbia during the following semester. It was a sound decision academically but not financially. Life as a gradu- ate student was more expensive than I had anticipated. Early in the fall of 1947, I confided to a friend that I needed money and was seeking a job. As luck would have it, the conversation was overheard by Dick Edwards, and he kindly volunteered some help. Dick led me to an unfamiliar part of the campus and intro- duced me to his employer, Professor Maurice Ewing. In less than five minutes Ewing interviewed me, offered me a job, and I ac- cepted with delight.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • The “Doctrine of Discovery” and Terra Nullius: a Catholic Response
    1 The “Doctrine of Discovery” and Terra Nullius: A Catholic Response The following text considers and repudiates illegitimate concepts and principles used by Europeans to justify the seizure of land previously held by Indigenous Peoples and often identified by the terms Doctrine of Discovery and terra nullius. An appendix provides an historical overview of the development of these concepts vis-a-vis Catholic teaching and of their repudiation. The presuppositions behind these concepts also undergirded the deeply regrettable policy of the removal of Indigenous children from their families and cultures in order to place them in residential schools. The text includes commitments which are recommended as a better way of walking together with Indigenous Peoples. Preamble The Truth and Reconciliation process of recent years has helped us to recognize anew the historical abuses perpetrated against Indigenous peoples in our land. We have also listened to and been humbled by courageous testimonies detailing abuse, inhuman treatment, and cultural denigration committed through the residential school system. In this brief note, which is an expression of our determination to collaborate with First Nations, Inuit and Métis in moving forward, and also in part a response to the Calls to Action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, we would like to reflect in particular on how land was often seized from its Indigenous inhabitants without their consent or any legal justification. The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB), the Canadian Catholic Aboriginal Council and other Catholic organizations have been reflecting on the concepts of the Doctrine of Discovery and terra nullius for some time (a more detailed historical analysis is included in the attached Appendix).
    [Show full text]
  • American Indian Nations and the International Law of Colonialism by Robert J
    Focus on Indian Law American Indian Nations and the International Law of Colonialism by Robert J. Miller Most of the non-European world was colonized those elements greatly assists in analyzing how the under an international legal principle known today Discovery doctrine was used against Indian nations as the Doctrine of Discovery.1 Beginning in the early and peoples throughout American history and to 1400s, European countries and the church began observe its continuing impacts today. It is clear that all developing legal principles to exploit and acquire of these elements were also used to justify the United lands outside of Europe.2 As the doctrine developed, States’ continental expansion and the displacement of it provided that Europeans could acquire property native nations under the policy or historic era called rights over lands owned by indigenous peoples and American Manifest Destiny. Robert J. Miller is a professor at the Sandra could also acquire sovereign, political, and commer- Day O’Connor College cial rights over indigenous nations and peoples. This 1. First Discovery of Law at Arizona State legal principle was allegedly justified by religious and The first Euro-American country to discover areas University and faculty ethnocentric ideas of European superiority. When unknown to other Euro-Americans claimed property director of the Rosette Europeans, and later Americans, planted flags and and sovereign rights over the lands and indigenous in- LLP American Indian Economic Development religious symbols in “newly discovered” territories, habitants. First discovery alone, however, only created Program. © 2015 Robert they were undertaking the well recognized legal an inchoate claim of title.
    [Show full text]
  • Scientific Discovery in the Era of Big Data: More Than the Scientific Method
    Scientific Discovery in the Era of Big Data: More than the Scientific Method A RENCI WHITE PAPER Vol. 3, No. 6, November 2015 Scientific Discovery in the Era of Big Data: More than the Scientific Method Authors Charles P. Schmitt, Director of Informatics and Chief Technical Officer Steven Cox, Cyberinfrastructure Engagement Lead Karamarie Fecho, Medical and Scientific Writer Ray Idaszak, Director of Collaborative Environments Howard Lander, Senior Research Software Developer Arcot Rajasekar, Chief Domain Scientist for Data Grid Technologies Sidharth Thakur, Senior Research Data Software Developer Renaissance Computing Institute University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, NC, USA 919-445-9640 RENCI White Paper Series, Vol. 3, No. 6 1 AT A GLANCE • Scientific discovery has long been guided by the scientific method, which is considered to be the “gold standard” in science. • The era of “big data” is increasingly driving the adoption of approaches to scientific discovery that either do not conform to or radically differ from the scientific method. Examples include the exploratory analysis of unstructured data sets, data mining, computer modeling, interactive simulation and virtual reality, scientific workflows, and widespread digital dissemination and adjudication of findings through means that are not restricted to traditional scientific publication and presentation. • While the scientific method remains an important approach to knowledge discovery in science, a holistic approach that encompasses new data-driven approaches is needed, and this will necessitate greater attention to the development of methods and infrastructure to integrate approaches. • New approaches to knowledge discovery will bring new challenges, however, including the risk of data deluge, loss of historical information, propagation of “false” knowledge, reliance on automation and analysis over inquiry and inference, and outdated scientific training models.
