Page 173 - English for Writing Research Papers

Chapter 9

Discussing Your Limitations

Factoids
Cars: That the automobile has practically reached the limit of its develop-
ment is suggested by the fact that during the past year no improvements of

a radical nature have been introduced. Scientific American, January 1909
Computers: Where a calculator on the ENIAC is equipped with 19,000
vacuum tubes and weighs 30 tons, computers in the future may have only
1,000 vacuum tubes and perhaps only weigh 1.5 tons. Popular Mechanics,
March 1949.
Electric light: When the Paris exhibition closes, electric light will close
with it and no more will be heard of it. Erasmus Wilson, English surgeon
and dermatologist, 1878
Female scientists: Three things happen when they are in the lab: You fall
in love with them, they fall in love with you, and when you criticize them
they cry. Nobel prize winner, professor Tim Hunt, 2015
Intelligence: The most important fact about intelligence is that we can
measure it. Arthur Jensen, US psychology professor, 1969
Inventions: Everything that can be invented has been invented . Charles
H. Duell, Commissioner of the US Patent Offi ce, 1899
Nicotine: It is my conviction that nicotine is a very remarkable, benefi-

cient drug that both helps the body to resist external stress and also can
as a result show a pronounced tranquilising effect. Charles Ellis, Senior
Scientist, British American Tobacco company, 1962
Nuclear Energy: There is not the slightest indication that [nuclear
energy] will ever be obtainable. It would mean that the atom would have
to be shattered at will . Albert Einstein, 1932.
Planes: Heavier-than-air flying machines are impossible . William Thomson

(Lord Kelvin), British mathematician, physicist and engineer, 1895
Surgery: The abolishment of pain in surgery is a chimera. It is absurd to
go on seeking it. . . . Knife and pain are two words in surgery that must
forever be associated in the consciousness of the patient . Dr. Alfred
Velpeau, French surgeon, 1839

© Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016 157
A. Wallwork, English for Writing Research Papers,
English for Academic Research, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-26094-5_9