4: FREDM. UBER 



it is a type of accident that does not happen to just anyone. It should 

 occur most frequently to investigators who are alert to the unusual 

 and who are able to perceive quickly the possibilities in the unexpected 

 observation {cf. Fig. 1). The fact of X rays, for example, represents a 

 phenomenon that might have been discovered by anyone of perhaps a 

 few hundred experimental scientists at the time, but almost incon- 



1. 



I / 



y- ■ ■ 





"Now, I sort of lose the gist of it here." 



Fig. 1. An unexpected observation often leads to significant advances. (Cour- 

 tesy The New Yorker.) 



ceivably by one of the billion contemporary laymen. According to 

 this approach, great discoveries are favored by the hard work of 

 numerous careful observers who are also resourceful. 



3. Deliberate or Direct Approach 



A considerable part of the motivation of research workers is 

 doubtless the hope of making a really important discovery. In some 

 scientists this purpose expresses itself as a deliberate, direct attempt. 

 An investigator in this category analyzes every proposed problem 

 primarily on the basis of its possible importance. Much can be said 

 in favor of such a critical attitude. At the least, it prevents a worker 

 from embarking on programs in which he has too little faith, the type 