    [Show full text]
  • A World Without the Novel
    CONTINENTAL THOUGHT & THEORY: A JOURNAL OF INTELLECTUAL FREEDOM (What does it mean to) Think the Novel? Volume 2 | Issue 3: The Novel 70-90 | ISSN: 2463-333X A World without the Novel Roland Végső The primary objective of the essay is to draw the consequences of a truly consistent deployment of the utopian desire that animates Georg Lukács’s The Theory of the Novel. On the one hand, it is quite evident that for Lukács the theory of the novel is a utopian means of the destruction of the novel form itself. On the other hand, however, I argue that Lukács also shows that this utopian desire for the destruction of the novel form is in reality an essential component of the novel form itself. As a result, the novel form is by definition an attempt to imagine what from the perspective of this form remains unimaginable: a world without the novel. The contemporary relevance of this argument, however, remains obscured until we free it from one of Lukács’s basic metaphysical limitations: we must question the central status of the category of the “world” for the theory of the novel. The idea of the “novel” and the idea of the “world” seem to attract each other with an unusually strong force.1 Regardless of whether we conceive of this relation as a natural consequence of our metaphysical realities or a never quite accomplished historical destiny, the two concepts seem to mirror each other in infinitely complex ways. In fact, 70 CONTINENTAL THOUGHT & THEORY: A JOURNAL OF INTELLECTUAL FREEDOM (What does it mean to) Think the Novel? the two categories have been orbiting each other for so long now that today we find it hard to fully tell them apart.
    [Show full text]
  • Animorphs the Suspicion
    Animorphs The Suspicion Converted to E-Book by: Kamal Raniga Go forth, mighty warriors! Go forth into space! All the galaxy shall tremble before the Helmacrons. All will obey us. All will be our slaves. For only we are truly worthy to be Lords of the Universe. - Posthumous Exhortation of the Emperor. From the log of the Helmacron ship, Galaxy Blaster My name is Cassie. There are a lot of things about me that I can't tell you. My last name, for example. Or my address. I live in a paranoid world. I wish I didn't, but I do. And I have no choice but to conceal, to lie, to mislead. Even while I am desperately trying to tell the truth. You must know the truth. You must accept what is happening to Earth, to humanity. Because only by knowing can you fight the terrible evil that is upon us. I am referring, of course, to the Yeerks. Not to the Helmacrons. The Yeerks are a parasitic species from a far-distant planet. They originate in an aquatic environment. A Yeerk pool. At some point in their evolution they moved out of the safety and sensory deprivation of the pool and evolved an ability to enter the brains of a species called Gedds. For a long time, millennia, maybe, they were content to go that far. They did not know about space travel or technology at all. Like humans, they did not know of the existence of other species in the galaxy. At least, that's what our Andalite friend, Ax, tells us.
    [Show full text]
  • The New World of Discovery, Invention, and Innovation: Convergence of Knowledge, Technology, and Society
    J Nanopart Res (2013) 15:1946 DOI 10.1007/s11051-013-1946-1 PERSPECTIVES The new world of discovery, invention, and innovation: convergence of knowledge, technology, and society Mihail C. Roco • William S. Bainbridge Received: 13 August 2013 / Accepted: 14 August 2013 Ó Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht (outside the USA) 2013 Abstract Convergence of knowledge and technol- research, development, and applications based on ogy for the benefit of society (CKTS) is the core dynamic system-logic deduction, (3) enhancement of opportunity for progress in the twenty-first century. creativity and innovation through evolutionary pro- CKTS is defined as the escalating and transformative cesses of convergence that combines existing princi- interactions among seemingly different disciplines, ples and divergence that generates new ones, (4) the technologies, communities, and domains of human utility of higher-level cross-domain languages to activity to achieve mutual compatibility, synergism, generate new solutions and support transfer of new and integration, and through this process to create knowledge, and (5) the value of vision-inspired basic added value and branch out to meet shared goals. research embodied in grand challenges. CKTS is a Convergence has been progressing by stages over the general purpose approach in knowledge society. It past several decades, beginning with nanotechnology allows society to answer questions and resolve prob- for the material world, followed by convergence of lems that isolated capabilities cannot, as well as to nanotechnology, biotechnology, information, and create new competencies, knowledge, and technolo- cognitive science (NBIC) for emerging technologies. gies on this basis. Possible solutions are outlined for CKTS is the third level of convergence.
