Wednesday, September 28, 2005
A LITTLE LEARNING IS A DANGEROUS THING
I can attest to this proverb from my own experience. After earning a PhD in physics from a first-class state university, I worked for two universities and two aerospace firms. In one of my jobs for an aerospace firm, I recall writing about reported paranormal occurrences. Some of these were reported in Russian literature, which I and others in our group at the firm read in translation. In my report, I invented my own idiosyncratic transliteration of Russian names. The company editors who prepared and published the report were apparently so impressed by my credentials (i.e., my degree) that they took at face value my transliterations.
On another occasion, I was writing about “Project Vela.” This was a project that involved the development of equipment to detect incoming ballistic missiles from some foreign enemy. All the Spanish I knew was “Uno, Dos, Tres, Cuatro, Cinco, …, Diez.” I puzzled over the meaning of “vela,” the name of the program. Rather than consult a Spanish-English dictionary as any sensible writer would, I used my imagination to create a meaning for “vela.” I imagined that it was the Spanish cognate of the French phrase “voila,” which I knew meant “see there.” I wrote that “see there” was the meaning of the Spanish name of the project. Actually, thinking about it, that wouldn’t have been a bad name. The equipment to be developed was to “see” the incoming ballistic missiles and show where they were.
Some years later I learned that “vela” is Spanish for “vigil,” or “watch.” The equipment was supposed to “watch” for incoming missiles.
These little mistakes of mine didn’t cause any harm. Not very many people bothered to read my reports. Those who did realized that “vela” meant “vigil” and not “voila,” and dismissed me as an arrogant fraud. My point is that the people who edited the reports were in such awe of my PhD degree that they didn’t bother to check a Spanish dictionary for the meaning of “vela” or a Russian dictionary for the correct transliteration of Russian names. If my inventions had had serious sociological consequences, they could have been harmful. I am thinking of Shockley, a physicist who knew all about the solid state, transistors, and things like that. He was imaginative and inventive when he thought about the presumed relation between skin color and intelligence. His espousal of such a relationship and the prestige that he gave to the notion did result, I believe, in delaying progress toward racial harmony in this country. Like me, Shockley had a little knowledge and a big imagination.
On another occasion, I was writing about “Project Vela.” This was a project that involved the development of equipment to detect incoming ballistic missiles from some foreign enemy. All the Spanish I knew was “Uno, Dos, Tres, Cuatro, Cinco, …, Diez.” I puzzled over the meaning of “vela,” the name of the program. Rather than consult a Spanish-English dictionary as any sensible writer would, I used my imagination to create a meaning for “vela.” I imagined that it was the Spanish cognate of the French phrase “voila,” which I knew meant “see there.” I wrote that “see there” was the meaning of the Spanish name of the project. Actually, thinking about it, that wouldn’t have been a bad name. The equipment to be developed was to “see” the incoming ballistic missiles and show where they were.
Some years later I learned that “vela” is Spanish for “vigil,” or “watch.” The equipment was supposed to “watch” for incoming missiles.
These little mistakes of mine didn’t cause any harm. Not very many people bothered to read my reports. Those who did realized that “vela” meant “vigil” and not “voila,” and dismissed me as an arrogant fraud. My point is that the people who edited the reports were in such awe of my PhD degree that they didn’t bother to check a Spanish dictionary for the meaning of “vela” or a Russian dictionary for the correct transliteration of Russian names. If my inventions had had serious sociological consequences, they could have been harmful. I am thinking of Shockley, a physicist who knew all about the solid state, transistors, and things like that. He was imaginative and inventive when he thought about the presumed relation between skin color and intelligence. His espousal of such a relationship and the prestige that he gave to the notion did result, I believe, in delaying progress toward racial harmony in this country. Like me, Shockley had a little knowledge and a big imagination.
