Rupert Sheldrake is a biologist, not a physicist.
You know what? It doesn't matter.
Most discoveries are made by outsiders because insiders suffer from einstellung - ingroup mental walls over which few insiders can see. They also say that science progresses one death at a time: the old men who are the gatekeepers of the religion can't see the problems with their beliefs and have no incentive to admit they were wrong because TENURE and PRESTIGE
-The Butthole Surfer
Oh, dauntless surfer, I have thought, for perhaps 7 years, that the religious orientation of modernity is materialism, as opposed to monotheism or polytheism. I have lately come to suspect, over the past two years, that science is the Scripture to the materialistic faith and that social justice is its Gospel. Thank you so much for this find.
Who Created These Norms Anyway?
Clown or Hyena, It Doesn't Matter to Me
Taleb makes a strong case that most innovations are made by "tinkerers," the scientists come later and fill in the theory. The major creativity come from practice and filters down to theory not vice versa, a major example being the jet engine.
Lynn,
Is that in one of his books? What you say makes perfect sense since tinkerers have to support themselves financially and SCIENCE! is now mostly charity for smart people who aren't ever on the hook for a working product.