Dear John,
Yikes! I’m not quite sure what your point is. I did include the full
Planck quote in my post: “A new scientific truth does not triumph by
convincing its opponents and making them see the light, but rather
because its opponents eventually die, and a new generation grows up that
is familiar with it”(Planck 1968 [1949]: 33-34).
While I spelled Planck wrong the first time, it was a typographic
error. The name is spelled correctly elsewhere in my post and in the
reference.
The citation is correct.
One cites a book based on the publication date of the actual edition.
This permits readers to locate and find the edition used. The fact that
Planck died in 1947 is irrelevant.
The first German edition of Wissenschaftliche Selbstbiographie appeared
in 1948, after Planck died. The first English translation by Frank
Gaynor appeared in New York in 1949, published in the Philosophical
Library series. A British edition was published in 1950. I have never
seen a copy of either. The 1968 edition is a reprint of the 1949
translation. It is odd to claim that a citation “must be wrong”
because the author died prior to publication. I cite Kierkegaard from
twentieth century editions. The first printed editions of Aristotle
appeared in the fifteenth century, nearly two thousand years after the
author died.
Kuhn cited the 1949 edition in his book. I used the 1968 reprint for my
note, but I don’t have the book to hand. To see if I “must be
wrong,” I’ve ordered a new copy. If I’m wrong, I’ll report back.
For now, I’ll stick with the citation as I gave it.
Planck, Max K. 1968 [1949]. Scientific Autobiography and Other Papers.
Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press.
Yours,
Ken
Professor Ken Friedman, PhD, DSc (hc), FDRS | University Distinguished
Professor | Dean, Faculty of Design | Swinburne University of Technology
| Melbourne, Australia | [log in to unmask] | Ph: +61
39214 6078 | Faculty
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John Z Langrish wrote:
--snip--
The Planck quote is well known but the last bit - growing up to be
familiar with - is often left out. [see below} But this is very
important in design. People did not buy jug kettles until they had
become familiar with them through seeing them in use and now everyone
uses them etc etc. Ideas, also, catch on when they are seen to be of use
or just the fashion. (Seen in the sense of ‘Oh. Yes, now I see that')
All of which could lead on to memetics - ideas being something that can
be ‘caught’.
Incidentally, in the interests of pedantry, you spelt his name without
an ‘n’ and the citation you give must be wrong because he died in
1947 AND he wrote in German. Planck 1949 is the translation. A better
citation is: Max Planck, “Scientific Autobiography and Other
Papers”, trans. F Gaynor, New York 1949, pp. 33-34. The quote
became well known (familiar?) through its appearance in Kuhn’s
Scientific Revolutions p.151.
--snip--
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