[From Bruce Gregory (960606.1330 EDT)]
Earlier this week Rick Marken compared PCT with Newtonian physics. I
think this analogy is particularly apt. Newtonian physics, like PCT,
is deceptively simple. Anyone can memorize Newton's laws in almost no
time. The problems arise when you try to use these laws to explain
everyday phenomena. This challenge defeats many students. Most of
us who have some proficiency took years to acquire it. (We got
reasonable grades, but deep inside we knew we _really_ didn't know
what we were doing.) In retrospect, of course, it all seems very
simple. I find that PCT is just as challenging, and just as
rewarding. (I also have all the experts in the world patiently
explaining it to me.)
"May you live in interesting times" is said to be a
curse. Paradigm shifts are by definition "interesting times."
Aristarchus of Samos proposed the sun-centered model sometime in the
third century BCE. It only took two thousand years for it to win
widespread acceptance...
Regards,
Bruce G.