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.