Science Extra Credit

In Science the credit goes to the man who convinces the world, not to the man to whom the idea first occurred.

Sir William Osler (1849-1919) Canadian physician.

This quote by Sir William Osler can be interpreted many different ways. To me it means that no matter who comes up with an idea, whoever proves it gets the credit. It also means that many notions in science are not correct. Theories are tested with what we can use, but since technology is always improving exponentially, those theories are proved wrong. Yet the person who thought of the theory may not test it. The person who tests it may not get the credit if they are not the person that publishes the report. In all, the person to whom the idea first occurred may not be the person to get the credit. For all we know, some average Joe may have thought of gravity, yet Isaac Newton may have heard about it at the market and tried it out. His whole apple story could be totally made up for all we know. The world widely accepts that Isaac Newton created the laws of gravity, but if someone were to say differently, they would challenge that person. Newton got the credit, even if someone else first thought of the idea.