There are two quotes which, when considered together, give great insight into why we continue to make the same mistakes as past generations, and why we do not advance as quickly as we ought. This stagnation and these missteps happen in management, economics, science, software development, testing, psychiatry and medicine. One quote is from a scientific genius. The other is from a vaudeville performer (although he was much more than that.) One quote suggests a problem, the other states the implication of the problem.
The first quote is from Max Planck, Nobel Prize winner and father of Quantum Theory:
“A new scientific truth does not triumph by convincing its opponents and making them see the light, but rather because its opponents eventually die, and a new generation grows up that is familiar with it”
Although he was speaking of "scientific truth", I believe this is insightful far beyond the realm of science.
The second quote is from Will Rogers, an Entertainer at the turn of the early 20th century:
It isn't what we don't know that gives us trouble; it's what we know that ain't so.
Each of carries around our set of “truths” (you have to start somewhere), and these form our world view from which we make our decisions. Some of these truths we have arrived at independently through our direct experiences. Other truths we were told and we accept. Some of them really are true and some are not. Mankind has never lacked for “experts” stating with great authority things that just “ain’t so”. The more these falsehoods are accepted and acted upon, the more they impede progress. There are obvious examples like believing that the sun revolves around the earth hindering astronomical advancement, and more subtle examples such as false belief in what motivates professionals hindering true advancement in management.
We all have our world view. We should take time to think about our core believes, and question them. They impact us and those we influence; they are too important to be based only on what others have told us.
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