

"I Have a Theory Too”: The Challenge and Opportunity of Avocational Science
9 snips Sep 23, 2025
Explore the intriguing world of avocational science and its challenges. Learn why common amateur theories about physics often fall short. Discover what truly captivates scientists in unsolicited submissions. Delve into Ramanujan's cautionary tale about intuition in experimental mathematics. Discuss AI's potential to evaluate novel contributions and whether it needs to critique itself. Finally, ponder the value of impossibility theorems while encouraging a deeper understanding of ruleology for aspiring scientists.
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Progress Builds On Deep Foundations
- Foundational scientific progress usually builds on deep prior knowledge and formalism rather than sudden flashes of insight.
- Ignoring century-scale methodological depth (e.g., modern physics) leaves most amateur theories hopelessly out of reach.
The 1975 'Hoop Hypothesis' Exchange
- At 15, Stephen received a handwritten theory from Alexander Gordon proposing particles were current-carrying loops.
- He replied politely pointing out experimental contradictions and then was overwhelmed by follow-up letters and calculations.
Formalize Ideas In Computation
- Formalize your idea in code so computation can test and explore it beyond words.
- Learn to express the idea in a computational language (e.g., Wolfram Language) before expecting meaningful results.