I remember the late Lewis W. Spitz Jr. once mused in a seminary
extension class about how the great ideas of history came from obscure
places ( "to places to hell and gone" as he phrased it).. He pointed
out Wittenberg, where Martin Luther taught, as an example. Yes, the
Reformation did not start in some prestigious university at the most
prestigious school in Europe, but in a backwoods place.
I can think of other examples. The Dissenters of England, were those
who would not swear allegiance to the established Church of England.
As a result, these people were not allowed to go to the universities.
The Dissenters had to form their own schools, known as Dissenting
Academies. The first such academy was started by a Presbyterian
minister. The academies were originally set up to train men for the
ministry. But the academies later expanded their focus to include
commerce and modern science. It is interesting that science made
great strides in these academies, which were institutions for the
outcasts of society. People who were not allowed to go to the
university. But these Dissenters were the ones who laid the
groundwork for the Industrial Revolution. (See THE PINBALL EFFECT by
James Burke and THE NEW INTERNATIONAL DICTIONARY OF THE CHRISTIAN
CHURCH edited by J.D. Douglas).
Another example which comes to mind is the Wright Brothers. They were
not university academics. They were bicycle mechanics. The story of
their flight at Kitty Hawk is well known. What is not so well known is
that Scientific American ridiculed their invention as a fraud and that
a mathematics professor had "proven" that heavier than air flight
was "impossible." (See ALTERNATIVE SCIENCE by Richard Milton and THEY
MADE AMERICA by Harold Evans).
A third example which comes to mind is Raymond Damadian. The
development of the MRI was due to mostly to this one man, not a well
funded research team. He persevered in spite of the ridicule of people
who did not think such a machine would work. (See THE PIONEERS OF NMR
AND MAGNETIC RESONANCE IN MEDICINE: The Story Of MRI by James
Mattison and Merrill Simon. Also see THEY MADE AMERICA by Harold
Evans).
I am not sure why great ideas and movements arise in obscure places.
Perhaps these obscure places are not as restricted as "prestigious"
institutions which impose a political conformity on all its members.
And this PC blinds and limits its followers. Perhaps the "prestigious"
institutions become complacent, smug and set in their ways. Another
reason could be that God in his providential calling loves to chose
the "foolish" to confound the "wise." I realize the quote about God
choosing the foolish to confound the wise is a Gospel passage, not a
law passage. But I wonder using the "foolish" to confound the "wise"
even occurs in a law setting?
# posted by GuyTak @ 9:15 PM
