PNNL

Abstract

You want to be ahead of the curve, but not so far ahead that no one can see you. Historically, the scientific community has tended to ignore science that is too innovative or ahead of its time. For this, we are often accused of being biased towards maintaining some fictional status quo. The reason these papers often get forgotten, however, has more to do with the usability of innovative ideas, rather than some perverseness. The classic case is Mendel, whose pioneering ideas on inheritance were ignored for many years. It wasn’t because the scientific community did not know about him; Mendel simply addressed different questions than other scientists at the time. Years later, when chromosomes were identified as a potential mechanism for transmitting genetic information, his ideas suddenly became relevant to a much wider scientific audience.