Resumen de Hindsight and the History of Chemistry
Some interpretations of episodes in the history of chemistry written in hindsight seem to indicate that scientists confronted with fitting puzzling observations into accepted theories were too conservative with regard to change. Examination of three examples in the evolution of new models--the use of the concept of caloric by Lavoisier, Fermi's assumption of the formation of the first transuranium element as the product of the neutron bombardment of uranium, and the roles of CO and NO as neurotransmitters in the brain--reveals the difficulties involved in the shift to new theories.
