Joan Robinson Quotes
science progresses by trial and error, and when it is forbidden to admit error there can be no progress.
Robinson, Joan. Collected Economic Papers, vol. 3. Basil Blackwell, 1965, p. 145.
Science has the interesting characteristic that most failures are successes in the sense that scientific knowledge is gained from the failure even if it only a guide to what not to do in the future. Politics would be well served to adopt this pragmatic approach, but ideology usually prevails in politics and errors tend to be repeated if there are supported by political philosophy or ideology.
This quotation illustrates the largest difference between politicians and scientists. Politicians are always seeking data and confirmation that their ideologies and theories are right. Scientists are always trying to prove the status quo wrong as this is the only way to increase knowledge. Newton showed that the Greeks were wrong and could not explain all of mechanics. Einstein proved that Newton was not quite right. The quantum mechanics scientists showed Einstein was not quote right with small particles and the Hicks Boson found a hole in quantum mechanics. This is progress in science—finding previous error or incompleteness.
The Scientific Project that developed the Atomic Bomb. Oppenheimer was the great physicist who directed the successful development of the atomic bomb so as to build the weapon before Hitler did in World War II. However, as the technology evolved, he had doubts as to the wisdom of creating even more powerful hydrogen weapons. His viewpoint was hurting the administration’s policy of rapid unlimited nuclear weapons development, and he was the victim of a character assassination whereby his security clearance was withdrawn. The “father” of the atomic bomb was the first American casualty of atomic weapons development.
Joan Violet Robinson FBA was a British economist well known for her wide-ranging contributions to economic theory. She was a central figure in what became known as post-Keynesian economics.
