--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Someone who thinks up a new theory is the…" description: "\"“Someone who thinks up a new theory is the last person who should be trusted with the job of testing it. A new theory should be tested by independent r..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bec/judith-rich-harris-64668_academic_someone-who-thinks-up-a-new-theory-is-th_1654399.jpg" --- # Someone who thinks up a new theory is the last person who… ![“Someone who thinks up a new theory is the last person who should be trusted with the job of testing it. A new theory should be tested by independent researchers who aren’t cronies of the theorist and who don’t have an axe to grind. It’s division of labor again: proposing theories and doing…” quote by Judith Rich Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bec/judith-rich-harris-64668_academic_someone-who-thinks-up-a-new-theory-is-th_1654399.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bec/judith-rich-harris-64668_academic_someone-who-thinks-up-a-new-theory-is-th_1654399.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bec/judith-rich-harris-64668_academic_someone-who-thinks-up-a-new-theory-is-th_1654399.jpg) > ““Someone who thinks up a new theory is the last person who should be trusted with the job of testing it. A new theory should be tested by independent researchers who aren’t cronies of the theorist and who don’t have an axe to grind. It’s division of labor again: proposing theories and doing research to test them are jobs that should be carried out by different entities. “A good theory should go in advance of the evidence,” the evolutionary psychologist Geoffrey Miller said in a recent interview. “It should stick its neck out and say, this is how I think the world is, and leave it to other people to test it.” Making a virtue of necessity, I will leave it to other people to test my theory.”” [Judith Rich Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-rich-harris/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Proposing theories and testing them should be separate tasks to avoid bias and conflict of interest. **In simple terms:** Separate theory creation from testing to ensure objectivity. Key Takeaway Keep theory development and validation independent. Themes science ethics bias methodology Mood critical analytical Type explanatory philosophical When to use this quote - academic research - policy making - product development - peer review - grant funding Key Concepts independent verification conflict of interest division of labor Questions to Reflect On - Who should be responsible for testing new theories? - How can we ensure independence in practice? A Different Perspective Independent testing may be limited by resources or access to data. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Academic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/academic/) [Division of labor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/division-of-labor/) [Innovation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/innovation/) [Progress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/progress/) [Research](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/research/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [When you're operating on uninvestigated theories of what's going on and you aren't even aware of it, you're in what I call "the dream."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/byron-katie/when-you-re-operating-on-uninvestigated-theories-of-what-s-going-on/) [Byron Katie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/byron-katie/) > [A logical theory may be tested by its capacity for dealing with puzzles, and it is a wholesome plan, in thinking about logic, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/a-logical-theory-may-be-tested-by-its-capacity-for-dealing-with/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [The triumph is that the waveform we measure is very well represented by solutions of these equations. 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