    [Show full text]
  • Discovery, Invention, and Development: Human Creative Thinking* HERBERT A
    Proc. NatL Acad. Sci. USA Vol. 80, pp. 4569-4571, July 1983 Psychology Discovery, invention, and development: Human creative thinking* HERBERT A. SIMON Department of Psychology, Carnegie-Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213 Contributed by Herbert A. Simon, August 24, 1982 The subject of this paper is a singularly appropriate one for this and application. In particular, the development of products from journal. We are all experts on the topic of scientific discovery, basic discoveries takes place in a complex social and economic invention, and development. Members are elected to the Na- environment, in which both motivations and definitions of the tional Academy of Sciences because they have been adjudged problem differ very much from those in the environments where to have done some creative thinking that led to one or more basic discoveries typically occur. On the other side, I am going significant discoveries, inventions, or applications of scientific to emphasize the communalities of process-and to argue, in ideas. fact, that while discovery and development usually address dif- But the fact that a person sometimes does creative things does ferent substantive problems, the psychological processes of not mean that he understands the creative process. To imagine problem solution are quite similar. that a scientist can give a full scientific account of his own thought Let me begin by defining creativity in a pragmatic way. From processes is no more reasonable than putting a Geiger counter time to time, human beings arrive at ideas that are judged by on the podium at an American Physical Society meeting and their fellows to be both novel and valuable.
    [Show full text]
  • Strategy Formation As Solving a Complex and Novel Problem
    Strategy Formation as Solving a Complex and Novel Problem Timothy E. Ott Kenan-Flagler Business School University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 4200 Suite, McColl Building, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599, U.S.A. Tel. (732) 778 - 6692 Email: [email protected] Ron Tidhar Department of Management Science & Engineering Stanford University Huang Engineering Center 475 Via Ortega Road Stanford, CA 94305 Email: [email protected] Working Paper – 04/10/2018 ABSTRACT In this paper, we seek to better understand how executives can intelligently combine modular and integrated problem solving processes to form the best possible strategy in entrepreneurial environments. To do so, we compare the efficacy of strategies formed via different processes under various market conditions, exploring the sources of significant performance differences. We address this question using NK simulation methods. We show that the ‘decision weaving’ strategy formation process leads to more effective strategies than either local or ‘chunky search’ processes across a variety of problem specifications. We also offer insight into two key concepts of the decision weaving framework; stepping stones and learning plateaus, which allow executives to balance the tradeoff between quality and the speed of the strategy formation process. This provides practical points for executives forming strategy to overcome their own bounded rationality and contributes to literature on strategy processes and complex problem solving within organizations. Keywords: Strategy formation, problem solving, strategic decision making, behavioral theory, simulation 1 Introduction In 2007, Brian Chesky and Joe Gebbia were struggling to pay rent in San Francisco so they rented out their apartment to three conference attendees to help make ends meet (Tame, 2011).
    [Show full text]
  • 124214015 Full.Pdf
    PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI DEFENSE MECHANISM ADOPTED BY THE PROTAGONISTS AGAINST THE TERROR OF DEATH IN K.A APPLEGATE’S ANIMORPHS AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra in English Letters By MIKAEL ARI WIBISONO Student Number: 124214015 ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA 2016 PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI DEFENSE MECHANISM ADOPTED BY THE PROTAGONISTS AGAINST THE TERROR OF DEATH IN K.A APPLEGATE’S ANIMORPHS AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra in English Letters By MIKAEL ARI WIBISONO Student Number: 124214015 ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA 2016 ii PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI A SarjanaSastra Undergraduate Thesis DEFENSE MECIIAMSM ADOPTED BY TITE AGAINST PROTAGOMSTS THE TERROR OT OTATTT IN K.A APPLEGATE'S AAUMORPHS By Mikael Ari Wibisono Student Number: lz4ll4}ls Defended before the Board of Examiners On August 25,2A16 and Declared Acceptable BOARD OF EXAMINERS Name Chairperson Dr. F.X. Siswadi, M.A. Secretary Dra. Sri Mulyani, M.A., ph.D / Member I Dr. F.X. Siswadi, M.A. Member2 Drs. HirmawanW[ianarkq M.Hum. Member 3 Elisa DwiWardani, S.S., M.Hum Yogyakarta, August 31 z}rc Faculty of Letters fr'.arrr s41 Dharma University s" -_# 1,ffi QG*l(tls srst*\. \ tQrtnR<{l
    [Show full text]
  • Antibiotic Resistance Threats in the United States, 2019
    ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANCE THREATS IN THE UNITED STATES 2019 Revised Dec. 2019 This report is dedicated to the 48,700 families who lose a loved one each year to antibiotic resistance or Clostridioides difficile, and the countless healthcare providers, public health experts, innovators, and others who are fighting back with everything they have. Antibiotic Resistance Threats in the United States, 2019 (2019 AR Threats Report) is a publication of the Antibiotic Resistance Coordination and Strategy Unit within the Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Suggested citation: CDC. Antibiotic Resistance Threats in the United States, 2019. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, CDC; 2019. Available online: The full 2019 AR Threats Report, including methods and appendices, is available online at www.cdc.gov/DrugResistance/Biggest-Threats.html. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15620/cdc:82532. ii U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Contents FOREWORD .............................................................................................................................................V EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ........................................................................................................................ VII SECTION 1: THE THREAT OF ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANCE ....................................................................1 Introduction .................................................................................................................................................................3
    [Show full text]
  • The 64 Midwest Conference on Asian Affairs Mikiso Hane Undergraduate Student Prize Paper I Want to Go Far Away: Discover Japan
    Studies on Asia Series V, Vol. 1, No. 1 (Spring 2016) The 64th Midwest Conference on Asian Affairs Mikiso Hane Undergraduate Student Prize Paper I Want to Go Far Away: Discover Japan and Japanese Identity Tourism in the 1970s Sawyer Middeleer Carleton College The Japan of 1970 was caught at the convergence point of two cresting socio-political waves. From one direction surged the optimism of a decade of high-speed economic growth propelled by involvement in Western international trade. Progress towards modernization rushed forward at a lightning clip after World War II with Prime Minister’s declaration of the “official” end of the “postwar era” in 1956, the Tokyo Olympics in 1964, achievement of the world’s third-highest GDP in 1968, and Osaka’s Expo ’70.1 Much of Japan’s modern development went hand in hand with Americanization. On a structural level, this meant the Japanese government was forced to reform itself to conform to American Cold War policy. Simultaneously, Japanese society saw the rapid growth of an urban middle-class, popularization of American forms of entertainment, and commonplace consumption of American goods. In the eyes of many Japanese and foreign observers alike, the “New Japan” had finally legitimized itself as a member of the modern global community. However, there came from the other direction a rising tide of disillusionment with urban materialism and the less desirable legacies of a quarter-century of American hegemonic guardianship. As the material benefits of Showa era high-speed growth became more conspicuous and more pervasive, growing infatuation with American 1 See Michael Schaller, Altered States: The United States and Japan Since the Occupation (New York: Oxford University Press, 1997); Carol Gluck, “The Past in the Present,” in Postwar Japan as History, ed.
    [Show full text]
  • The German Advantage in Civil Procedure John H
    The University of Chicago Law Review VOLUME 52 NUMBER 4 FALL 1985 1985 by The University of Chicago The German Advantage in Civil Procedure John H. Langbeint Our lawyer-dominated system of civil procedure has often been criticized both for its incentives to distort evidence and for the expense and complexity of its modes of discovery and trial." The shortcomings inhere in a system that leaves to partisans the work of gathering and producing the factual material upon which adjudication depends. We have comforted ourselves with the thought that a law- yerless system would be worse.' The excesses of American adver- t Max Pam Professor of American and Foreign Law, University of Chicago Law School; Russell Baker Scholar (1985). Scholars, judges, and practitioners in the U.S. and Germany have favored 'me with suggestions for research or have commented on prepublication drafts. Among those whose help has most proximately affected this paper, although not always in directions that they would have preferred, are Albert Alschuler, Erhard Blankenburg, Mauro Cappelletti, Gerhard Casper, Mary Ann Glendon, Geoffrey Hazard, Benjamin Kaplan, Robert Keeton, Hein K6tz, John Merryman, Henry Monaghan, Richard Posner, Martin Redish, Mathias Reimann, Erich Schanze, William Schwarzer, Steven Shavell, Geof- frey Stone, Cass Sunstein, and Arthur von Mehren. I am grateful to learned audiences who reacted to this paper in earlier versions at law school workshops at Cornell, Harvard, and Northwestern; at the 1984 meeting of the American College of Trial Lawyers; at the 1985 meeting of the litigation section of the Association of American Law Schools; and at a ses- sion of the National Academy of Sciences' Committee on National Statistics, Panel on Sta- tistical Evidence in the Courts.
    [Show full text]