Xref: utzoo sci.research:822 sci.space:10380 sci.environment:736 misc.headlines:7526 sci.misc:3354 Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!ames!oliveb!apple!xanadu!michael From: michael@xanadu.COM (Michael McClary) Newsgroups: sci.research,sci.space,sci.environment,misc.headlines,sci.misc Subject: Re: Success with cold fusion reported Message-ID: Date: 31 Mar 89 02:49:13 GMT References: <18213@glacier.stanford.edu> <3451@aplcomm.jhuapl.edu> <77762DBH106@psuvm> <1989Mar28.041030.2291@gpu.utcs.toronto.edu> Reply-To: michael@xanadu.UUCP (Michael McClary) Organization: Xanadu Operating Company, Palo Alto, CA Lines: 19 In article <1989Mar28.041030.2291@gpu.utcs.toronto.edu> kocic@gpu.utcs.UUCP (Miroslav Kocic) writes: > >[...] if history teaches >anything, it teaches that every benefit has a proportional price. Actually, history teaches no such thing. Benefits and prices of any given discovery or invention don't correlate. Those with prices up to their benefits tend to be developed and used (unless something cheaper does the job as well or better). Those with excessive prices are discarded. This creates the illusion of proportional cost. Once this illusion is set in your mind, everything new with improved price/ performance makes you think "there's got to be a catch", and sends you on a search to find the catch. If you can't accept the lack of a catch, you can never end your search, and can never go beyond what had been done before. This is not to say such a search is folly. Many things DO have catches, and these need to be discovered. But be prepared to acknowledge real wonders now and then.