Can reading others......?

Question

Can reading others ideas and discoveries influence you or alter your ideas or thoughts on the world around you? Ex: if you read a person's view on genetics or chemistry and had to memorize it for a test, can that alter your perception from discovering something better or more accurate? Can that author or scientists ideas/discoveries start you of to a wrong path, in which you could have begun a better path if you have not read their books?

Thank you!

Answer 1

I would say yes. Whenever i read this the first thing that popped into my head was religion. Just look at everyone elses views on it.  And think about this, you go to a church to listen to a guy spout his ideas about his religion and you start picking up on them. But this is just my view on the question. Hope it makes sense to you.

Answer 2

the trick is to read many different books/opinions and especially opinions that differ

THINK

where does the information/data come from

what is the motivation of the writer

and like a good detective "follow the money" to determine motivation

and THINK of your own new/original idea

and test them all (if possible)

AN IDEA OR THEORY DOES NOT HAVE TO BE CORRECT TO BE "USEFUL"  ----"USEFUL" IS DEFINED AS ALLOWING ACCURATE PREDICTION