Learning from the mistakes and failed experiments of science

[Aaron Hampton]

Is it not good for someone learning about any kind of science to also learn about older disproven ideas or theories in order to understand why something does not work? Not in an effort to pursue them but to learn about the mistakes or problems they revealed.

 

[russ_watters]

Welcome to PF!

Certainly, yes. The history of science and specific areas of science is the history of how failed theories/experiments led to successful ones.

 

[russ_watters]

Sorry, my reply may not have made sense -- your wording "is it not good" threw me a bit. I do think it is useful to study past failures.

 

[Aaron Hampton]

Thank you

 

[gianeshwar]

1.Now we are basing our progress in QM on New models involving probability density rather than on Bohr's orbits(now history).
2.Boltzmann theory is also a great beginning based on Newtonian ideas to study gases(P,V,T etc.).Probably we still cannot avoid studying this despite strides in quantum physics(Though Boltzmann after getting setbacks when his more papers were rejected due to immature ideas of publishers of journals,committed suicide)