"Voting is no way to answer technical questions, though it may give pleasure to the voters. This author, a physicist, would hate to see the validity of the theory of relativity put to a vote. If that sounds elitist, it should. It is an unpopular but sound principle that you ought to know something about a subject before you earn the right to express an opinion about it. The schools now teach the opposite—but your view is as “valid” as anyone else’s, no matter how little you know. That not only encourages self-esteem, it rewards sloth."
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Academics from the United StatesNon-fiction authors from the United StatesPeople from New York CityScience authorsPhysicists from the United States
Original Language: English
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Chapter 14, “Public Decisions” (pp. 104-105)
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Harold_Lewis
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Harold Lewis
Harold Lewis (October 1, 1923 – May 26, 2011) was an American Emeritus Professor of Physics and former department chairman at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB). He was chairman of the JASON Defense Advisory Group from 1966 to 1973, and was active in US government investigations into safety of nuclear reactors.
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