Is the intrusion of an outsider necessary?
The topic “No field of study can advance significantly unless outsiders bring their knowledge and experiences to that field of study.” is an interesting and discussion oriented one. There are a number of cases where a group of men of same profession form a circle which denies the entry, either in person or ideas, from other fields. Is it worth avoiding them? Let us see this issue with the following illustrations.
On the one hand, even highly complex fields of study like astronomy require the assistance of various other technical fields. For instance, the propulsion of a rocket to attain the desired path and velocity calls for integrating the mechanical, aerodynamic and automobile design professional’s experience and knowledge with that of the aerospace engineers. Without such integration, there could have been no development in space research.
On the other hand, there are instances when excessive dependence on other fields might affect the output and nature of the work. For example, despite using several electronic and computer controlled sensors, the final output is not reliable unless it is inspected by a worker. Such is the case of Coca-Cola factory where workers are employed to inspect the quality of bottles despite the availability of numerous sensors which can be unreliable at times.
But while thinking of developed fields which employ outsider’s knowledge, the ones that come to my mind is medicinal and agricultural science. Nanotechnology has created wonders in medicine that it is now used to cure cancer! Also it cannot be denied that the advancement in chemical industries like pesticides, fertilizers, etc caused a significant growth in agriculture.
There are instances when knowledge and experience of outsiders are to be used limitedly. But there cannot be any field that develops without using outsider’s skills. Thus we can conclude that exacting the outsider’s skills to a particular field’s needs and implementing them will achieve significant progress.
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