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(And to ask your snarky question — I've listened to many a physicist, Cormac! Some of my best colleagues are physicists. And some of my favorite historians are physicists, too. But I also listen to lots of different forms of expertise. All part of the job, alas.)
I am saying that the context of the discoveries is itself necessarily shaped by the context in which the work is done. Full stop. It might be subtle, it might be extreme. Depends on the circumstance. But it's there. Hard to imagine what a context-free discovery would look like.
(Separately, you will be amused I am sure to know that David Kaiser — historian of physicist and actively publishing theoretical physicist — has been working for some years now on a book about the political history of GR. The talks I have seen from it are very interesting!)
Good morning! Yes, I know David well, and admire his work. I also hugely enjoyed his lectures on the history of physics at MIT. I think David and I would agree that the initial gestation (as opposed to reception) of GR was simply the curiosity of one man, and not political
Well, I think you will be surprised by his book, then! Definitely check it out when it comes out. It is closer to my take on this than yours, in my judgment (from having seen him give talks on it, and having worked as a research assistant for parts of it).
"If people have strong political responses to science, then it's hard to argue that there isn't something political going on". I profoundly disagree with this statement and so would almost any scientist I know. Context doesn't have to be political, goodnight and good luck
If you want to understand my position, Cormac, you need to take the time to read it. I am pretty sure you have probably not really read it and certainly not understood it. (If you don't want to — then don't! I will never force you.)
The real question is whether the context affects the outcome. I worry about scholars such as Harry Collins who make assumptions about the effect of context on an experiment such as Eddington ‘s without any technical knowledge of the subject
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