Presentation and criticism on the list

["Tesla list" <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com>]

Original poster: Paul Nicholson <paul-at-abelian.demon.co.uk> 

All,

Just some comments on the importance of argument and criticism
on the list...I know I've said all this before but from time to
time it needs restating...

Someone wrote, in another thread:
 > maybe you should talk to people who have
 > new ideas, instead of trying to put them down.

Don't be put off if your ideas are criticised.  We like criticism
on here.  It is a Good Thing, and we all value the fact that even
the slightest mistake in our posts will be pounced on - in the
friendliest and most helpful manner we can manage, of course!

The greatest value of this list is the willingness of everyone to
criticise and be criticised.  It quickly discards wrong and silly
ideas, and quickly amplifies good ideas.  If an idea is good and
correct, it will stand up on its own merits to any amount of fair
and rational criticism.  Appeals to authority such as Tesla or
Einstein don't count for anything, except to suggest that the
author doesn't have much else to support his case, so don't bother
to try those.

We're very lucky to have on here many people with vast experience
of coiling, often with very specific areas of expertise.  Also many
people can contribute expertise from other areas of science and
engineering, as and when these can be applied.

Truly a wonderful resource, wouldn't you all say?  But it has to
be used properly to good effect...

So, if your ideas seem to be met with a lot of criticism, it's
probably a good idea to reconsider your arguments.  Can I explain
it better?  Am I ignoring some important factors?  Can I produce
reliable supporting measurements?  Am I using the right terminology?
Am I breaking any laws of physics?  How can I firm up my case?
These are the question to ask of oneself.

It doesn't do to dismiss criticism too lightly, especially not on
this list because it is usually good, effective criticism.  It
always pays to take it on board and use it to bash your own ideas -
do they really stand up?  Sometimes they do, often they don't. We
all have to get used to being wrong a lot of the time.  If you
like, shift the blame: it's the idea that's wrong, not me - I'm just
the messenger :).  Make it impersonal - it's the ideas fighting it
out...don't get too emotionally attached to any given idea, just
treat them as things to be dealt with - evaluated, discarded
or developed.

If you simply ignore valid criticism, perhaps because you have no
counter argument, then you are discarding the lists' most valuable
contribution to your work - turning a blind eye to defects in your
idea, and you run some risk of wandering off into crackpot land,
endlessly touting some faulty or just downright meaningless idea in
hope of gathering non-critical believers.   It's the critics who
are the most important people for your idea.  The quack will avoid
them, but the genuine researcher will realise they are the ones to
pitch to, and will try to strengthen his idea enough to satisfy them.

It almost goes without saying that you have to know your stuff
in order to make a good solid convincing case. You must make that
commitment to learn the subject in enough detail so that you can
deal with expert criticism by responding with even more expert
counter argument.

If you can play this game, you're a researcher, and occasionally
you'll be right about something new.

Many thanks to Terry & Chip for keeping the wheels of their list
turning, and to all members.  Each year the technical standard,
reliability of advice, and the quality of debate just seem to
keep on going up.  All the best, and more of the same for 2k4!
--
Paul Nicholson,
Manchester, UK.
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