Answer Quote by Robert Ballard
“I'm a geophysicist and all my earth science books when I was a student, I had to give the wrong answer to get an A. We used to ridicule continental drift. It was something we laughed at. We learned of Marshall Kay's geosynclinal cycle, which is a bunch of crap.”
About This Quote
Source Interview: Podcast with Robert Ballard, 2023
Scientists sometimes teach outdated or disproven theories to challenge students and encourage critical thinking.
In simple terms: Old ideas are taught to provoke questioning.
Key Takeaway
Question assumptions, seek evidence.
Themes
education
science
critical thinking
history of science
Mood
reflective
analytical
Type
educational
anecdotal
When to use this quote
- classroom teaching
- research training
- science communication
Key Concepts
paradigm shift
scientific method
skepticism
Questions to Reflect On
- How does presenting false theories aid learning?
- What role does humor play in scientific education?
A Different Perspective
Students may become cynical if not guided to understand why errors are used.
![“Everything I'm going to present to you was not in my textbooks when I went to school ... not even in my college textbooks. I'm a geophysicist, and [in] all my Earth science books when I was a student - I had to give the wrong answer to get an A.” quote by Robert Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/2eb/robert-ballard-13392_answers_everything-i-m-going-to-present-to-you-w_3194401.jpg)
![“As a graduate student at Columbia University, I remember the a priori derision of my distinguished stratigraphy professor toward a visiting Australian drifter [a supporter of the theory of continental drift]. Today my own students would dismiss with even more derision anyone who denied the evident…” quote by Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/5c7/stephen-jay-gould-885_amusing_as-a-graduate-student-at-columbia-univer_2104917.jpg)
![“The fact that this chain of life existed [at volcanic vents on the seafloor] in the black cold of the deep sea and was utterly independent of sunlight-previously thought to be the font of all Earth's life-has startling ramifications. If life could flourish there, nurtured by a complex chemical…” quote by Robert Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/623/robert-ballard-13392_black_the-fact-that-this-chain-of-life-existed_1174978.jpg)
